The 1990 Upper Deck baseball card set is considered one of the most popular and valuable vintage baseball card sets ever produced. The 1990 Upper Deck set revolutionized the baseball card industry by emphasizing high quality photos and cardstock as it was the first ever third-party licensed baseball card produced that was not produced by Topps or Donruss. Given its popularity and historical significance within the hobby, 1990 Upper Deck baseball cards are routinely sent to Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) for authentication and grading.
PSA is the leading third-party authentication and grading service for vintage sports cards. Founded in 2000, PSA has authenticated and graded millions of collectibles. Their strict authentication and grading standards along with early support from the hobby’s biggest collectors and dealers helped establish PSA as the most trusted authority for determining a card or other memorabilia’s authenticity, condition and final resale value.
Getting 1990 Upper Deck cards professionally graded by PSA helps ensure collectors that they are purchasing authentic vintage cards in the stated condition. There are many fake reproduction 1990 Upper Deck cards that flood the market, so having PSA authentication gives collectors peace of mind that what they are buying is the real thing. PSA will also protect high value 1990 Upper Deck cards inside their protective slabs which helps preserves the condition and allows the grade to be verified.
When submitting 1990 Upper Deck cards to PSA, collectors will want to follow their submission guidelines closely. Cards must be sent in for grading individually in three mil toploaders or acrylic holders. PSA has limits on the number of cards that can be sent in per submission and charges grading fees per card. Full submission details and pricing can be found on PSA’s website. Proper packaging and completion of the submission forms is a must or the cards risk being damaged or the submission not being processed correctly.
Once received, PSA’s team of experienced graders will thoroughly inspect each 1990 Upper Deck card submitted. They will examine the centering, corners, edges and surface for any flaws, wear or defects under high intensity lighting. PSA graders are trained to be extremely consistent and provide the most objective grades possible. The end result is a numeric grade from 1 to 10, with 10 being flawless “gem mint” condition.
While raw ungraded 1990 Upper Deck cards can still be very valuable, cards that earn high grades from PSA, especially gem mint 9s and 10s, are exponentially more valuable to collectors and serious investors. The added PSA authenticity and assigned numeric grade gives buyers peace of mind and also allows for easy price comparisons across online marketplaces and between sellers. PSA slabs become the new “package” that the valuable piece of vintage sports memorabilia is housed in to preserve its condition.
Some of the most anticipated 1990 Upper Deck cards to receive PSA grading include stars like Ken Griffey Jr., Nolan Ryan, Cal Ripken Jr., Kirby Puckett and others. Highly graded rookie cards or stars in their primes from the 1990 set can be worth thousands in PSA 9 or 10 condition. There is also a large subset of traded players cards featuring talents who broke into the majors that year. finding these in top grades years later makes for an exciting grading submission.
Even some of the less iconic players from 1990 can still yield strong returns if submitted to PSA and earning high grades. Smart collectors realize that it does not take superstars alone to make a whole set valuable over time. By cross-referencing population reports, they aim to locate examples of their favorite 1990 Upper Deck cards that have the best chance at grades above the statistical average. This targeted approach helps maximize the upside of each submission while balancing risks.
While the costs and potential wait times can be prohibitive for some, serious investors in 1990 Upper Deck baseball cards see PSA grading as essential to protecting large long term holdings. By verifying authenticity and condition, PSA authentication gives these vintage investments resilience against forgeries and wear that could undermine values over decades. Many 1990 Upper Deck card collections worth five or even six figures today got their start years ago with collectors submitting smaller subsets to PSA to build a foundation of “slabbed” key pieces.
The 1990 Upper Deck set exploded in popularity and demand soon after release due to its fresh modern design and use of high quality materials during production. Such a beloved and breakthrough set understandably became a prime target for counterfeiters over the following years and decades. Getting 1990 Upper Deck cards authenticated and graded by the leading third party authority PSA provides collectors security and makes valued examples easily recognizable in the marketplace. PSA encapsulation has allowed 1990 Upper Deck cards in pristine condition to achieve record auction prices satisfying avid fans, investors and completing whole set registries.
