I got to wondering which Topps test issues were actually issued in pack form. For those who are not aware, Topps used to test market cards in selected stores mostly in the NY and Long Island areas. These were typically issued in a white wrapper with an affixed sticker and usually packed in white generic boxes. Some examples are shown below (Twiggy was issued in a cello wrapper):
Searching eBay for the phrase "test wrapper" brings up quite a few of these.
There is a nice thread listing of many of the test issues on the Vintage Nonsports site (highly recommended!)
Click on the picture above to open a link to this.
Some of the listed cards (Gidget, Bonanza, etc) were never issued in pack form and were only found in the Topps archives.
1) Can anybody help me figure out which test issues were actually released in pack form.
2) Of these, which ones still exist as full unopened packs and can anybody give us a guess of how many still remain unopened. Tell us stories about what you have seen out there!
I was looking at the PSA pop report last night and noticed that there are now 5 Charlies Angels test packs that have been graded by PSA. I wrote Steve Hart of Baseball Card Exchange and asked whether these were all foreign packs or if a US pack had surfaced and got the following reply from him:
"Im not aware of any US Angels test packs either. They are probably foreign issue packs (UK, Mexican)"
Click on the UK pack front below to see the PSA pop report:
Click on the UK pack back to see the auction that this pack was sold at: