Topps baseball cards have been a staple collectible for decades, allowing fans to own a piece of their favorite players and relive memorable MLB moments. While the monetary value of any given card can fluctuate greatly depending on condition, player performance, and market supply and demand, 2014 saw generally stable to increasing values across most of the Topps baseball card landscape. Let’s take a closer look at some of the most noteworthy movers and shakers from the 2014 vintage.
In terms of rookie cards, one of the biggest risers was Los Angeles Dodgers sensation Yasiel Puig. While his 2013 Topps rookie card held steady around the $15-20 raw range, a monster 2014 campaign that saw him finish fourth in NL MVP voting caused his rookie to nearly triple in value, settling in the $40-50 range by year’s end. Likewise, former first overall draft pick Bryce Harper continued building on his superstar status, sending his 2010 Topps Update rookie above $100 for the first time. Fellow young guns Mike Trout, Manny Machado, and Gerrit Cole also enjoyed nice bumps, with Trout reaching $300-400 and Machado eclipsing $100.
Other rookie standouts gaining ground included George Springer, who burst onto the scene for the Houston Astros. His 2014 Topps Heritage Chrome RC jumped from under $10 to around $30-40. Boston’s Xander Bogaerts and Cincinnati’s Billy Hamilton also made names for themselves and ended the year with rookie values up over 25-30% from January. On the international front, Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani started building U.S. hobby buzz. His raw 2012 BBM Japanese baseball rookie card gained over 150% in value in 2014 on limited North American exposure.
All-time greats also held or increased value in 2014. A mint Michael Jordan 1984 Fleer RC sold for a record $101,262, and Honus Wagner T206s pushed past the million-dollar mark. For MLB legends, a near-mint 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle saw bids over $100k, and a PSA 9 1954 Topps Hank Aaron rookie settled into the $15k-20k range. Ruth and Gehrig rookies stabilized around $50k raw as well.
Key modern stars delivered for collectors too. A mint 2012 Topps Update Mike Trout rookie auto patch reached $58,000 on auction. A 2009 Bowman Sterling prospects auto patch of superstar slugger Bryce Harper brought $28k when offered raw. And a 2013 Topps UD Black Manny Machado auto/relic parallel saw raw bids surpass $7,000 following Machado’s huge breakout 2014 campaign.
Vintage staples remained coveted as well. High-grade 1919 White Sox error cards, which feature ill-fated player “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, cruised past $30k. 1930 Goudey George Earnshaw hit $16k raw, while 1936 Goudey Jimmie Foxx climbed near $10k. 1954 Topps’ continued their surge, with a sharp-looking ’52 Mantle selling for $75k raw. And top-graded ’59 iterations of superstars like Ted Williams, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron eclipsed the $10k mark regularly.
2014 also saw some modern classics peak in value before planned print runs ended production. A PSA 10 2004 Topps Ichiro Suzuki rookie still commanded $2,500 asking, while high-end 2003 Topps Traders Derek Jeter rookies eclipsed $1k for the final time as that set exited print. 2011 Topps Update Mike Trout rookie auto patches, which have been one of the hottest modern properties, cracked $15k raw for a true gem despite heavy circulation since Trout’s breakthrough 2012.
So in summary, 2014 proved to be another strong year for the vintage and modern values of flagship Topps releases. Rookies of young stars like Puig, Trout and others led the charge upwards, while time-tested legends, errors and key sets from the 1930s-1950s maintained or built on their prestige. Ongoing print run sunsets also gave final pops to select modern classics. Overall the state of Topps values into the late 2010s was quite positive based on 2014’s stable to ascending player prices.
