1985 Donruss Major League Baseball Card Price Guide
The 1985 Donruss Major League Baseball card set was the company’s third series of baseball cards released. After successful launches in 1981 and 1982, Donruss continued producing affordable baseball cards for mainstream collectors. The 1985 set contains photos of 660 different players and managers from all 26 Major League teams at the time. While not as iconic or valuable as some other vintage card issues, the 1985 Donruss cards provide an interesting snapshot of the players and teams from that MLB season. Here is an in-depth price guide for the 1985 Donruss baseball card set.
Base Card Values (Rookies, Stars, Commons)
The base cards in the 1985 Donruss set range widely in price depending on the player pictured and their status or accolades. Commons and role players can typically be found for under $1 in near mint condition. Some mid-level veterans will sell for $1-5. Rookie cards and stars of the day command higher prices.
Notables like Dwight Gooden and Ozzie Smith rookie cards in near mint to mint condition average between $15-25. Darryl Strawberry and Roger Clemens rookies are usually $5-10. Other star rookies like Barry Bonds, Tom Glavine, Mike Mussina, and David Cone fall in the $3-8 range.
All-Star level veterans like Wade Boggs, Kirby Puckett, Keith Hernandez, and Ryne Sandberg can sell from $3-10 depending on condition and demand. Superstar cards for players such as Mike Schmidt, George Brett, Dave Winfield, and Nolan Ryan range from $5-15 on the secondary market.
The most expensive base cards come from legends at the end of their careers. Cards featuring Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, and Eddie Murray typically sell for $15-30. A pristine Mike Schmidt or George Brett base could potentially exceed $50.
Parallel & Specialty Insert Values
While the Donruss base set had good mainstream appeal, the company produced some tougher parallel inserts that now demand higher prices. The silver signature parallel cards number around 60 and depict players signing autographs. The signature cards are highly sought after by collectors.
Some examples of silver signature prices include:
Dwight Gooden – $60-80
Keith Hernandez – $30-50
Ozzie Smith – $40-60
Nolan Ryan – $50-75
Mike Schmidt – $75-100
Donruss also included specialty insert cards featuring All-Stars, team leaders, and future Hall of Famers. Another popular parallel was the Super Vet Club cards highlighting legends late in their careers. Examples of insert prices include:
Hank Aaron All-Star – $25-40
Nolan Ryan Team Leader – $15-25
Eddie Murray Super Vet – $20-30
George Brett Future HOF – $15-25
Rookie Cup Subset Values
One of the most iconic subsets from the 1985 Donruss set is the Rookie Cup subset, which pictures 24 notable rookie players holding miniature trophies. This nostalgic subset creates high demand.
Gooden & Strawberry (Top RC’s) – $40-60
Clemens & Bonds – $20-35
Smith, Glavine, & Mussina – $15-25
David Cone – $10-15
The cards of superstars like Gooden and Strawberry regularly exceed $100 in top-graded presentation. Their rookie cups remain amongst the most valuable from the entire 1985 Donruss collection.
Grading Impact on Prices
As with most vintage sports cards, the grade a 1985 Donruss card receives from professional grading services like PSA or BGS significantly impacts its value. Near mint to mint cards in the 7-9 grade range will realize the “average” prices outlined above. Heavily played or damaged cards below a PSA 6 could be worth only a fraction of those numbers.
Ultra-high graded gem mint 10 copies create immense scarcity value for certain players. Examples of PSA 10 prices include:
Gooden RC – $300-500
Strawberry RC – $200-350
Schmidt Base – $150-250
Hernandez Silver Signature – $100-150
The rarest PSA 10 rookies could potentially break the $1000 mark if multiple competitive bidders drive up an auction. But truly pristine 10’s are exceedingly difficult to find in this particular vintage set.
In Summary
While never achieving the iconic status of Topps or Fleer issues from the same era, the 1985 Donruss cards offer a fun, affordable vintage baseball collecting option today. With a massive player checklist covering the entire MLB, values range widely depending on player, parallel, and condition factors. The set is packed with compelling rookie debuted and superstar cameos appealing to both casual and dedicated baseball card collectors. Using this price guide as a reference point can help you discover bargain pickups or evaluate potential valuable gems from the 1985 Donruss collection.
