In the world of sports trading cards, there are some that are considered more valuable than others. One of the most prominent and expensive sports cards to exist is the 1990 Topps hockey card set. This set was featured in the 2012 documentary, The Curse of the Hershey’s Kisses and is currently the subject of an unofficial collectible card game. Many collectors and fans think that this set is worth more than it’s actual face value because of its rarity and how awesome it is that Topps put it in their set. They also believe that the value of the whole set is far greater than the sum of its parts (the cards). This article will explain exactly how much an unopened pack of 1990 Topps hockey cards is worth and how much you can actually get for them today – as a starting point for your collection.
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Value Of An Unopened Pack Of 1990 Topps Hockey Cards
If you’ve ever bought a pack of hockey cards in the past, then you’ll know the value of an unopened pack. The standard pack of hockey cards sold for 10 to 20 cents back in the day, depending on the brand and the player. So even at a young age, you’d know that an unopened pack of 1990 Topps hockey cards is pretty valuable stuff. In 2012, you might be able to find a standard pack of hockey cards for a quarter, which is still pretty pricey, but not as expensive as the rarer issues from the ’80s and ’90s. With most of the great players from those eras trapped in hockey cards from that point forward, it’s not hard to understand the appeal.
The next question is, how much is an unopened pack of 1990 Topps hockey cards worth today? We’ll discuss the current value of this rare set in a moment, but let’s first take a quick trip down memory lane.
The History Of Hockey Cards
For those who may not know, hockey cards started as an offshoot of baseball cards. The two sports started competing for young fans in the 1910s and were eventually packaged and sold together. In the beginning, the two sports were pretty similar, with the major difference between them being the size of the card. In the 1910s, baseball cards were printed on cardboard, while the smaller hockey cards were produced on paper. During the 1950s and 1960s, paper became more affordable and convenient for mass production, resulting in hockey cards becoming more commonplace. A few decades later, the cardboard baseball cards started disappearing from the market as well, replaced by plastic.
While paper may have made its way into the mainstream, it didn’t diminish the importance of the cardboard hockey card. In fact, the opposite occurred as a lot of people started collecting the brittle, breakable plastic cards instead, as they were more durable and less likely to get damaged.
What Is The Value Of This Set?
An unopened pack of 1990 Topps hockey cards is fairly valuable, but it’s also difficult to put a price on nostalgia. Every kid who grew up in the ’90s remembers the sweet taste of disappointment that is the Hershey’s kiss. It was the company’s way of promoting their candy, which was a staple in American homes from the ’40s through the ’90s. What kid doesn’t want to try their hand at selling candy? With nostalgia comes all kinds of emotions and physical reactions that you might experience when viewing these cards again. Many people who have owned or collected this set describe it as one of the most amazing experiences they have ever had. It’s not difficult to see why.
When the Hershey Corporation decided to discontinue manufacturing and distributing their Kisses candy, it was only natural that fans of the brand and those who already owned the set began to think of ways to preserve this valuable piece of history. It wasn’t just any old pack of hockey cards either – it was the rarest, most expensive set that Topps had ever produced. If you’ve ever seen the documentary mentioned above, then you know exactly what set of cards we’re talking about.
These iconic cards from the golden era of hockey have an almost unexplainable value to those who have them and those who love them. It doesn’t hurt that Topps decided to mark the occasion by putting out a special edition of their hockey cards that year either.
The Price Of These Cards
As we established above, the value of an unopened pack of 1990 Topps hockey cards is high because of nostalgia. In addition to the sweet taste of disappointment, there is also the physical reactions that come with seeing cards that you grew up with turned into an incredible profit. In 2016, you can buy an unopened pack of any year’s Topps hockey cards for about 40 cents, which is a good deal, but it’s still more than you’d pay for a cardboard baseball card. In 2012, you could find a standard pack of hockey cards for a quarter, which is less than half of what you’d pay today. So even in this day and age, it’s not easy to find a standard pack of hockey cards at a good price point.
This lack of affordability is what makes the set so valuable. While a quarter might not seem like a lot these days, imagine how much it would cost you 30 years ago. It’s entirely possible that you’d be willing to spend more on a pack of hockey cards than you would on a new video game or laptop. Even now, as the price of games and hardware has dropped, the price of a pack of hockey cards has not and it’s not because the games or hardware are cheaper – it’s because there are fewer and fewer people who want to play them.
So if you’ve ever wondered what your old hockey cards are worth today, then this article will answer that question. Be sure to look out for our next article on the subject matter, which will discuss how much money you can reasonably expect to make if you decide to sell your collection. There is a lot of money to be made in the world of sports trading cards, provided you know how to go about it right.