This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 9/15/2017
This 1968 Topps basketball test pack raises some new questions but also provides many answers. While a limited number of these black and white test cards are known to exist, the way they were circulated was a bit of a mystery. The featured item solves that part of the puzzle and includes plain white envelope with a prototype Topps basketball label affixed to the front, which is how Topps packaged many of their sports and non-sports test sets that were distributed internally and, in this case, sent to the NBA for licensing approval. The pack contains three cards, including Dave DeBusschere, Jerry Lucas and the highly prized Bill Russell card, and each has NM to NM/MT endpoints while centered dramatically toward the left side and featuring a wavy surface as if the pack was bent at some point, as can be seen in the scan. The Lucas card has gum stains on the front surface. True to the label on the front, the pack does contain a stick of gum, which is expected stale and broken into pieces, and a booklet on "How to Play Basketball." The 8-page booklet has colorized diagrams but no mention of Topps, and the subtitle "How to Shoot" suggests there may have been other booklets, either already produced or in the works, that spotlighted other aspects of the game (How to Dribble, How to Play Defense, etc...). Other than the still sealed pack also offered in this auction, we are not aware of any other existing pack.