One of the most valuable baseball cards that can fetch six or even seven figures is the iconic 1909-11 T206 Honus Wagner card. The story behind this rare card is that legendary Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Honus Wagner asked the American Tobacco Company to remove his likeness from their promotional baseball cards as he did not want to promote tobacco to children. Only a small number of the Wagner cards were printed before his request was honored, making the surviving examples incredibly rare. In recent years, mint condition T206 Honus Wagner cards have sold for record-breaking prices like $3.12 million, $2.8 million, and $6.6 million.
Another extremely valuable early 20th century baseball card is the 1916 Sporting Life Babe Ruth rookie card. This is one of the first cards ever made featuring Babe Ruth who was just starting his playing career with the Boston Red Sox at the time. Only about 50 copies are known to exist today in any condition. In January 2022, a PSA 1 copy of the 1916 Babe Ruth sold for $2.88 million, easily setting a new auction record for any Babe Ruth card. Other high grade copies in mint condition could potentially sell for well over $5 million.
For modern baseball cards from the 1980s and onward, some of the priciest issues tend to focus on all-time great players early in their careers before they made it big in the majors. A notable example is the 1957 Topps Mickey Mantle rookie card. Mantle went on to have a Hall of Fame career with the New York Yankees and is considered one of the best switch hitters ever. High grade versions of his rookie card in near-mint to mint condition (PSA 8 to PSA 10) have sold for $200,000-$400,000 in recent years.
Another highly coveted modern rookie card is the 1987 Topps Griffey Jr. This features Ken Griffey Jr. as a rookie for the Seattle Mariners, before injuries slowed him down and prior to winning multiple Gold Glove and MVP awards. Pristine PSA 10 copies of the 1987 Griffey Jr. have changed hands for $100,000-$250,000. Though not quite as valuable overall as the Mantle rookie, it remains one of the most sought after post-war baseball cards.
Turning to more contemporary players from the 1990s onwards, cards from stars in their first few MLB seasons tend to hold huge value if the player truly lived up to their potential. A perfect PSA 10 of the 1992 Bowman Ken Griffey Jr. refractor card sold for $340,000 in April 2022. The refractor parallel version added to the rarity and desirability.
The 1991 Stadium Club Tatis Jr. rookie card has also rocketed up collector lists since Fernando Tatis Jr. emerged as a young superstar for the San Diego Padres. Pristine PSA 10 copies recently sold for $70,000-$90,000 depending on bidding wars. With Tatis still in his early 20s and signed long-term, his cards could appreciate significantly higher if he stays healthy and achieves Hall of Fame caliber stats.
On the pitching side, a jewel among collector’s prized items is the 2003 Topps Chrome Refractor Justin Verlander RC (rookie card). Considered the “holy grail” of early 2000s cards, pristine PSA 10 versions change hands for $50,000-$75,000. Verlander won both the 2011 AL Rookie of the Year and AL MVP that season en route to a likely future Hall of Fame career still going strong with the New York Mets.
Of course, card values also depend heavily on condition and true mint status. A flawless PSA/BGS Gem Mint 10 grade is the golden standard that can make certain rare cards worth 10x or more than a lower graded copy. And condition is even more crucial for the century old tobacco era cards – even fractional differences in grades on those ultra-premium issues can separate six-figure values from seven figures. The rarest of the rare, highest graded vintage and rookie cards for all-time player icons tend to reign as the most valuable in the entire collecting hobby.
