One of the most valuable baseball cards from 1966 is the Hank Aaron rookie card. Produced by Topps, Hank Aaron’s rookie card is considered one of the true Holy Grails of baseball cards due to Aaron breaking Babe Ruth’s longstanding home run record. In pristine mint condition, graded MINT 9 or higher by expert authentication and grading companies like PSA or BGS, Aaron’s 1966 Topps rookie card can be worth over $100,000. Even well-centered examples in near mint to mint condition that grade 7-8 can fetch $15,000-$30,000.
Another incredibly valuable and desirable 1966 baseball card is the Nolan Ryan rookie card. Like Aaron, Nolan Ryan went on to have an illustrious Hall of Fame career making his rookie card one that garners big interest from collectors. Topps issued Ryan’s rookie in their 1966 set and examples that grade a PSA 10 or BGS 9.5+ can be worth over $50,000. PSA/BGS 8s hold value of $10,000-15,000 while 7s trade in the $3,000-5,000 range.
For collectors looking for rarer and sometimes more affordable high-end options from the 1966 set, cards of future stars like Don Sutton, Thurman Munson, Reggie Jackson and others provide opportunities. Sutton’s paper issue card is quite rare graded and can bring over $10,000 in top condition. A PSA 10 of Munson’s paper issue rookie has reached $14,000 at auction. Even a PSA 8 could sell for $3,000+.
A card that is extremely difficult to find in high grades is the Reggie Jackson rookie due to poor centering issues on the original issue. A PSA 10 sold at auction in 2015 for over $25,000 given the rarity. Other star rookies like Rollie Fingers, Gaylord Perry and Ted Simmons can also look appealing to devoted collectors compared to the behemoths like Aaron and Ryan.
For collectors looking beyond just star player rookies, a holy grail from 1966 is the Luis Tiant traded issue card. Topps produced a small run with Tiant dressed as an Indian, then quickly pulled and replaced the cards. Only a handful are known to exist and one example graded PSA 8.5 sold at auction in 2018 for $70,000. Any PSA/BGS graded example could easily top $100,000 for such an elusive traded card variation.
Other notable variations include the Elston Howard traded card which sees PSA/BGS 8s sell for $10,000+. Then there is the Mickey Mantle stamp card error. Due to an error in production, a small number of Mantle’s cards had a stamp glued to the front. Just a few are known and a PSA 8.5 example changed hands privately for over $40,000 in recent years.
From a team perspective, high-grade rookie cards of future World Series contributors like Tony Perez, Lee May and Tommy Helms on the Big Red Machine Cincinnati Reds teams hold appeal. Their cards could reach $1,000-3,000 each in top condition. Cards featuring young stars of the dynasty 1960s Dodgers like Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax can bring $500-1500 graded very nicely as well.
The 1966 Topps set has withstood the test of time as one of the most recognizable and collecting-friendly issues ever produced. Even common cards maintain value in high grades due to the near perfection required in centering, corners and edges to achieve ratings above a PSA 7. Whether chasing superstars like Aaron and Ryan or questing for oddball variations, 1966 continues thrilling collectors with its affordable accessibility and potential to yield valuable baseball memorabilia over 50 years later.
