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Exceptionally Rare 1948-1949 Leaf Unopened Wax Pack
- Sold For: $57,000
- Year: 1948
- Auction: 2017 spring
- Lot #: 1097
- Auction Category: Postwar Baseball Cards (1948-present)
Presented is an exceptionally rare and very desirable original unopened 1948-1949 Leaf five cent wax pack. This pack originates from Alan "Mr. Mint" Rosen's legendary Tampa, Florida, unopened box find (which included seven complete unopened Leaf boxes). Some of the material from that historic find was sold to unopened specialist Mark Murphy, who at the time was one of the largest dealers of unopened material. This pack was purchased directly from Mark Murphy by our consignor twenty years ago and has remained in his collection until now. This pack is incredibly rare! In all of our years, this is the first such pack that we have ever seen, let alone handled, and consultation with several advanced collectors and dealers confirms that not many 1948-1949 Leaf packs are known to exist any more! We cannot find any reference to an unopened pack from this series being sold at public auction in the last twenty years! Steve Hart of Baseball Card Exchange, considered by many to be the leading authority on unopened material, examined this pack and certified its authenticity for us. (We are hoping to have it encapsulated by PSA during the course of the auction, but were not able to have it completed by the time the auction went live.) This striking red, white, and blue pack is tightly wrapped and has a Near Mint appearance. This pack could possibly include beautifully preserved examples of the rookie cards of Jackie Robinson, Satchel Paige, Stan Musial, and Warren Spahn, or any of the many other Hall of Famers (DiMaggio, Ruth, and Ted Williams) in the 98-card 1948-1949 Leaf set. It is a miracle that any packs of cards from nearly 70 years ago, still exist in their original unopened state. This is an outstanding unopened pack of 1948-1949 Leaf, one of the most popular of all early postwar baseball card issues and one of the rarest unopened packs, from one of the most historic unopened finds in hobby history! Reserve $1,000. Estimate (open).
