Only a finite number of them still exist and as likely as it is that baseball will remain a very popular sport, collectors will do anything to get their hands on them. Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, and Cy Young were also featured in the set but Cobbs issue is undoubtedly the most desired. But whats not up for debate is whether its one of his most important. Especially for high condition copies of the card. And its one of the most famous error cards in the entire hobby, too. The first Dodgers hurler to secure the NL pitching Triple Crown since Sandy Koufax back in 1966, Kershaw led the National League in wins (21), strikeouts (248), and ERA (2.24), the latter serving as the best mark for a starter in all of baseball. 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. The White Cap variation is considered to be the most difficult of the three Mathewson cards, but the Portrait is the most popular. The card features a great image of Ruth and it remains one of his most desirable cards. With so many greats, how do you choose between them? And like Altuve, Martinez started with the Greeneville Astros and worked his way up to the Class AA Corpus Christi Hooks. The card is key for three main reasons: 1956 Topps Mickey Mantle #135 #6. While the Dodgers failed to make the playoffs at 83-78, Kershaw made a second-straight playoff miss easier to stomach in Chavez Ravine. Not many baseball cards possess as much elaborate and ornate decoration as those of the 1909 Ramly Cigarette T204 set. Exact prices are available to subscribers. Its arguably the most visually pleasing and desirable of all the Ted Williams baseball cards in the hobby. The T206 set is special for many reasons but one of them is no doubt the numerous brand advertisements on the backs16 different backs in total. Theres just something about this card that makes it visually stunning. PSA 10s in the card have commanded more than $40,000, but since '78 Topps has a notorious history of off-centered printing, there are so few gem mints out there. There arent manySatchel Paige baseball cards in the hobby but this is a great looking card of the legendary pitcher. Jackie Robinson, Mike Piazza, Hideo Nomo and, you guessed it, Fernando Valenzuela each took the league by storm as soon as they stepped on the field. As one of the most clutch players in Yankees history, Derek Jeter seized the moment perfectly with a dramatic introduction to baseball's 3,000-hit club. And after striking out 145 times in 518 at-bats the year before, Ortiz K'd just 83 times in 525 at-bats in 2011. The legendary Cap Anson appears on two different cards with the uniform version being the rarer of the two. 1952 Topps Willie Mays RC #261 #5. 2010 and 2011 were two of the most emotionally draining years of Chipper Jones' Hall of Fame career. Click on any card to see more graded card prices, historic prices, and past sales. When the infamous T206 set was being produced, Doyle was pitching for the New York Highlanders of the American League. and one of the best-looking cards of the 1950s in my opinion. Estimated PSA 4.5 VG-EX+ Value: $1,100,000. Over the first seven games of his MLB career, Altuve had at least one hit, tying him with Russ Johnson for the club record for most consecutive games with a hit to begin a career. He also loves to write about the hobby and has written for Beckett, Topps, SABR and of course, this website. 1968 Topps #177 Nolan Ryan RC Two decades of pro ball were catching up to Ichiro. Because Mantle was exclusively signed with Bowman in 1954 and 1955, you won't find him on any of Topps' cards in either of those two sets. George Close Candy cards are among the scarcer pre-WWI caramel issues and the Honus Wagner is one of the keys to the set. To this day, there is no clear explanation for the rarity of this card, a card that is nearly as tough as the Honus Wagner from the same set. But what puts the Bat Off Shoulder relatively much higher on this list than the others is that you can find this card in PSA 9 Mint condition, unlike the others. Whatever the reason, there are only approximately 50-75 or so known copies in circulation today as a result. Who did Freeman finish runner-up to in the leagues RotY race, you ask? Theyre undoubtedly very condition sensitive. But what most usually don't realize is that many pre-War and even high grade post-War vintagebaseball card valuescan be astronomical. Many collectors are happy to just be able to own one of these legendary cards in the first place, though. Like the 1997 Bowman, Donruss, Fleer, Leaf, Score and Upper Deck sets, large print runs saturated the market with these cards, driving down their values. Mathewson is the only player in both the 1914 and 1915 sets whose poses are entirely different. And it can be tough to find in high grade, too. That milestone was part of a scintillating month for which Freeman captured NL Rookie of the Month honors while batting .362 with a .433 on-base percentage in July and leading all rookies with 38 hits. ThisTed Williams card features a superb black and white image of Williams following through on his classic swing. 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. Especially his American Caramel E90-1 rookie card on which he is shown leaning on his bat against a purple backdrop. Things changed dramatically in the second game of a three-game Marlins sweep when Florida outfielder Scott Cousins barreled into Posey at home plate after tagging up on a sacrifice fly. Collectors go wild for it. Considered to be one of the more obscure Honus Wagner type cards its value continues to remain strong. And while they are keys to the set and arguably the most popularLou Gehrig baseball cards, they are still overshadowed by the Ruth quartet. 1. Top 26 Most Valuable 1986 Topps Baseball Cards In The World 1. This card is a key classic in the hobby and is Aarons only recognized rookie card. Prices are updated daily based upon 2022 Topps listings that sold on eBay and our marketplace. 1952 Topps #1 Andy Pafko #8. Given all of the variations, parallels, inserts, autograph, and memorabilia cards included in the set, developing a definitive "most valuable" list can be quite difficult. Also, many of the known examples are found with poor centering from top to bottom. But, that doesnt necessarily mean its his most expensive. It just goes to show that scarcity and condition can have just as much of an impact on the value of a card as the player who is on it. So, although not as desirable as the others, the fact that it exists in such great condition brings a steep price tag. The error was quickly caught, though, so there arent many copies in existence. Key to the 1953 Topps set is the #244 Willie Mays baseball card. The T210 Old Mill set features hundreds of minor league ballplayers that most people have never heard of before. But, the fact that his is the last card in the iconic 407 card set gives it an extra bump due to the inherent difficulty in collecting the card. The most important post-war card in the hobby, price movements of the 1952 Topps #311Mickey Mantle baseball cardare often seen as an indicator of the health of the sports card market overall. The Boston Red Sox finished a game out of a playoff spot in 2011, losing out on an AL Wild Card spot to the Tampa Bay Rays with a 4-3 loss to Baltimore on the season's final day. However, the gold borders of the T205 cards leave them vulnerable to chipping and wear. Anson was arguably the biggest star of his era but unfortunately, there are very few cards from those days that show him as a player. Neither makes a difference when it comes to value, though. Arguably the greatest hitter of all time, Williams posted some truly jaw-dropping numbers over his career: a .344 batting average, a .483 on-base average and a .634 slugging average. Napoleon Lajoie was considered the best defensive second baseman of his day and won three batting titles, had 3,242 total hits and a .338 average. And I attempted to estimate their current values when graded in PSA 10 condition so their "raw" or ungraded values may be wildly different. After 60 years in the hobby, Topps helped celebrate their "Diamond Anniversary" by packing so much into their 2011 Topps baseball card set. 1990 Topps #414 Frank Thomas Rookie Card Estimated PSA 10 Value: $175 Check prices on: Amazon Now, this is what Thomas's rookie card is supposed to look like when his full name appears at the bottom of the card. The 1969 Topps baseball card set is well-loved in this hobby by many collectors for several different reasons. In true Jeter fashion, the Yankees shortstop went above and beyond the moment at hand. During the year, Jones passed Yankees legend Mickey Mantle with his 1,510th RBI, placing him second only to Eddie Murray for the most runs batted in by a switch hitter in MLB history. Ungraded & graded values for all '21 Topps Chrome Baseball Cards. It should be no surprise that Ty Cobb's 1915 Cracker Jack card carries an enormous price tag with it, given his iconic status in baseball history. However, since it's one of the most iconic cards of the modern era, I made an exception to include it (and some other 2011 Topps Update cards) on this list. #1. 1986 Topps Tiffany Ryne Sandberg Chicago Cubs Card 7. Jones was able to return for Opening Day in 2011, but the 39-year-old third baseman was still dealing with plenty of aches and pains daily. A PSA 10 1954 Topps Banks rookie card sold for $142,836 in May 2012. In poor condition, this card would fetch hundreds of dollars but if youre lucky enough to land a copy in PSA 10 Gem Mint condition then youre talking big-time money. Martinez turned out to be the big winners from 2011 Topps Update. A high number card, Mathews rookie is extra tough to collect since it was positioned at the bottom corner of print sheets and usually is found off-center as a result. Poor print quality and focus plague this short print card making high-grade copies nearly unachievable. Some argue that this is Mickey Mantles most beautiful card. Babe Ruths card is the key and most valuable of the 32 card set. And its extremely rareone of the rarest in the hobby. The Big Train is a true legend of the game and this card is a great tribute to him. Again, the biggest condition issues with this card will arise from the glossy coating on the obverse that usually ends up cracking or creasing. 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. The Reds' fall from contention cost Votto at the ballot box, though, as he followed up his 2010 MVP triumph with a sixth-place finish in 2011. Since starting his professional baseball journey with the Orix Blue Wave of the Nippon Baseball League in 1992, the legendary outfielder posted a .300 batting average or better for 19 straight seasons through the 2010 campaign. However, he still put together a worthy encore to his 2010 breakthrough. Need help buying or selling cards or have a general question about the hobby? People are spending as much on old pieces of cardboard as most people spend on a house. It should come as no surprise that the rookie card of the greatest player who ever lived would be on this list. So, there you have it: the most expensivebaseball cardsthat youre ever likely to encounter. The 1963 ToppsPete Rose rookie cardshows the all-time hit king along with Pedro Gonzalez, Ken McMullen, and Al Weis as one of 1963s most promising youngsters. So, to build this list, I only focused on the base cards from 2011 Topps and included some from 2011 Topps Update as well. Prices continue to climb on them, so keep your eye out for these baseball cards! While collectors could pull 1914 Cracker Jack cards directly from the box, that also meant they usually had caramel stains on them. Seldom seen at auction, the 48 card set distributed by the American Caramel Co. of York, Pa. released some of the rarest type cards in existence. In early 1914, Jack Dunn of the minor league Baltimore Orioles signed Ruth to a professional baseball contract. What's wackier is that Detroit's Justin Verlander, on the AL side, also earned a pitching Triple Crown in 2011. Hes also the only key player in the 1914 set on a horizontal layout. The Yellow Ruth, #53, is considered to be the toughest, closely followed by the #149 Red Ruth that shows the legendary slugger in an identical pose.
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