1979 and 1983 Color Variations

 I have a few sets in factory boxes that are not sealed, so I checked them out recently.  In general, I've seen 1983s with clean, white borders and others that are somewhat faded.  I figured that the issue was cards being left out on a shelf for years.  Now, I am not so sure.

Here are some photos from the set.  I am not the original owner, so I don't know enough about this one.

My first thought was that the cards were put back into the box at some point.  Maybe not, since many were still attached like the Stieb and Sutter cards.   Stieb has the nice, clean white coloring and Sutter doesn't. 

The next two photos show cards that are still attached, so not a lot was done with this set.

I separated them into the two different colors.  Maybe this explains why I have such a variety in the set.

Yes, I should have taken pictures of the backs.  Maybe I will add those later.

1979s

I've been aware of the two totally different colors used in the 1979 set.  There is a red team name on thinner card stock and a orange-like color on thicker card stock.  It looks like both were possible with factory sets.

Here are pictures two of the factory sets that I have that are not sealed.  The red set is on the left in all pictures.

Like the 1983s, the one version has clean, white borders.  That is the red version on the left.  The Kellogg's script is also more bold.  I don't think that the image below (from my camera, instead of scanned) reflects how much the orange set card is NOT clean and white.  It looks much dirtier in my hand.  As you can see, the entire photo just isn't as clear.

The back has similar issues.  It is much more blue and white with the red set on the left.  

I've read that they printed the factory sets in two different places, but I don't know anything else about this.  Other than going to find stories in old hobby magazines, I don't have a way to get answers from the source since Kellogg's isn't really in the card business.

Finally - I Am Updating a WantList - 1979 Kellogg's Unopened

 I picked up a few cards recently and the highlight was these two 1979 unopened packs.

The unopened packs that I see available least are as follows - 

1. 1975

2. 1979

Many of you probably assume 1971s would be the least likely to be seen.  That isn't the case, probably because anyone who has these 1971s puts them up for sale since they fetch a high price.  If there a people with Jack Clark and Terry Puhl packs from 1979, they probably have them buried in a junk box.

I am working on variations for all of the sets, which is why there two were needed.  I haven't checked for variations lately, but I still am looking for lots of 1971s and a few from other years.

Opening Some Damaged 1980 Kellogg's Card Packs - Are There Many Packs That are Not Damaged?

The 1979 and 1980 Kellogg's wrappers were flimsy and it shows with most of the packs that I've found.  The ones shown today are extreme examples, but most that I've seen have at least lots of discoloration.  Packs from 1970 - 1978 don't show similar discoloration frequently.  

The Mike Schmidt card and wrapper are quite different from the other ones.  The wrapper remained clean around the card, so the discoloration is obvious.  

The 1980 wrappers don't stay together well.  The two pieces of the Schmidt card just separated without me trying to open the pack.  I've seen that frequently.  

Since the wrapper was not compromised before it separated, the card is clean on both sides and has great color.

This George Brett card looks okay on the front after being opened this week (46 years later), but there is a stain on the left side of the card.  Otherwise, colors are nice.

The back of the card has lots of staining.  When the wrapper isn't sealed this is what happens.

The Pete Rose card is probably the most indicative of cards that I've opened.  It shows discoloration on the left side.  These cards were sitting upright in a monster box.  The left side of the card was facing upward and the seal was separated on the top.  

Here is a pack that is separating all the way around.  I might as well remove it from the wrapper since it is not intact at all.

Since I collect unopened packs, it is quite disappointing to not be able to find 1979 ad 1980 cards in clean packs.

Who Opened These Kellogg's Cards and Saved Them in the Wrapper? Great idea

I've had these packs for a long time.  All were opened by someone else.  I finally decided to write about them and how they survived.  Two of the packs (Blyleven, Sauer) were missing enough wrapper that the card was sticking out a bit.  The Griffey pack was opened on the right side but there also was a slice in the wrapper from top to bottom on the front.

The Griffey was as I expected.  The slice across the front also impacted the card, which is now cracked from that.  What impressed me about the others was the amazing color of the cards.  They really do jump out as being new, even though some are from 1970.

 

I would expect similar results from packs from 1970 - 1978.  Wrappers from 1979 and 1980 didn't seal all of the time, so I would not expect the results to be the same.  I might post some 1980 packs soon.

Finding Unopened Packs - The Struggle Continues with Kellogg's Baseball Cards

 

I am still looking for the following unopened packs.  I've resorted to selling duplicates so that maybe I can purchase a few of these.  Let me know if you have any of these.

1970-71 - many needs, not the focus now

1972 - Tom Seaver, Pete Rose, Bob Gibson, Willie Mays

1973 - Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver

1974 - many needed

1976 - Claudell Washington, Clay Carroll, Greg Luzinski, Rod Carew, Pete Rose, Ted Simmons

1977 - Lyman Bostock, Ron Cey, Mark FIdrych, Sixto Lezcano, Jerry Koosman

1979 - I need those in the first printing with the registered symbol in the scarf

--- Bruce Sutter, Ted Simmons, Ross Grimsley, Terry Puhl, Jack Clark

A few of these might be a challenge.  I do have a lot of extras to trade including an entire extra set of 1978 cards in their individual packages.

Some of my favorites.

How Do Grading Companies Evaluate Unopened Packs?

 I've been struggling to find unopened packs at affordable prices.  I accumulated a bunch of extras but since I haven't had any luck trading, I've decided to try to sell some of the extra ones on ebay and maybe buy a few that I need. 

So far, so good.  I picked up one 1971 Football unopened pack.  Of course, that is one set that I will not likely ever complete since every pack with cost more than $20.  

I plan to keep the cards in the wrappers, even if the wrappers are not perfect.  

Does anyone know what criteria are used to grade a pack?  Do they look at the card at all or just the pack - color, borders, etc.?

What would make it worth it to grade a pack?  I cannot imagine that there would be a lot of interest in a common player in the pack, even if it graded as a 10.  

With higher grading prices the last few years, will any of these cards get graded other than the big $ ones?

Where are the Unopened Kellogg's Packs Hiding?

 

Like everyone else my age, when I dug through the box I grabbed the card and ripped it out of the package.  Somehow, not everyone did so.

Once COVID hit, lots more cards came to market.  Collections hidden in basements for years were sorted and sold.  This didn't seem to help me with Kellogg's cards.  I haven't made a dent in my unopened cards in a long time.

1975 Unopened packs?  I have only three of them.  

I am still working on 1971 and 1979 master sets, but I haven't put much effort into that lately.  

I am working on upgraded some cracked cards, since I tend to see the same cards that are more likely to be cracked.