The 1990 Leaf brand baseball card set is one of the most coveted issues from the junk wax era for collectors due to the inclusion of some extremely rare and valuable short print cards. While the overall print runs for Leaf sets in the late 1980s and early 1990s were quite high which keeps most common cards very affordable, a select few short printed parallels make certain 1990 Leaf cards highly desirable among investors and enthusiasts. Let’s take an in-depth look at some of the most valuable 1990 Leaf baseball cards that can fetch thousands of dollars or more in near mint condition.
One of the true holy grails from the ’90 Leaf set is the Frank Thomas rookie card (#149). Though it was not technically his true “first card”, as he had appeared in Score and other brands the prior year, this was the highly coveted Leaf brand rookie. Only 50 of these ultra short printed parallel versions are believed to have been inserted, making it incredibly scarce to find in high grade. Mint condition examples have sold for over $25,000 when they pop up, with the highest public sale price at auction reaching nearly $35,000. Even well-centered moderately played copies can sell for several thousand.
Another rookie that constantly makes “highest value” lists for the ’90 Leaf set is Bryce Florie (#411). As a relatively unknown relief pitcher at the time with the Boston Red Sox, only about 25 of his rookie card are thought to exist. Finding an intact near mint Florie rookie today would easily fetch over $10,000 and could climb much higher if there is bidding competition between serious collectors. Like Frank Thomas, even low-grade copies in played condition sell for thousands due to how difficult it is to even locate one.
In addition to the super scarce rookies, there are also some highly valuable short printed veteran cards that can cost a fortune for ’90 Leaf collectors. One of the most popular is Nolan Ryan (#100). The printing plates used to create his main issue card were pulled very early into production, resulting in a parallel that is believed under 100 copies nationwide. Reports suggest fewer than 10 graded gem mint examples can be accounted for, bringing estimated values up near and sometimes above $25,000 for a pristine example. Elsewhere in triple digits, Ozzie Smith’s short print (#152) often reaches the $4,000-$6,000 range and occasionally higher.
Moving into the four digit cards, Wade Boggs (#1334) is another short print legend that consistently trades hands for serious money. Only approximately 50 are thought to exist, making high grades beyond rare. Recent sales data shows this card achieving up between $7,000-$12,000 depending on centering and surface quality factors. Even lower grade copies still sell for $2,000+ more often than not. Another somewhat more attainable yet still very rare four digit short print is Will Clark (#1506), with perhaps 100-150 copies in circulation. Pristine copies have reached $3,000-$5,000 and typical prices come in over $1,500 across all grades for this classic Giant first baseman card.
There are a few other 1990 Leaf short prints that warrant mentioning as incredibly valuable but even more difficult to unearth. Kirby Puckett’s parallel (#1208) is considered one of the true white whales, with estimates that less than 10 population examples are known. Reports of one grading a perfect PSA 10 selling privately for $50,000 years ago show just how elusive and expensive finding a perfect example would prove to be. Similarly, Randy Johnson’s extremely early pulled printing plates for his rookie card parallel (#1615) likely has under 20 specimens in existence. Though a more modern player, examples still trade hands north of $15,000 when they surface.
While most of the 1990 Leaf set remains quite affordable to collect across all levels, a select group of extremely scarce short print rookie and veteran cards make finding high grade versions an extremely expensive endeavor and a true prize for those able to track them down. With only tiny print runs estimated in the double digits or low hundreds for the most valuable pieces, pristine Thomas, Florie, Ryan, Boggs and others will likely only increase in value as the years pass and population reports show fewer and fewer can be accounted for in the grading pipeline. With so few around, a perfect specimen of these ’90 Leaf short prints may very well be worth over $50,000 someday for the right buyer.
