When it comes to collecting baseball cards, there are certain cards that are worth spending the money to get professionally graded by reputable third-party grading companies like PSA, BGS, or SGC. Getting a card graded involves carefully inspecting the card’s condition and encasing it in a hard plastic holder along with assigning it a numerical grade. This process provides collectors and potential buyers with a standardized and trusted assessment of the card’s condition and quality.
While most modern baseball cards are not worth grading, there are certain rare, valuable, and high-grade vintage cards that can see a significant boost in value from a top grade. Here are some of the top baseball card types that are usually worth the cost of grading:
Rookie Cards of Star Players: The rookie cards of all-time great players like Mickey Mantle, Mike Trout, Ken Griffey Jr., and others are always in high demand. Even low-grade examples can fetch thousands, but a high-grade rookie of a star player could be worth tens or even hundreds of thousands with a top PSA or BGS grade. Condition is key, so top rookies are usually worth professional inspection.
Iconic and Rare Pre-War Cards: Early 20th century tobacco cards from sets like T206, E90-E92, and others have achieved legendary status among collectors. Even common players in high grades from these early sets can sell for five figures or more due to their scarcity, historical significance, and quality of the cardboard used. It’s always worth grading truly rare and condition-sensitive pre-war cards.
High-End Vintage Sets: Complete high-grade sets of the most coveted vintage issues like 1909-11 T206, 1933 Goudey, 1952 Topps, and 1957 Topps are white whales for dedicated collectors. While individual common cards may not justify grading, submitting a full higher-end set for authentication and grading often provides the best chance at realizing the full potential premium value.
Autographs and Memorabilia Cards: Signed cards and relic cards with autographs or pieces of uniform already command big premiums over unsigned parallels. But third-party verification of authenticity provided by grading greatly increases confidence for buyers and allows authenticated examples to achieve the highest prices. Signatures and swatches are also subject to fading or damage over time, making grading especially important.
Key Short Prints and Errors: Whether it’s the famed 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle short print #311 or error cards like the 1969 Bazooka Joe bubblegum Willie Mays with no photo, short prints and errors are highly sought after anomalies. Top grades ensure the condition and scarcity are fully represented to eager collectors. Even common examples can be worth big money in pristine condition.
High-Numbered Rookies: While the lowest numbered rookies like #252 are icons, cards like the 1964 Topps Hank Aaron (#500) are also highly valuable, especially in top grades. High-numbered rookies are more condition sensitive since they saw higher production runs and more wear over time. Grading helps validate the condition.
Modern High-Grade Gems: While most modern cards don’t need grading, true mint condition specimens from the last 20 years that achieve the highest BGS/PSA grades like MT10 can still gain substantial premiums due to their rarity and quality. This includes stars like Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, and others.
While most common modern cards are not worth the cost of grading, there are certain scarce, valuable, vintage, and high-grade specimens that are almost always better off being professionally authenticated and encapsulated. This provides collectors and potential buyers with a trusted assessment of condition that allows key cards to achieve their full price potential. For the right card types in pristine shape, grading is usually a wise investment. Just be selective and focus on cards where condition is paramount.
