The hobby of collecting baseball cards has grown tremendously over the past century. With millions of cards in circulation from the early 1900s to the modern day, some have become extremely rare and valuable. The prices that some of these vintage and historic cards have sold for at auction continue to escalate over time.

Perhaps the most famous and expensive baseball card ever sold is the 1909-11 T206 Honus Wagner card. Produced between 1909-1911 as part of the American Tobacco Company’s famous T206 set, it is estimated only 50-200 of these highly sought after Wagner cards were printed. What makes it so rare is that Wagner had a clause in his player contract that did not allow his likeness to be used in tobacco promotions. A small number of cards slipped through before the production could be stopped. In the ensuing decades, most were lost, damaged, or destroyed.

In 1990, the Golden age of card collecting was taking shape and one of these rare Wagner cards went up for sale. It achieved the then-record price of $58,000. The all-time record was shattered in 2016 when another Honus WagnerT206 card sold at auction for $3.12 million, making it literally the price of a rare work of art. Two more Wagner cards have since sold for over $1 million each.

Another pre-WWI card that routinely breaks records is the 1913 Baseball Cards “Shoeless Joe” Jackson. Known as one of the era’s purest hitters who was unjustly banned from baseball after the Black Sox Scandal, his rarity has only increased interest in his card over time. In 2016, a PSA NM-MT 8 grade example sold for $493,000, making it one of the highest prices achieved for a non-Wagner card.

Coming from the same T206 series is one of the other most iconic and valuable baseball cards, the 1909-1911 E90-1 Mickey Mantle rookie. Only a few dozen are known to exist in high grades since Mantle was such a short-printed player early in his career. In 2021, a PSA NM-MT 8 sold for $5.2 million, easily setting a new record for Mantle’s rookie as well as any post-WWI baseball card.

Other legendary Yankee players also have extremely valuable rookie cards. A PSA NM-MT 8 1952 Topps Mick Mantle in 1952 is valued well over $1 million. The same grade for a 1952 Bowman Color Mickey Mantle has reached $1.5 million. A PSA NM-MT 8 1909 Tom Brown Candy Company Joe DiMaggio rookie would demand $500,000-$1 million on the market.

Going back to the early 1900s, Honus Wagner is not the only Pittsburgh Pirate with an investment-worthy rookie card. A 1909-1911 E95 Old Mill T206 Billy Hamilton in high grade is valued north of $250,000 due to his legendary speed on the base paths. Arguably the highest valued 19th century card is the 1890 Goodwin Champions Old Judge baseball card, with the key treasures being Piedmont Back and Original Back issues in high grade. Both have topped $200,000 when offered by Heritage.

In the postwar era, the iconic cards that can yield high 6 or low 7 figure returns tend to feature rookies from the 1950s. This includes the aforementioned 1952 Topps Mantles, but also high graded examples of the 1951 Bowman Color Ted Williams and the 1956 Topps Sandy Koufax. The ultra-rare 1933 Goudey Sport Kings Babe Ruth can reach $500,000-$1 million in top condition as well.

While values have cooled somewhat in the last couple years, demand remains strong for trophy pieces from the prewar and early postwar production runs due to their strong historical significance and ultra-low surviving populations today. With new generations of collectors entering the market and certain cards in such limited supply, prices for the true blue chip vintage pieces will likely maintain their high-end status for decades to come. It is easy to see why collections of complete rare and valuable sets like the T206 and 1911 Turkey Red Cabinets can sell for multiple millions.