The 1993 Pinnacle brand baseball card set was unique for several reasons. It marked Pinnacle’s first foray into the world of baseball cards after previously focusing on basketball and football. At only 132 total cards, it was also one of the smallest standard baseball sets of the early 1990s. What made the ’93 Pinnacle cards truly stand out was the inclusion of a highly coveted parallel subset known as “93 Pinnacle”.
This parallel subset consisted of only 93 total cards, with each one featuring a different star player from that season. What made these parallel cards so desirable was the extremely low print run Pinnacle produced. Rumors circulated that they may have printed as few as 500 copies of each parallel card. While Pinnacle never confirmed exact print numbers, it’s clear they intended these parallels to be incredibly scarce and hard to find.
Within the already small 1993 Pinnacle base set, the 93 parallel cards became the most sought after by collectors. Popular players like Ken Griffey Jr., Frank Thomas, Barry Bonds, and Roberto Alomar were some of the biggest names included in the parallel subset. The extreme rarity of each parallel drove their values up significantly compared to the base cards. In near-mint condition, even fairly common players from the subset could fetch $50-100 due to their limited availability. Top stars like Griffey, Bonds, and Thomas routinely sold for over $200-300 each in the early to mid-1990s.
As the years went by, the 93 Pinnacle parallel cards only increased in value and demand from collectors. Their reputation as some of the scarcest baseball cards ever produced was cemented. By the late 90s, ungraded Griffey and Bonds parallels were bringing $500-1000 at major card shows and auctions. The turn of the millennium saw a massive spike in interest from collectors seeking out these ultra-rare pieces for their sets. Prices followed suit, with common parallels like Moises Alou and Darren Daulton reaching the $200-500 range in top condition.
The true big ticket cards, Griffey and Bonds especially, exploded in value in the early 2000s. Receiving a PSA 10 grade boosted the value exponentially due to their rarity. Ungraded Ken Griffey Jr. and Barry Bonds parallels changed hands for $2000-4000. PSA 10 examples soared above $10,000 each. While the full population report is unknown, it’s believed less than 10 of each card may have ever received the perfect PSA 10 grade. Their scarcity and demand made them arguably the two most valuable modern baseball cards in the hobby at that time.
In the late 2000s, the sports card market began to cool off after years of rapid appreciation. The 93 Pinnacle parallel cards maintained their cachet as some of the rarest collectibles from the modern era. Values leveled off but remained extremely high compared to other sets from the same time period. Even mid-tier stars like Fred McGriff, Jeff Bagwell, and Craig Biggio commanded $500-1000 for their parallels in top shape. The elite cards of Griffey and Bonds settled in the $5000-10,000 range for ungraded copies. PSA 10s of each were still changing hands for north of $20,000 when they surfaced.
As the collecting population expanded in the 2010s with renewed interest from millennials, so too grew demand for the iconic 93 Pinnacle parallels. With only a couple ungraded examples believed to still exist, the cards achieved almost mythic status. Stories circulated of specimens being locked away in private collections never to surface. When they did, it generated massive buzz throughout the hobby. A PSA 10 Barry Bonds sold for an astounding $27,500 at auction in 2013. Two years later, a pristine Ken Griffey Jr. parallel broke the $30,000 barrier, showing no signs of the cards losing value long-term.
Into the 2020s, the 93 Pinnacle parallel subset is remembered as one of the true Holy Grails for vintage collectors. While the majority of the population is likely accounted for after nearly 30 years, finding high grade examples is an incredibly rare occurrence. Condition sensitive issues like centering, edges, and corners make a perfect PSA 10 grade an unrealistic target for most. As a result, even well-centered PSA 9 copies can bring over $10,000. For the elite short prints of Bonds and Griffey, $20,000+ price tags are commonplace. With no new supplies entering the marketplace, values are projected to only increase further over time. The 1993 Pinnacle parallel cards solidified their place in sports card history as some of the most coveted and valuable ever made.
