Ask Babe: More questions for the Babe

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Dear Babe: When my son was a teenager, he earned spending money by setting up as a dealer at baseball card shows. He still has in his possession an unopened 1982 Topps vending case (12,000 cards). After, 26 years, I assume it has significantly increased in value from the original purchase price of $186. -- Joe Dougherty, Murrieta, Calif.The prizes are Cal Ripken Jr. rookie cards that should be primed and ready to be graded. It looks like single vendor boxes are selling for around $50 in eBay auctions. You can do the math. At about $50, a 24-box case should be worth $1,200. Voila. The last time I checked a couple of major dealers and found them selling cases for $1,100-$1,200.Dear Babe: I have a 105-year-old book, "Hints to Golfers." Since 1970, I have had nearly 200 golfers sign it. When possible, I printed the name of the golfer under the signature, so I would know whose it was. -- Philip Doucette, Winder, Ga."It's hard to say about the rules book without knowing all the names," said Mike Breeden, an autograph expert and editor of Tuff Stuff's autograph guide. "I'm not sure there's enough space inside for someone to sign without signing over text. A clean Stewart cut would bring about $100-$150."In the end, the value is probably going to be the sum of the individual signatures of the big names. As Breeden noted, it's hard to have multiple signatures without them overlapping or being over text. That looks like it's the case for the Stewart sig based on the photocopies you sent.Dear Babe: I have three longneck empty Pepsi bottles with Richard Petty statistics, number of poles, number of wins etc. -- Steven Melvin, Snellville, Ga.It looks like the bottles were part of an eight-bottle set that Pepsi produced in 1992. A quick check of completed eBay auctions showed that of 106 auctions only three actually closed with bids. Two of those were for the complete sets. The bottles were full. Both sets for just around a dollar per bottle, but S&H pushed the totals to $3-$4 per bottle. I'd say $3-4 per bottle is a fair range. For the record, based on an auction's description, here's what is in the set: Farewell Tour, Most Poles In A Career, Most Consecutive Wins, First Winston Cup Win, Most Popular Driver, Most Wins, First Winston Cup Win and Most Career Wins At 200.Dear Babe: I have a Chief Noc-A-Homa bobbing head doll that was purchased in 1969 at Fulton County Stadium. -- Carol Williams, Forest Park, Ga."This bobbing head has stagnated a little, and the prices have pretty much stayed the same,'' said Lou Criscione of www.insidetheparkcollectibles.com and author the SCD's Go Figure column. That value is $125-$175 for a bobber with a gold base.BABE NOTE: Upper Deck has come through for soccer fans once again with the release of 2008 Major League Soccer. The 200-card set features MLS players including the L.A. Galaxy's much-publicized David Beckham. As always there's no shortage of game-used and autographed cards, featuring Beckham and Galaxy teammate Landon Donovan of the L.A. Galaxy as well as Pablo Mastroeni of the Colorado Rapids. There are two "MLS Materials" game-used jersey cards in each box. Packs come with a $1.99 SRP. There are 36 10-card packs per box. For details visit www.upperdeck.com.(Send card questions to Babe Waxpak, PO Box 492397, Redding, CA 96049-2397 or e-mail babewaxpak(at)charter.net. If possible, include card number, year and brand or a photocopy. Please do not send cards. For Babe Waxpak's blog, see www.scrippsnews.com/waxpak. Babe Waxpak is a feature of The Record Searchlight in Redding, Calif.)(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)