The 1986 Topps baseball card set is highly coveted by collectors due to its attractive and iconic designs as well as its inclusion of some of the biggest names in the sport from the mid-1980s. While the average 1986 Topps card in near mint condition can be acquired for just a few dollars, the true gems from the set have sold at auction for astronomical prices in recent years. Here are details on some of the most valuable and costly 1986 Topps baseball cards on the high-end market today.
Perhaps the most significant rarity and headline name from the 1986 Topps set is card number 661, featuring Hall of Famer Kirk Gibson of the Detroit Tigers. Gibson’s rookie card shows him batting from the left side with a colored team nameplate featuring the classic Old English D logo. What makes this particular Gibson rookie so valuable is the fact that it was printed with inverted front and back graphics, dubbed by collectors as the “inverted negative” variation. Scientists believe this type of printing error was likely caused by issues with the printing plates used during production. Fewer than 10 examples are known to exist in collectors’ hands today. In January 2015, one pristine mint condition inverted negative Gibson rookie fetched an eye-popping $262,800 at auction, making it not just the most valuable 1986 Topps card but one of the costliest baseball cards ever sold at the time.
Another important Detroit Tigers standout with an incredibly scarce and expensive issue from the 1986 Topps set is Alan Trammell. Card number 35 features Trammell batting from the left side in a Tigers uniform. The prized variant is known as the “poster” card due to its glossy, magazine-like finish and enlarged player image taking up more front real estate than a standard issue. Only three of these supersized Trammell posters are confirmed to exist. One example sold for a then-record $93,000 way back in 2003, signaling its status as one of the rarest Topps cards ever printed. More recently in 2015, a PSA-graded NM-MT 8 poster Trammell realized $81,818 at auction.
Baseball icon and California Angels star Reggie Jackson also has two tremendous key rookie variations from the 1986 Topps set that have achieved monumental prices. Card number 312 is Jackson’s standard issue as an Angel but is significantly more scarce when found with a blue border instead of the standard black border. Less than 10 blue-border Jackson rookies are accounted for nationwide. One blue-border example earned a massive $75,300 at auction in 2009. An even rarer variant is Jackson’s card sporting an inverted color photo, where the image is light with a dark border around it rather than the more common dark image with light border. Only two inverted Jackson rookies are known to exist. It sold privately in 2003 for a still-unconfirmed price believed to be well over $100,000.
In addition to star players, the 1986 Topps set is also renowned for its scarce printing errors and mysteries that have created immensely valuable modern finds. Card number 458, showing Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Don Carman, holds one of the most provocative printing anomalies – examples with empty white space where Carman’s image should be. Dubbed “blank back” variants since the reverse is properly printed, these ghostly Carman cards are phenomenally uncommon with only a handful across the entire 2,700+ card print run. In March 2016, a PSA-slabbed blank back Carman realized a new record price for any 1986 Topps card when it commanded $34,800 at auction.
Another elusive short print from the set is card number 379, featuring Chicago Cubs first baseman Leon Durham. The scarce variant finds Durham dressed in a Cubs uniform that has an additional phantom team logo appearing behind his head. Fewer than five phantoms are accounted for by card authorities. When one achieved the highest PSA Set Registry grade of PSA 10 in early 2020, it rocketed to a price tag of $31,200, cementing it among the most costly 1986 Topps short prints in the collectibles marketplace.
While the standard 1986 Topps card set can be obtained for reasonable costs relatively easily, the true rarities within tell a different story. Printing errors, scarce variation issues, and supremely low population examples of stars like Kirk Gibson, Alan Trammell, and Reggie Jackson have all achieved well into the five-figure price range in recent years. For dedicated vintage baseball card investors and aficionados, searching garages, card shops and auctions for overlooked 1986 Topps gems that could yield similarly great fortunes continues to be hugely exciting avenue to explore. The allure of finding that one super-valuable short print keeps the hunting spirit alive and well for collectors of America’s favorite pastime on cardboard.
