2019 Winter Auction Closing March 2
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 3/3/2019
Graded PR 1 by PSA. Hall of Famer. This is the only specimen validated by that company, and quite likely the only complete 1959 Bazooka Willie Mays box that's been confirmed to exist. Here's an almost never-encountered opportunity to study the original manner of distribution for the large, very scarce 1959 Bazooka cards. This complete box reveals that bright red-white-and-blue graphics surrounded a cellophane window on the top. The clear material revealed the contents, 25 "Twin Chews" of Bazooka. The uncut, premium-sized card of San Francisco Giants superstar Willie Mays appears on the box's underside. Unfortunately for young collectors almost sixty years ago, the item's 19-cent price – although a bargain for 25 "Double Packs" of gum – posed a sometimes insurmountably high cost for a single card. This rare piece is extremely well preserved. Surface faults, most of which were probably induced by factory packing and, later, circumstances associated with retail display, are the inevitable consequences of its fragile, unbuttressed construction. Virtually impossible to find in this state of completeness, here is a super-desirable advertising relic as well as a fabulous baseball card collectible. Nominally Poor condition, with presentation and nostalgia attributes combining to vastly exceed that modest level.