Baseball cards have been a popular collectible for over a century and some vintage cards can be worth a significant amount of money. While the vast majority of cards printed are only worth a few dollars even in mint condition, there is always the chance of finding a rare card in your collection that could pay off your mortgage or put your kids through college. Determining which cards are the most valuable can be challenging without doing extensive research. Thankfully, there are now several baseball card price guide apps that make it easy to check values on your phone.

One of the most popular apps for evaluating baseball card values is the Beckett Baseball Card Price Guide. Beckett has been the industry standard for print price guides for decades, with detailed listings and pricing for virtually every card printed from the 1880s to present day. Their mobile app allows you to search by player name, team, set, year or even scan a barcode to pull up estimated average market values. It also provides pop reports indicating how many of a particular rare parallel or serially numbered card exist.

While the free version limits you to 3 lookups per day, an inexpensive subscription unlocks unlimited searches. Beckett values tend to be a bit on the conservative side compared to recent eBay sales of top cards in mint condition. Their estimates are still very useful benchmarks. The app interface is clean and intuitive, making it easy to browse lists of players or flip through images of sets to identify cards.

Another popular option is the PSA SMR Price Guide app from Professional Sports Authenticator, the largest third-party grading service. Like Beckett, PSA has decades of experience authenticating and grading cards which lends authority to their estimated values. Their app allows searching by sport, set year or player to pull up PSA-slabbed (encapsulated) grades and associated prices.

While PSA values won’t necessarily match the worth of raw, ungraded cards, they provide a solid baseline. A premium subscription unlocks population reports indicating the number of a specific card in each PSA grade. This can help determine condition rarity and potentially identify undervalued gems. Both Beckett and PSA are must-have resources for serious collectors and dealers.

For a free alternative, the TCDB (Trading Card Database) app aggregates recent eBay sales to generate market values. Simply search by player name, set details or scan a barcode and it displays a range based on the past year of comparable auctions. While results won’t be as comprehensive as subscription guides, it’s useful for getting a ballpark idea without any upfront cost. TCDB values tend to skew higher than print guides since they reflect the frenzy of recent online bidding.

Another standout free option is the Collector app from the MLB authentication company, MLB Authentication. While it doesn’t provide set-by-set pricing guides, its comprehensive database makes it easy to research players, sets, production details and even scan codes to pull up details. Where it really shines is connecting users to track down cards, complete sets or facilitate trades. The social features allow following favorite collectors, joining groups centered around certain players/teams and posting “haves” and “wants” lists to coordinate swaps.

For vintage cards pre-1980, the Goldin Auctions app delivers pricing insights based on their industry-leading auction results. Simply search by player to view recent sold lots with high resolution images and realize prices. While not as robust as the guide apps, it’s still useful supplementary data since vintage cards can vary wildly in value depending on condition, autographs and other nuances. Goldin’s reputation and market-based approach lend credibility to their references.

Whether you have a vast collection amassed over decades or just a few childhood cards stashed away, these baseball card price guide apps make it effortless to check values from your phone. With a few searches, you may discover you’re sitting on a buried treasure worth far more than you ever imagined. Of course, there’s no substitute for doing your own research and double checking recent comparable sales, but they are an excellent starting point for evaluating your collection’s potential.