Un-opened 1961 FLEER Basketball PACKS & BOXES
Finding unopened 1961 "5¢ wax" packs (and even boxes of 1961 Fleer basketball) is extremely difficult but they do exist.
As of March 25, 2026, the PSA pop report lists a total of 65 packs that have been graded. I have seen 4 different videos of 1961 Fleer basketball pack openings so the pop report is likely not 100% accurate (as can be expected).
When a key rookie or star card is visible on the top or bottom, the label usually indicates it. For instance, the label in the photo to the right indicates that an Oscar Roberton rookie card #36 is on top. A gentle pressing on the wrapper usually allows you to make out which card is on top or bottom. In photos it is harder to tell (especially the top).
Un-opened 1961 Fleer Basketball pack PSA 7 with Oscar Robertson on top.
Many packs were also slabbed by GAI. In March 2026, Goldin Auctions sold a lot of 24 GAI slabbed packs (plus an empty display box) with the average price being around $8,100 per pack. The labels on 14 of these GAI packs stated "From Full Box" (presumably, from the same box).
I count that there are a total of 34 GAI slabbed packs (but likely many more). While I personally would trust a PSA slabbed pack over a GAI one, some of these GAI slabs are most likely legitimate.
There are a number of raw packs that come up for sale but most of them are re-sealed, fake items in my experience.
Steve Hart of BBCE taught me one way to discern if a 1961 pack is fake. Fleer heat-sealed its packs using 1.5-inch wide heated rollers to press and melt the wax coating, thereby creating a seal. A genuine seal typically runs across the back center, running perpendicular to the long side. During this process, the flaps were sealed in the middle only. Because the 1.5 inch cylinder would roll down the middle perpendicularly (the height of the pack is roughly 3 1/2 inches), the upper and lower portions of the flaps would not be sealed. If you see a pack with the flaps tightly sealed from top to bottom, that is a telltale sign of alteration.
Further, the wax residue on the pack should generally only flow in one direction from the sealing process providing another clue of genuineness.
In the photo to the right, the shadow on the top, left flap indicates that the pack was genuinely sealed. Of course, an in-person inspection is the best way to evaluate a pack.
Genuine un-opened 1961 Fleer basketball pack.
Un-opened boxes can occasionally be found but they are definitely scarce. The last one sold for $372,000 on Heritage in May 2024. It was a beautifully maintained box, and BBCE wrapped.
Whether PSA or GAI, John of the Post War Cards Newsletter reports that most of the 1961 Fleer basketball un-opened packs and boxes that are on the market come from one source. In April 2004, Prince of Cards (a seller with a less than stellar reputation) sold 10 un-opened boxes (each box contains 24 packs). Presumably, these boxes were legitimate as they apparently came form the same case. The case box is actually depicted in the shown Prince of Cards ad but hasn't been seen since.
A friend and fellow collector reported to me that many years ago at a National, he witnessed a full box of 1961 Fleer being opened. It was disastrous for the owner as most of the cards were typically off-center. Keep this in mind if you, in a moment of weakness, have an impulse to break open a pack.
Genuine un-opened 1961 Fleer basketball pack.