The rarest and most valuable baseball cards in existence were created in the early 20th century during the infancy of the sports card collecting hobby. Before technology allowed for mass printing of cards, only a limited number of specimens were produced. Many of these rare gems have survived over 100 years to become priceless pieces of history. Let’s take a look at the 10 rarest baseball cards in the world.
1909-11 T206 Honus Wagner – Estimated population: 60 copies. The iconic Wagner card has long captivated collectors and is regularly cited as the most valuable sports card ever. It was excluded from the normal T206 print run due to Wagner’s objection to cigarettes being marketed to children. Only 5 have gotten PSA grades of 4 or higher with the highest being a 7 currently valued around $3 million.
1933 Goudey #146 Lou Gehrig – Estimated population: 30 copies. Very much a successor to the Wagner in terms of its status as an unobtainable attraction for collectors. This ultra-rare Gehrig rookie was printed on coated cardboard stock which proved too delicate to survive nearly a century intact. PSA has graded 5 with the highest at 8 fetching over $1 million.
1890 Old Judge tobacco Buck Ewing – Estimated population: 100 copies. The incredibly scarce pre-T206 Old Judge cards could be pasted inside tobacco packages with Ewing and others represented. Only a low double-digit population remains after over 130 years and this particular catcher routinely sells for quarter million plus in top condition.
1909-11 T206 Nap Lajoie – Estimated population: 60 copies. Lajoie’s exceptional skills at 2nd base made him one of baseball’s first true superstars before Babe Ruth came along. Like Wagner, his T206 is rarely found and when it does turn up it is in demand by the sport’s top collectors and institutions.
1909-11 T206 Sherry Magee – Estimated population: 50 copies. The ultra-rare T206 Magee has become perhaps the most storied card of all due to its extremely low survival rate and high profile auction appearances. Only 3 PSA 8’s are known to exist with the most recent setting a record at nearly $1.8 million in 2015.
1939 Play Ball Ed Barrow – Estimated population: 30 copies. This card depicting then Yankees general manager Ed Barrow was never intended for the general public as its production run was strictly limited internally for Yankee employees. The extreme rarity and amazing condition of a PSA 8.5 example pushed its price over $2 million last year.
1887 N172 Old Judge Billy Hamilton – Estimated population: 40 copies. As one of the fastest players ever, “Sliding Billy” Hamilton had quite the Hall of Fame career. His scarce tobacco era representations are near the very top of any collectors want list. Just 2 PSA grades are known and each new discovery sets a new auction record.
1909 Erie Car Company Eddie Plank – Estimated population: 10 copies. This extremely rare pre-1910 autographed card of Hall of Fame pitcher Eddie Plank, who spent most of his career with the Philadelphia A’s, was inserted in packs of cigarettes made by the Erie Car Company. Only a handful are believed to exist today in any grade after over a century.
1909-11 T206 Christy Mathewson – Estimated population: 30 copies. Widely considered the greatest pitcher in baseball history until the rise of Walter Johnson and Lefty Grove, “Big Six” Mathewson’s iconic tobacco card has become the most expensive T206 of all. Just two PSA 8’s are known which have now both totaled over $2.5 million in individual auctions.
1909 Erie Car Company Eddie Collins – Estimated population: 1 copy (PSA 5). Simply put, this is the rarest and most valuable baseball card period. The sole surviving example of an autographed card inserted into packs of Erie cigarettes showing Hall of Famer Eddie Collins was sold for $2.8 million in 2016. There are no higher grades and no duplicates. It stands alone as the most precious diamond in the hobby’s crown.
These early tobacco and player issued cards represent a pioneering era when baseball captured America’s imagination. Their immense scarcity has crowned each one featured here as among the costliest collectibles in the world due to rarity, condition, and prominence of the legendary players depicted. With so few specimens left, finding any in top-notch quality capable of attaining impressive PSA grades is just about a miracle in today’s market.
