The 1998 Upper Deck Collector’s Choice baseball card set celebrates one of the most storied hobby brands releasing one of their final original flagship issues before being acquired by rival manufacturer Topps. Collector’s Choice was an experimental set released annually by Upper Deck featuring higher end parallels and memorabilia cards of baseball’s biggest stars. While not as iconic as the base flagship set, Collector’s Choice found an audience of dedicated memorabilia collectors and remained one of the premier insert sets of the 1990s.
Released at the height of the vintage card boom in 1998, Collector’s Choice contained 90 base cards along with autographed, dual autographed, bat, jersey, and patch memorabilia parallels inserted throughout the base checklist. Ranging in numbers from /10 to /99 depending on the parallel, these serially numbered memorabilia cards gave collectors a chance at obtaining true game-used pieces of their favorite players. Among the marquee names featured were Ken Griffey Jr., Mark McGwire, Cal Ripken Jr., Greg Maddux, Derek Jeter and Sammy Sosa who were hitting the primes of their careers during this period.
Card values for the 1998 Collector’s Choice set have fluctuated over the years much like the wider baseball card market but there remain several key rookie and superstar parallels that command premium prices when graded and preserved. At the top of the value pyramid sit the ultra-rare autographed memorabilia jersey and bat cards numbered to only 10 copies or less. Examples would be the Griffey Jr. autographed jersey /10 (valued at $2,000-$3,000 PSA 10), McGwire autographed bat /10 ($1,500-$2,000 PSA 10), and Ripken autographed jersey /5 (over $2,500 PSA 10). These occupy the true high-end holy grail territory for serious Collector’s Choice collectors.
Moving down to the slightly more accessible parallels numbered between /25-/50, values still remain quite strong for the biggest names. A Cal Ripken Jr. dual autographed jersey /50 can fetch $800-1,200 in PSA 10 while Derek Jeter and Sammy Sosa autographed jersey cards in the same range hold steady around $500-800. Even a no-name player could realize $150-250 in a desirable autographed jersey numbered /50. Somewhat more common but still prized are the dual autographed memorabilia cards where two players share a relic like a jersey patch. Even /99 versions of these featuring pairings of superstars maintain value, with a McGwire-Sosa dual patch card listed recently at $300 PSA 10.
Base rookie cards in Collector’s Choice also carried considerable worth back in 1998 amid the boom. Freshmen faces like Jeter, Nomar Garciaparra, Paul Konerko, and Ben Grieve held initial values anywhere from $15-40 a piece. Though demand has cooled since, mint base rookies for star players still trade hands from $5-15 two decades later. Perhaps the most economically sensible cards to collect from the set surround its all-time great veterans residing peacefully in the middle tiers of the checklist. Pristine copies of the likes of Ripken, Maddux, Tony Gwynn, and Tom Glavine stay in the $3-8 range, representing solid affordable popcorn for any collection.
Condition seems to affect Collector’s Choice cards more strongly than typical designs from the era. As inserts featuring true game-used memorabilia, even light surface scratches or dings detract noticeably from a card’s worth. Accordingly, strong grades from services like PSA and BGS drive up Collector’s Choice values exponentially compared to raw copies. While raw 1998 Collector’s Choice base rookies may go for a dollar, earning that illustrious PSA 10 gem mint label could bump the price 100 times or more. This places a high emphasis on careful preservation right from the moment of opening packs all those years ago.
To further whet the appetite of dedicated collectors, Upper Deck also experimented with rare experimental parallels in Collector’s Choice like the premier level “SuperChrome” refractors limited to an ultra-low /10 copies. Spectacular pull rates akin to one-in-a-million made each of these holos that much more special. Led by the likes of stars McGwire and Jeter, mint SuperChromes with a flawless grade have been known to break $1,000 apiece for the absolute cream. Only the most well-heeled Collector’s Choice aficionados tend to pursue these sorts of heights however.
In the years since its original release run, the 1998 Upper Deck Collector’s Choice set has developed a strong cult following among memorabilia card aficionados. While no longer as hyped as the peak vintage boom years, dedicated collectors continue to seek out stunning examples to round out their collections two decades later. Condition sensitive but loaded with incredible game-worn hits from the sport’s titans, Collector’s Choice ’98 holds a unique place in the rich history of baseball cards from the 1990s era. Its memorabilia-focused parallels satisfying high-end collectors demand premiums to this day.
