Sealed packs from a bygone era once cost a penny or a nickel. Now, unopened vintage packs can sell for tens of thousands of dollars.

As part of our Memorabilia and Collecting week, we reached out to Brad Balukjian, author of The Wax Pack. He graciously allowed us to run two excerpts of the freshly-minted L.A. Times best-seller. The ...

Brad Balukjian was sitting in the upper deck at an Oakland A’s game a few years ago, when a mixture of adventure and nostalgia sent him down an unexpected path. He ordered a pack of 1986 Topps ...

Brad Balukjian’s concept for his first book — tear open a pack of 1986 Topps baseball cards, chomp the ancient pink rectangle of gum-ish substance, then hit the road to unwrap the post-baseball lives ...