most valuable baseball cards 1990s
Now that we got that out of the way, let's take a look at the top ten: You did not read that first price incorrectly. In the end, Walker had the last guffaw, elected to the Hall of Fame in 2020. Upper Deck released its super-premium SP product line during the same year that Topps (Finest) and Fleer (Flair) unveiled their own high-end set, but SP is the only one that contains a rookie card of New York Yankees superstar Derek Jeter. The 1993 SP Jeter is one of the best cards from the 1990s, produced on a foil background that can be ruined by the faintest touch. Like Barry Bonds and others from the steroid era, Clemens reputation has fallen on hard times in recent years, but his amazing numbers are hard to overlook even if his 1990 Topps doesnt stoke your nostalgia fire. 1990 Frank Thomas Topps NAME ON FRONT ROOKIE RC #414 White Sox PSA 8 NM/MINT. I have looked and cannot find the value. The back of the card references his hitting ability that he displayed in high school but also makes reference to him being though of as the next Mario Lemieux. As well as Derek Jeter, players like Alex Rodriguez, Greg Maddux, Roger Clemens, and Sammy Sosa also signed cards in the Signature Series Extended Autographs Century Marks set. After all, the Orioles had selected the big righthander with the first overall pick in the 1989 Draft, then brought him up after just two games in the minors. This card and others like it are what make it seem like the whole blackless or NNOF phenomenon might just be a printing problem and not an actual design/release error . Those who remember the mass hysteria surrounding the Y2K bug saga at the end of 1999 will know what Im talking about. In fact, while fellow White Sox rookies Robin Ventura and Scott Radinsky picked up some votes for Rookie of the Year honors in 1990, Thomas didn't receive any at all. Now, this is what Thomas's rookie card issupposedto look like when his full name appears at the bottom of the card. Lower quality cards are currently selling at around $300. We use cookies to improve your experience. Alright, lets play ball, 1990 Topps style! Trending: Best Luka Doncic Rookie Cards | Best Joe Burrow Rookie Cards | Top Tom Brady Rookie Cards | Justin Herbert Rookie Cards are still a sneaky good buy. 13 Rarest Michael Jordan Cards Ever - Rarest.org . Their rarity, combined with their quality (PSA 9+) gives them their value. Most Expensive 1990 Topps card list & price guide. Prices for 1990 Topps Baseball Cards 1990 Topps card list & price guide. So, just how costly are the most sought-after baseball cards? There was no bigger rookie heading into the 1990 season than Ben McDonald. Another rare card with two of the best players to grace the field, this 1994. Jeters 1993 SP Foil is arguably the pick of the bunch and the most expensive and has also seen a notable uptick in recent years. And, while this one may not inspire thoughts of grandeur, its good to see The Man of Steal back where he began and where hed set a slew of records over the next several seasons. It was an underwhelming season for the team overall and Ripkens numbers werent the greatest either as he batted just .250 with 21 home runs, 84 RBI, and 78 runs scored. All-Stars Estimated PSA 10 Value: $25 1990 Fleer #3 Jose Canseco Estimated PSA 10 Value: $20 1990 Fleer #217 Darryl Strawberry Estimated PSA 10 Value: $20 1990 Fleer #297 Juan Gonzalez Rookie Card Estimated PSA 10 Value: $20 1990 Fleer #485 Albert Belle Rookie Card Estimated PSA 10 Value: $20 1990 Fleer Update #U-87 Frank Thomas Rookie Card Well, Japan and the Blue Jays. Everyone wanted Don Mattingly cards when I was a kid. For the first time in his young career, Bonds batted over .300 (.301), drove in more than 100 RBI (114), hit more than 30 home runs (33), and scored more than 100 runs (104). Even now, decades after his retirement and years after he fell off the Hall of Fame ballot, Mattingly still carries plenty of weight in the hobby he helped build. Derek Jeter is one of the most decorated players in the modern era, with 14 All-Star appearances and five World Series wins in a 20-year MLB career spent with the New York Yankees. During this period, its estimated that companies were producing three times as many cards as they had previously, fueled by greed and ever-increasing public demand. I really dont know much about Scores motive for putting him on a baseball card but Im assuming it was some sort of promotional gimmick. It has seen better times as far as values go but its still universally beloved for those that collected in the 1990s. Most likely, it was a report discrepancy (or a deliberate misstatement to make him seem like a better prospect). A copy sold for $180,000 in January 2020, while another sold for $166,712.70 in May of the same year. Some of these foil cards are so delicate they may have been damaged when they were first bought and taken out of the packaging. A few important parameters for our list before we get started: The No. Despite that tarnished reputation, his 1990 Topps rookie still has some value to it in high grade. Theyre also prone to counterfeiting, which is why its better to go for a graded option if possible. The higher the grade, the more valuable a card will be, so were typically looking at PSA 9s and 10s only. Check prices on: Amazon. And, while it was light on big-name rookies, 1990 Topps Traded offered up some intriguing veterans-in-new-places cards to take up the slack. Today, even after the great slugger downfall of the 2010s, Sosas rookie cards maintain enough hobby swagger to appear on lists like this one. Watch more top videos, highlights, and B/R original content, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. His reputation as a two-sport superstar earned him a place in . 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. What seemed to start out as a sort of cheap attempted knockoff of the classic 1975 Topps set actually has some character of its own. While cards are easily available for purchase, the most valuable ones have reached seven-figure territory. As an All-Star card, the back of this one shows his AS stats: But some of the cards printed in early runs purported to show his recent major league performance: Its scarce enough, at least in Junk Wax terms, to land a pretty cherry spot on this list. These cards often sell for $50 to $75, depending on the popularity of the player. The next couple seasons were lean, though, as Sammy struggled for playing time, especially after a 1992 trade to the Cubs. His standard rookie (which we'll get to later) is the key rookie card in this set, but the version without his name on the front is an incredibly rare error and collectors are willing to pay up big time for it. This card is a 1994 insert card or chase card released by Upper Deck in limited editions of 1,000 cards. Choosing between this card or number 3 on the list, the Lebron James refractor, I would choose the Lebron card over the Zion. The action shot shows Griffey Jr. after a successful swing, and the card immediately catches the eye thanks to the shiny border. One of the most popular players of his era, Vladimir Guerrero was the No. Now just imagine how much a pristine-rated card can go for! The only Rodriguez card to make the list, his 1994 SP is one of the flimsiest modern-era rookies in the hobby and is ridiculously hard to find in mint condition, just like the other SP Foil listed above. This second hunk of the Ryan recap shows him with the California Angels, the team for whom he burned down American League hitters like toothpicks in a cremation furnace for nearly a decade. He also set a personal best for stolen bases (52) while leading the league in slugging percentage (.565) and OPS (.970). On the baseball field, Jackson had a cannon for an arm and a compact, powerful swing, which is on full display on this card. (The same is true for almost every card were about to mention.). Mostly, though, it was just a steady climb to 2200+ career hits, pulling his rookie card along with him. Like every other Topps Traded set in the 1980s and early 1990s, this one was a special treat to collectors one last shot of new baseball cards for the year as we headed into winter. The eBay scam sort of stuck, unfortunately, and some folks are still paying a premium for a card thats just a common. Of course, before that could come to pass the Red Sox had to ship him to St. Louis, which they did during that summer of 1990. His greatness began to show in earnest that summer, though, as he led the Pirates to a division title and won his first National League MVP award. Well, the 1993 card was printed with a foil layer making it incredibly delicate. Maddux turned in his second big season for the Cubs in 1989, with his 19-12, 2.95 ERA helping the northsiders to a division title. The problem is, that the first half of the 1990s was marred by the junk wax era, which is considered to have lasted from 1987 to 1994. In 16 seasons, he hit .318/.379/.553 for a 140 OPS+ with 449 home runs, 1,496 RBI and 59.5 WAR, and he earned Hall of Fame induction in 2018. Of course, those homer numbers were off the charts starting in 1998, when he chased Mark McGwire to Roger Maris single-season record. That performance was just the beginning, of course, and also the start of a climb for his cards in the hobby. Table of Contents. Cal kept plugging, though, even when the Orioles were bad, and even when he himself wasnt great. Occasionally, hed pop something really gaudy, like that Ty Cobb-esque .363 batting title in 1993. The 1997 Skybox E-X2000 Essential Credentials was ahead of its time in many respects, with a small serial number, an iconic image selection, and a luxurious border design. $49.00. Mattingly was coming off a mild rebound year in 1989 after injuries sapped his power (18 home runs) in 1988, but things got even worse in 1990 as the Yankees superstar was limited to just 102 appearances. As shocking as it may seem, yes, this version of the 1990 Topps Frank Thomas rookie card can be worth some serious money. #8. Gonzalez was one of the most feared hitters of his era and seemed like a lock for 40+ homers and 100+ RBI every season. It would take a few years for Sammy Sosa's career to heat up so I don't recall this card being too hyped at the time. launch monetization_on $4.99 08/28/2022. It was futuristic for the time, but Jeters SP RC is a clear cut above the others found on this list. This card from 1992, showing Piazza in a crowded catchers stance, is worth a fair amount of money within collectors circles, often going between $200 and $300. It turns out there was. Prices are updated daily based upon 1990 Classic listings that sold on eBay and our marketplace. If we are talking Upper Deck, a card brand that blew up in the 90s, its only right Ken Griffey Jr. be included here multiple times. Even cards in less-than-perfect condition can go for hundreds, maybe even thousands, and a professionally-rated card is darn-near mythical. Most Valuable Baseball Cards from the 1980s Price Guide & Values Baseball cards / By Matt Johnson #25 1986 Donruss Highlights "Highlights in White." Bo Jackson rookie card #43 PSA 10 sold for $360 Shop the 1986 Donruss Bo Jackson rookie card on eBay 1986 Donruss Highlights cards have two versions printed. The No. The . Only three other players hit more home runs than Albert Belles 351 dingers during the 1990s: Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Ken Griffey Jr. We know that two of those guys had a lot of help from PEDs. But Mickey Mantle? Despite hitting .322/.390/.511 with 34 doubles, 18 home runs and 93 RBI at Single-A in 1996, only the Fleer company had the foresight to put David Ortiz in its 1997 products, meaning the 1997 Fleer and premium 1997 Ultra sets contain the only two rookie cards of one of the marquee players of his generation. The hype surrounding Arizona Diamondbacks slugger Travis Lee and Chicago Cubs phenom Kerry Wood helped drive interest initially, but it's Adrian Beltre who wound up having the most valuable rookie card in a set that also contains first-year cards of Roy Halladay, Aramis Ramirez, Miguel Tejada, Lance Berkman, Eric Chavez, Vernon Wells and many other notable 2000s standouts. The product was only available to hobby dealers and a few select retail outlets, and the result was a smaller print-run than the massively overproduced counterparts of the era. In the 1990 set, that RB card celebrated Rickeys 40th career leadoff home run late in 1989, which extended his own record. Read our methodology . Things were about the same (or worse) for Iron Cal in 1990, and his critics put the blame firmly on The Streak. To that point, only 59 of 16,753 that have been graded by PSA have come back with a PSA 10 grade. Each card is lenticular. The price for a piece of Americas pastime keeps going up. 1991 CHIPPER JONES UPPER DECK TOP PROSPECT ROOKIE BASEBALL CARD MLB BRAVES. That said, the condition-sensitive nature of the 1994 SP set's foil design makes high-grade versions difficult to find and therefore valuable. The most expensive Ken Griffey Jr. card is the Mickey Mantle and Ken Griffey Jr. Dual Signed Upper Deck UDA Card. Card is perfect.. Hmmm where does Thomass name appear? Add to that the fact that the 20-card "Premiere Prospects" subset that Jeter is included in has a foil design that shows any and all imperfections, and it's virtually impossible to find a gem mint version of the card. Like the 93 Derek Jeter, this is a card that was produced with a foil back and mint condition versions are hard to come by. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. It wasnt often that a base card of an individual player landed card #1 back in those days, but Ryan was entering bonafide legend territory, and the following years would only solidify that standing and boost his card values across the board. Ungraded & graded values for all '90 Fleer Baseball Cards. Sammy Sosa entered 1990 with designs on a starting job for the first time in his big league career, thanks to a midseason trade in 1989 from the Rangers to the White Sox. Like the "No Name On Front" Thomas rookie card, this one is exceptionally rare and card collectors go crazy for this card. Post contains affiliate links. He also topped 30 home runs for the first time and joined his father, Bobby Bonds, in the 30-30 club by adding 52 steals. Read our methodology. After all, the strapping young lad looked more like a linebacker than a first baseman, and we didnt have the sort of 24-7 access to baseball information and images back in those pre-internet days. However, cards from Sandbergs first run with the Chicago Cubs are also quite. $59.95. 1. Neon Deion Sanders was a hobby phenom right from the start thanks to his electric talent in both football and baseball. Of the 19,386 submitted to PSA to date, only 621 have even received a PSA 9 grade, with a mere 21 coming back with the vaunted PSA 10 gem mint grade. McDonald logged ten more minor league appearances in 1990 before going 8-5 with a stingy 2.43 ERA with the big club to finish third in AL Rookie of the Year balloting. Then, at age 29, a blown rotator cuff ended his career. The impressive home run and RBI tallies would fade, causing Mattingly to be overlooked for any All-Star selections in the 1990s. By 1990, Cal Ripken Jr. was starting to take flak for continuing The Streak in spite of slipping performance at the plate. You May Like: Red White And Blue Baseball Jersey. Which Was Your Favorite Old-Time Baseball Cards Publica 1987 Topps Baseball Cards 25 Most Valuable R 1978 Topps Baseball Cards The Ultimate Guide, 25) 1990 Topps Sammy Sosa Rookie Card (#692), 24) 1990 Topps Larry Walker Rookie Card (#757), 12) 1990 Topps Bernie Williams Rookie Card (#701), 5) 1990 Topps Rickey Henderson Record Breaker (#7), 4) 1990 Topps Frank Thomas Rookie Card (#414), 6) 1990 Topps Delino Deshields Rookie Card (#224), 5) 1990 Topps Juan Gonzalez Rookie Card (#331), 4) 1990 Topps Ben McDonald Rookie Card (#774), 3) 1990 Topps Marquis Grissom Rookie Card (#714), 2) 1990 Topps Frank Thomas Partial Blackless (#414), 1) 1990 Topps Frank Thomas No Name on Front (#414), 2) 1990 Topps Traded Cecil Fielder (#31T), 1) 1990 Topps Traded David Justice (#48T), 1990 Topps Baseball Cards Complete Your Set U-Pick (#'s 401-600) Nm-Mint, Coast-to-Coast Cardboard: Rocco Constantinos Collecting Story, 1952 Bowman Baseball Cards 12 Most Valuable, 1990 Upper Deck Baseball Cards - The Ultimate Guide - Wax Pack Gods, 1990 Topps Baseball Cards - The Ultimate Collector's Guide, 1957 Topps Baseball Cards 15 Most Valuable, 1967 Topps Baseball Cards 17 Most Valuable, 1959 Topps Baseball Cards 17 Most Valuable, 1961 Topps Baseball Cards 16 Most Valuable, 1986 ProCards Pittsfield Cubs Rafael Palmeiro Left Room for Interpretation Wax Pack Gods, 1998 Upper Deck Final Tribute Captured Eddie Murray in His Second Home Wax Pack Gods, Players with 3000 Hits and 500 Home Runs Wax Pack Gods, Card Traders Near Me: Where to Find Them! There are tons of Nolan Ryan collectors so demand is still decent for this card. But, the Toronto Blue Jays did let him tryout and I guess that was good enough for Score to put him in their Traded series. This card is so odd because Lindros never even actually played professional baseballnot even in the Minors. Topps continued their Ryan celebration here by showing him with the Houston Astros, who had made the future Hall of Famer the first baseball player to earn $1 million+ when they signed him as a free agent prior to the 1980 season. Heres our rundown of the most valuable baseball cards from 1990-2000. Don Mattingly's career was almost a tale of two decades. Check out my other Baseball Card Videos here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrmolUXjojPMbnGNd9g9-DtE4gqbTGPTHHow to submit to PSA: https://youtu.be/. Baseball cards are among the most popular collectibles in the sports memorabilia market. . Contact us: contact@baseballloveclub.com, The 30 Most Valuable Baseball Cards From 1990-1994, Top 25 Most Valuable Baseball Cards from the 1990s Rookie Cards Only. To other top rated players. While batting .318 with 32 home runs, 104 runs scored, and 109 RBI, Thomas also led the league in walks (138), OBP (.453), and OPS (1.006), helping to launch his reputation as a disciplined and well-rounded hitter. The action shot features a young Jeter primed to make a catch, with the player superimposed over the holofoil. Where had this guy been all our lives? Youre likely to find these cards selling in a large price range depending on quality, but a pristine one might fetch up to $2000. This mint-condition autographed card is selling for $3,500, making it one of the most valuable baseball cards from the '90s. In todays market, a mint 1991 Chipper Jones could be worth somewhere around the $5k mark. Still, collectors were excited enough by Joses upside to keep his cards on the hot list (and the Cold List, for veteran Beckett readers). Its perhaps one of the most valuable cards of the 90s and definitely, one to be kept as its value is likely to continue to soar. Alex Rodriguez is a 14-time All-Star, and one of the greatest of all time when youre looking at stats alone. 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. Mike Piazza is one of the most iconic catchers in the game. Its an error in the sense that it does not list his correct birthday, but there were several cards that listed that date. Although back problems hampered him during the 1990 season, Jose Canseco still managed to blast home runs at one of the highest rates of his career as he would belt 37 in just 481 at-bats. The card sold for $16,800, featuring Skyboxs iconic layered foil grid backdrop behind Griffey as hes about to transition to a slide. I mean, wow. Mike Trout is a generational talent, and his . Recommended Reading: National League Baseball West Standings. Collectors were more eager than ever to own a piece of Bos cardboard, making his 1990 Topps issue an exciting pull. Surely Upper Deck has a way to account for this, right? He would finish in the top five in Cy Young balloting a total of seven times in his career, and he was undoubtedly one of the elite pitchers of his generation. 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. But there were few sluggers as feared as Juan Gone through most of the 1990s, and he won two American League MVP awards with Texas, in 1996 and 1998. For all that, Grissom falls short of Cooperstown standards, but his RC is still nothing to sneeze at. This card was produced in a limited edition of only 24 examples, with this one being #14/24. The card has a large photo of a rookie A-Rod with a bat clasped in both hands, smiling towards the camera. Autographed Cards Population Totals. Would anyone be interested in buying my Sports Card Collection. But, Belle wasnt exactly known for playing cleanly either, although he was more known for using corked bats instead of PEDs. That performance garnered him his first Cy Young votes and also sent collectors searching for his 1987 rookie cards. Similar to Bo Jackson, even though Mattingly's career declined at the height of his prime, he was one of the hottest names in the hobby of that era, and collectors still love his cards today.