As with most early candy or tobacco issues, this card with the image of the Georgia Peach ready to swing is the most valuable and sought after in the set. Ken Griffey Jr., Card Topps #336. 1992 Donruss Elite Signatures Cal Ripken Jr. 1992 Fleer Update Mike Piazza His legendary career and life were cut short on December 31, 1972, when he died in a plane crash while en route to deliver aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua. While Ty Cobb might be the most desired player in the entire set, there is no doubt that Honus Wagner is also an incredibly sought after player as well. That's not the case anymore, but it's greater affordability makes it worth a second look now that the Big Hurt is enshrined in Cooperstown. Identical in imagery as its 1915 Cracker Jack counterpart, the 1914 version is equally as visually pleasing. Dimensions: 1-7/16 x 2-5/8 A dynamic power-speed threat early in his career, he eventually settled in as more of a middle-of-the-order run producer. The last of the legendary quartet of 1933 Goudey Ruth cards on our list is the #144 Full Body Ruth. The Green Ruth is the last of the four Babe Ruth cards to appear in the 1933 Goudey set. His career may not have finished as strongly as it started, but Mattingly is still a Yankees icon. The 1990 Score Sosa RC sells for about $10 in graded MINT condition. What if he had just pursued baseball? But he spent several seasons as an All-Star first baseman and cut a hulking figure on the bag, even if his glove tended to be more of a liability than an asset. The 48-card 1915 American Caramel E106 shows some nice artistic renderings of players of the National, American and Federal Leagues. It might be more plentiful than his 1992 Fleer Update card, but the 1992 Bowman Mike Piazza is more attractive and iconic. Produced in 1915 by the American Caramel Company of York, Pennsylvania, the E106 set consists of 48 different cards, including two varieties of the legendary Ty Cobb. It makes me happy to do it. 22. That being said, I truly think that cards from this era are just as important as the prewar, post WWII, or any other era is to this hobby. The E300 issue is one of the scarcest prewar sets and had relatively been unknown until the 1960s. 1990 Topps George Bush USA1 Non-glossy The set is one of if not the most condition sensitive of the early E class era. The Flying Dutchman, played for the Louisville Colonels and the Pittsburgh Pirates between 1897 and 1917. You might want to break into R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly" when you first see the 1993 Select Derek Jeter rookie card. Beltre is viewedas a likely first-ballot Hall of Famer when he is eligible for the first time in 2024, andthis is a card that still has some room to grow in value. He also posted what many believe to be the greatest single season for a pitcher in 1913 after going 36-7 with a 1.14 ERA. 1992 Score Franchise Mus./Mant./Yaz. And, if you just cant get enough of 1990 baseball cards, youll surely enjoy our other articles on the first year of a new decade: Now, without further adieu, here are the 25 most wanted baseball cards of 1990: (The sections below contain affiliate links to eBay and Amazon listings for the baseball cards discussed.). Ortiz spent six seasons with the Minnesota Twins before joining the Boston Red Sox in 2003, and he immediately broke out as one of the game's premier run producers. Ho, hum another Sosa rookie card, another slot on our list. While the "Cobb Back" T206 may be his most expensive card, this one is arguably his most popular among high-end collectors. at my Fishing Resort Store to the kids that come in. Not coincidentally, the graded card industry was getting its feet under it at the same time Sosa was rocketing to superstardom, so its little wonder this card tops our list of most graded from the first year of the new decade. These 5 by 8 cards were part of a redemption program where collectors sent in coupons in exchange for them. Yet another great card from the classic set, Ramirez's popularity peaked early in his run with Boston. Michael Jordan 1997/98 Metal Universe "Precious Metal Gems" - other than the Jordan rookie card, these may be the holy grail of Jordan collectors, and of basketball cards in general. The end result is several versions. The Iron Horseappears twice in the 1933 Goudey setwith card #s 92 and 160 to his credit. However, as mentioned earlier, the 1914 Cracker Jack cards were packaged directly inside the boxes so theyre usually more difficult to find in good condition. Jason Varitek put together a solid career. 1990 Hoops #205 Mark Jackson. Baseball cards in my little town and at school was huge. inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971. Sosa will likely never join Thomas in the Hall of Fame, but Sammy still has his fans, and his historic journey saw plenty of these Topps RCs submitted for grading. But its almost certainly the gaudiest Sosa RC out there and today fetches $10 or so in graded PSA 9 condition. While his 1992 Bowman rookie is one of the iconic cards of the 1990s, it's actually his 1992 Fleer Update card that earns a spot on this most valuable list. Remarkably, he still only finished fifth in the MVP race! Whatever the reason, there are only approximately 50-75 or so known copies in circulation today as a result. By entering your email address you agree to receive email versions of the Baseball Card Market Report. These are our picks for the top 100 baseball cards of the 1980s. Drafted in the 62nd round of the 1988 draft as a favor to Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, who was a family friend and the godfather of his younger brother, Mike Piazza went on to become the greatest offensive catcher in MLB history. They have been asking me to sell some newer ones because you cant find any to buy within 40 miles and then they are mostly in Boxes at a Walmart that cost $19 or more. Finest, Bowmans Best, SP, etc.) Seeing as how in 1989 baseball cards were all about the kids (at least more so than today), Fleer went back and tried to obscure the ad. A fantastic portrait of the Sultan of Swat wearing a tilted Yankees cap is shown atop a bold, red background. In high grade, this card can fetch big bucks. 1981 Fleer John Littefield Rev. This is no doubt one of the most sought after cards of one of the games best pitchers of all time. Just because a card was not packaged in a wax pack doesnt mean its not apart of that era of mass production (i.e. You would end up with a lot more commons trying to dig up one of those than hitting a autographed 92 score card. The list below, then, is ordered by total submissions to PSA all-time, with populations ranging from more than 250,000 specimens for the top card on the list to about 25,000 submissions at the very bottom. The 1990 Leaf set is one of the iconic releases of the Junk Wax Era, produced by Donruss as a premium product to compete with Upper Deck. We wouldn't have really said this a couple years ago. Especially for high condition copies of the card. Man, those were some good times. This has always been the Frank Thomas Rookie Card to get. Estimates place the number of front/back combinations around 5,500 which led to this set being nicknamed The Monster.. The 1988 Score Rookie/Traded Roberto Alomar has a lot of the same appeal as the Biggio except Alomar made a fast entry into the Hall of Fame. The 1917 Collins-McCarthy candy cards are some of the few card issues that were printed during the mid-teens of the 20th century. Thomas made his Major League debut in August 1990, about the same time Leaf Series II hit the hobby. Mathewson is the only player in both the 1914 and 1915 sets whose poses are entirely different. Steroids and controversy are a common theme among many of the top Junk Wax Era cards. But its also one of the issues more difficult cards since it typically suffers from poor print quality and coloration. Neg. Never understood all the love for the early 80s Fleer designs. While this RC has never inspired poetry or lit fireworks in the hobby, its a great early card of a Hall of Famer. In 2016, seven copies of this card were miraculously found in an old paper bag. 100 Most Valuable Baseball Cards: The All-Time Dream List The most valuable baseball cards in the hobby can easily fetch six and seven figure price levels these days. 19. Today, you can expect to pay $3-5 for a PSA 9 copy. The centering can be so severe that it will cut into the text along the bottom. Like many 1952 Topps cards, this Mays issue is prone to tilt and centering problems. ZWNhMTIyN2Q1OTkzMDEyMDc4NGQ0ZmJmMGY1MWRlYmViMDJjNmNlNWQwOGEx As with pretty much any pre-war set that features Cobb, his card is the heart and soul of this legendary set. I just wanted to say that I enjoyed reading all the info Yall ROCK, Just remember, Sy Berger was saying the same thing in the early 60s when he had to many 1952 topps high series leftover. His rookie care is a must-have in this set and one of the most iconic cards of the 1990s. Im amazed and a little sick to my stomach when I see what a Mattingly rookie sells for on ebay, as well as Boggs and many others. Estimated PSA 4.5 VG-EX+ Value: $1,100,000. 1990 Score #560 Ken Griffey Jr. And making yourself memorable is a key part of gaining hobby notoriety. The 1912 Plows Candy E300 Mathewson features a large photographic image of the legendary pitcher of the Dead Ball Era framed by text reading. And because it features a close-up of Mantle, print defects on his face can also sometimes turn off collectors. While the early movers in 1990 Leaf included John Olerud, Larry Walker, and Frank Thomas, it was Sosa who fueled interest in the resurrected brand later in the decade thanks to his home run battles with Mark McGwire (and Roger Maris!). This 1990 Bowman version helped raise the brand out of the general blah muck of its resurrected debut in 1989 and set it on a path toward becoming THE place to find rookie cards. The second toughest of the four 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth cards, the #149 Red Ruth is every bit as appealing as the #53 Yellow Ruth. While some of the cards listed below have long seen their glory days wither away and their values evaporate along with it, they still hold their place in hobby history. One of the rarest pre-WWI candy issues ever distributed is the 1912 Plows Boy Candy set that included 69 different baseball players. Since its not his rookie card or his most scarce, the1933 Goudey Babe Ruth #53 isnt his most expensive card but it is arguably one of his most beautiful cards. Mays put up monster numbers over his career and shares the record for most All-Star Game appearances (24) with Hank Aaron and Stan Musial. 100 Most expensive baseball cards sold on eBay from 01/23/2023 through 02/21/2023 1) PSA 9 1963 TOPPS #200 MICKEY MANTLE PSA 9 MINT Only 2 Higher Graded In World Here are the B-R pages for players not already linked above: Ken Griffey Jr., Bo Jackson, Greg Maddux. How is the 1994 SP Alex Rodriguez not on this list? A few important parameters for our list before we get started: The No. ZTk1MTgyYzY4OTRlMmE4MzNjNWU3OGIyYzZlNWQwNjc3MjMxNDdkNzBjZDVi Although his career sputtered out in controversy at the end, this is still a card worthy of any collection. Both of theDiMaggio cards in this set feature a caricature of the Yankee legend, the only difference between the two versions is that this one features small cartoons and information in the background while the other has a blank background. The Bat On Shoulder and Bat Off Shoulder would then follow. Many collectors are happy to just be able to own one of these legendary cards in the first place, though. The New York Yankees signed 20-year-old Mariano Rivera out of Panama on Feb. 17, 1990, and he allowed just 17 hits and one earned run with 58 strikeouts in 52 innings in his pro debut at the rookie ball level later that year. 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