The 1991 Fleer Ultra Update baseball card set is considered one of the more coveted and valuable subsets from the early 1990s era. Containing 60 total cards, the Ultra Update focused on headshot rookie and star player cards from that particular MLB season. While the base rookie and star cards don’t carry huge values on their own in pristine mint condition, there are several key cards that have increased greatly in worth in the collector marketplace over the past few decades. Let’s take a deeper look at some of the top cards and stories around the 1991 Fleer Ultra Update set.
One of the true “gems” and most valuable cards from the 1991 Ultra Update is the Chipper Jones rookie card. As the #1 overall pick in the 1990 MLB draft and already establishing himself as a future star player with the Braves, Jones’ rookie is among the most sought after from the early 1990s decade. In a near-mint to mint condition (grades of 8-10), Chipper Jones rookie cards today can fetch prices up to and sometimes over $1,000. For the ultra-rare pristine mint condition (grade of PSA 10), sale prices have climbed as high as $5,000-$10,000 depending on the market. The high value of the Chipper Jones rookie is a perfect example of how star prospects and players like him could immediately raise the value of their rookie cards years after the set was issued.
Another top Card in the 1991 Ultra Update is the Ken Griffey Jr. “upper deck” photo variation card. In the base set, Griffey’s image is shown from the waist up in a normal headshot. In the variation card with the “upper deck photos” marking on the front, his whole upper body is featured. This subtle difference has made the variation extremely scarce and highly sought after. In top grades, the Griffey Jr. upper deck variation has sold for over $2,000 before. Even in lower near-mint grades, values are significantly higher than the $100-$300 range for the standard Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card from the base set. Finding this elusive photo variation in a collection is a true treasure for any 90s baseball card fanatic.
While not the costliest in the set, cards of other star players like Pedro Martinez, Rafael Palmeiro, Willie McGee, and Tom Glavine also carry substantial values today. Each was either already emerging or future superstars and remain in demand for collectors decades later. In near-mint to mint condition, their rookie and star cards typically sell in the $50-$300 range depending on player performance levels achieved. Of these, Pedro Martinez arguably has some of the highest gains, as his superstar status and Hall of Fame career has pushed mint conditioned Ultra Update cards up to $200-$400 over the past 5 years alone. The earlier you could identify and hold onto stars like Martinez, the better your returns would be as an investor over the long run.
Players who had short major league careers or didn’t pan out as expected don’t carry high values, as one would assume. Even lesser known names from the set that went on to have cup of coffee careers still attract interest from die-hard collectors looking to finish their Ultra Update sets. In lower mint grades, many of these “common” rookie cards can still fetch between $5-20 each online. While not valuable investments, it shows there is still demand for completing even the back-end players from historically regarded sets over 25 years later. For the true completists, it’s about preserving all the cards and stories from that particular year rather than just the stars.
When compared to flagship issues like Topps and Donruss from 1991, the Fleer Ultra Update stands out for focusing exclusively on rookies and star players through exciting full color headshot photography versus traditional uniform-featured base cards. This gave it pop and appeal beyond the standard base rookies found elsewhere. While production numbers were higher than modern issues, demand has increased availability over the years as the players featured had successful careers. Still, finding a complete set with multiple high-grade rookie hits of future Hall of Famers makes it a highly valuable set, especially to Braves, Mariners, and Red Sox enthusiasts targeting their franchise stars. For building a strong basketball portfolio focused on the early 1990s, the 1991 Fleer Ultra Update is an excellent foundation set to anchor a collection.
While individual cards may not be worth a fortune outside the true stars and key variations, the 1991 Fleer Ultra Update baseball card set as a whole has proven to stand the test of time. It successfully captured the incoming rookie classes and futures stars of that era in a unique photo-centered format. Many of those players went on to have standout careers that continued driving collector and investor demand for high-grade copies of their rookie cards decades later. For historians of the sport and traders seeking quality baseball memorabilia from the early 1990s, the Ultra Update remains an extremely interesting and worthwhile set to pursue.
