1985 Topps Garbage Pail Kids Series 1 & 2
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GUEST:
I brought my Garbage Pail Kids collection. It's the series, the full set. When everybody else had, like, Cabbage Patch Kids, I had Garbage Pail Kids, because they're just, just, like, the grittier version. How did you actually come across the cards? I won a rock, paper, scissors game with my friend.
APPRAISER:
Like, really, rocks, paper, scissors?
GUEST:
His-- yeah, these were... Yeah, this was actually his set.
APPRAISER:
Okay, yeah. That he had.
GUEST:
And 'cause mine, back in the '80s, I used all mine and put them all throughout the school, the stickers, and I always talked about them. And he got tired of me talking about them, so he said, "Rock, paper, scissors."
APPRAISER:
(laughs)
GUEST:
He's, like, "We'll do it. If you win, we don't talk about the cards, you have them. I win, you don't talk about the cards, I keep them."
APPRAISER:
Garbage Pail Kids were introduced in 1985 by Topps. And basically, it's a trading card, but they're also stickers. You actually have two complete sets.
GUEST:
Oh, okay.
APPRAISER:
So you have series one and series two.
GUEST:
Uh-huh.
APPRAISER:
But you have both variants of the sets.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
So that's why, when you look at the cards, there's a 1a and a 1b.
GUEST:
Oh, okay.
APPRAISER:
So it's the same artwork on the card.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
But it's just a different character name. There were 41 cards in the original of each set. So 41 a cards, 41 b cards, 82 cards in the first set. And back in the day, you would buy a single wax pack, and they'd only cost 25 cents at retail. There's roughly 160 cards here.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
The cards we have separated up top are a little bit special. Nasty Nick and Evil Eddie, they're both the number-one card in the set.
GUEST:
Uh-huh.
APPRAISER:
And they're an iconic image. Number eight, Adam Bomb and Blasted Billy. Adam Bomb, if you remember opening the wax packs back in 1985...
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
Up through series five, he was the image on every single card pack. So it's so recognizable.
GUEST:
Oh, you're right!
APPRAISER:
And the Cabbage Patch Kid connection, which is really neat, 'cause if you look at a back of a card-- if you remember getting a Cabbage Patch Kid doll...
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
They came with a birth certificate, certificate of authenticity. So they're making fun of that certificate...
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
...by putting it on the back of the card.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
Now, when it comes to collecting trading cards, condition is everything. For the Nasty Nick and the Evil Eddie up here on the board, you can see the Nasty Nick has a slight bend to the corner in the upper left-hand side.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
The stickers are perfectly intact. And the other thing is centering. The margin here is slightly lower. But regardless, they're unused. This card, if it were to be professionally graded, it's maybe on the lower end of a seven.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
Maybe upwards of an eight. Just the Nasty Nick and the Evil Eddie alone are worth between $250 to $350 apiece.
GUEST:
Oh, wow!
APPRAISER:
The Adam Bomb and the Blasted Billy, they're about $200 to $300 apiece.
GUEST:
Oh, wow!
APPRAISER:
But cumulatively speaking, for your whole collection...
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
Series one, series two, all the variant cards, you're looking at auction today, conservatively, $1,000 to $1,500 An unbelievable, phenomenal set.
GUEST:
Awesome.
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