what 1980s baseball cards are valuable

Fernandos 1981 Topps Traded appears elsewhere on this list, but this is Valenzuelas actual Topps RC. As is this case when comparing the quality of O-Pee-Chee cards to their Topps counterparts, the stock and print quality of early Leaf cards were not on par with their Donruss cousins. Of those submitted, 271 have been declared PSA 10 gem mint condition. So, I stuck with big-name companies like Topps, Fleer, Donruss, Upper Deck and others when building this list. For those on a budget, a PSA 9 example will only throw you back about $200. This is why the 1980 Topps card sold for an impressive $2,400. Bonds second Fleer card appeared the year after his inclusion in the 1986 Fleer Update Set, but this was the first pack-inserted card of the Pirates youngster and was highlighted as a key card from the first day of release. However, due to market conditions, values fluctuate. However, the baseball world was stunned years later in 1989 when allegations surfaced that Rose gambled on baseball while a player and manager for the Reds from 1985-1987. For most players, their most valuable baseball cards will be their rookie card. Like its competitors, Topps waited until its late-season Traded release to issue the companys first card of the 17-game winner and 1984 Rookie of the Year, who also finished second in the Cy Young Award voting. It is collectible from the get-go, with only 5,000 Tiffany sets printed in 85. Lets look at how many reside in a PSA case. 1980 Rickey Henderson Topps RC #482 (buy on eBay) The most popular rookie card of one of the greatest ever baseball players. Most know that during the hobby craze of that era, rampant overproduction led to a bubble that eventually burst. Rather, its a card released during Juniors rookie season. Who knew that the Donruss presses would be rolling with 1988 product from late 1987 until, presumably, the early part of the George H. W. Bush presidency in early 1989? With the hunter green borders, clip art of a baseball hat with team names, and the vintage Topps logo, this card screams, collect me! Great article. Rounding out the top 10 is the 1983 O-Pee-Chee Tony Gwynn rookie card, in PSA 10 gem mint condition. Apparently there were some concerns over Hatchers defensive abilities. Organize and price your collections as we offer instant access to the world's leading trading card and collectibles databases, including baseball cards, basketball cards, football cards, non-sports cards, gaming cards and more. Five hundred thirtyhave been found in gem mint 10 condition, which means only 10% of the population has reached the highest grade, making them relatively rare. After realizing they printed cards with vulgarity, they attempted to fix it. Another Boggs RC makes the list, and this Fleer was the only one of the three (Topps, Fleer, Donruss) with a non-action shot, providing a good look at the player who collected 3,010 hits, won five batting titles and hit better than .360 in four different seasons. Most Valuable Baseball Cards: 1970s Most Valuable Baseball Cards: 1980s Most Valuable Baseball Cards: 1990s Most Valuable Baseball Cards: 2000s Most Valuable Baseball: 1900s Joe Jackson, 1909 E90-1 American Caramel Joe Jackson's rookie card sold for $667,189 at auction in 2016. Of the two sets, his Bowman Tiffany is more valuable, by a long shot, selling for over $2,500 in PSA 10 condition. Yeah, about that. The third Clemens RC (and fourth card overall) hails from 1985 Donruss, a solid set that was met with a great deal of interest from buyers figuring that if 1984 Donruss was good, 1985 would be even better. Fleer corrected it quickly, but the error fire had already been stoked. It is, without a doubt, one of his more valuable baseball cards from the 1980s. Mattingly solidified himself as a solid hitter during the 1984 season as he picked up the batting title that year after finishing with a .343 average. Barry appeared in several 1986 year-end releases that are considered XRCs. Donruss dramatically changed its look from its first set in 1981 to its second in 1982. Ryan was just an absolute monster when it came to pitching, and the value of his baseball cards reflects this. It certainly does. He held the major league record for career saves from 1993 until 2006, when San Diego Padres relief pitcher Trevor Hoffman passed his final total of 478. Topps Tiffany baseball cards are by far some of the most valuable baseball cards from both the 80s and the 90s. Furthermore, he holds the record for most consecutive games played, 2,632, surpassing Lou Gehrigs streak of 2,130, which lasted for 56 years and that many deemed unbreakable. I remember being in that late-80s baseball card collecting frenzy, and seeing the majority of these cards. And, fortunately for the collecting world, Topps gave him a standalone rookie card when they included him in their 1982 Topps Traded set. Production seemed to multiply from 1984 numbers, and who could blame Donruss for not wanting to leave money on the table? While vintage cards like the T206 Honus Wagner and the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle have continued to soar in value, baseball card's boom times produced no such valuable merchandise. Star Babe Ruths pre rookie card has an astronomical price tag with only ten copies in existence. Meanwhile, Fleers offering paired the future Bash Brother with pitcher Eric Plunk. 1983 Topps Tony Gwynn RC #482 1983 Topps Baseball is one of the best sets of the decade. This Topps RC while maybe not as coveted as the Donruss RC was at the time, but pretty darn close still is very recognizable and stands the test of time as one of the 1980s key Rookie Cards. Regardless of its market value at any given point in time, the significance of this rookie card cannot be overstated as, again, the 1980 Topps set signaled the end of the vintage era. Theres no Roberto Ramos or Bobby Pate to have to share on the front of this Raines card. Even in lower grade they can still go for hundreds of dollars. Nobody seriously, nobody could have seen 305 wins and the Hall of Fame in his future. Barry looks thrilled to be getting his picture taken. Furthermore, he is the only pitcher in major league history to record over 350 wins and strike out over 4,500 batters. Although he fell short of the .400 mark at the end of the season, he still finished at an eye-popping .390, to win his second batting title. Mickey Mantle 1952 Topps #311 Psa 9. And, you guessed it, the Tiffany version is even more valuable in PSA 10 condition. Otherwise, if found in PSA 9 condition, it would have sold considerably less at around $90. This is one of his most sought-after rookie cards and is one of the most valuable baseball cards from the 1980s. Old Sports Cards. Rod Carew and George Brett never looked better. . While some dealers broke box sets to sell singles, others chose not to. The same thing that propelled the show Stranger Things to the top of the charts and straight to the hearts of millions across the country. One of Ken Griffey Jrs biggest sleeper cards is his 1988 Best minor league cards. 3. He is the only professional athlete in history to be named an all-star in baseball and football. However, you may wonder why one particular card didn't make the top 25. Awesome article, definitely captured the essence of the 1980s. Hes the only American Leaguer in history to swipe one hundred bases in a season, a tally Henderson recorded three times, the first being the season that this necessary rookie card hit the shelves. Had that trend held, it would've easily made this list. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2023 by Old Sports Cards, LLC. It took less than a month for Mattingly to convince Berra otherwise. As the kids of the era would say, Doc could bring it.. With this card, Fleer became the only manufacturer to produce an XRC and RC of The Rocket. The other version has blue borders and is more populated than the Platinum. Yep, looks like a 1989 Upper Deck card but its not. Lets take a look a the population report. If it werent for his 1989 RCs, most probably wouldnt even remember The Big Unit pitched for the Montreal Expos. Being the Canadian cousin to Donruss, you can see that there isn't much different about the Leaf design overall except for the green leaf logo in the upper-left and the French text and Leaf trademark data on the reverse. Anyone hear from Bonner or Schneider lately? Both Donruss and Fleer produced Canseco Rookie Cards for their mainstream sets, but the choice of the masses was Donruss. He played for seven teams, but is best remembered as the glue of the back-to-back World Champion Toronto Blue Jays in 1992 and 93 when he batted a combined .347 over both Series. Five years after that he was named the 1995 NL Most Valuable Player and in 2012, the Baseball Writers Association of America elected him to the Baseball Hall of Fame. First, I didn't include any college or Minor League cards and stuck with only those cards that featured a given player when he was in the Majors. The vintage and prewar market is at least partially driven by the "Holy Grail" of cards, the 1909 T206 Honus Wagner. Allowing for one of the most valuable Don Mattingly rookie cards to stand out from the rest. The heavy gloss and stark white borders have proven to be the obstacles that have made Gem Mint examples like this so challenging. His mainstream Rookie Cards appeared the next spring. The most valuable 1980s baseball cards hit that defnition "valuable" on multiple fronts. But, how difficult are they to find in PSA 10 condition? If it looking for someone specifically. To some, the selling point might be a little high for a non-rookie card, so how did it land such a high price tag? As you can imagine, finding PSA 10 examples of a given O-Pee-Chee card is substantially more difficult than finding a Topps example in the same condition. Most know that during the hobby craze of that era, rampant overproduction led to a bubble that eventually burst. And, like the 1980 Topps set that preceded it, the centering and print quality challenges with the 1981 Topps set didn't improve all that much and only boost its value in high grade even more. Or take Joe Montana's pass to Dwight Clark in the back of the end zone during the 1981 NFC Championship Game against the Dallas Cowboys. So, despite the common misconception, some cards from that infamous hobby era still have value. Youve come to the right place. The weather looked great in Winter Haven, and young Roger Clemens was smiling. Top 25 Most Valuable Baseball Cards from the 1980's - Update with giveaway! And, like Tony Gwynn, Sandberg also appeared in the 1983 O-Pee-Chee set. And there are plenty of people who want it. From 1992-1995, the guy with the pencil-thin mustache on this card won four consecutive National League Cy Young awards, leading the league in innings pitched each time. A PSA Mint 9 card is worth $1.2 million, while a PSA NM-MT 8.5 card sells for $700,000. Nice touch making Pete the leadoff hitter in the DK lineup. Using his fastball almost exclusively, he struck out the side, fanning Lance Parrish, Chet Lemon and Alvin Davis. Who cares if there are more copies printed to stretch around the world twice? Those are some pretty good numbers considering these cards may have been thrown in a dumpster at one time. I grew up in the 80s and chased many of these cards and ripped hundreds of packs in my days. "I have like eight of those at . The first of two Donruss cards on this list, this one features a headshot of the 1985 American League MVP, Don Mattingly. He would lend his bat to several teams, including the White Sox, Orioles, A's, Rangers, and Indians, as he bounced around quite a bit. For that reason, finding a 1987 O-Pee-Chee Barry Bonds rookie in pristine condition is quite challenging, but if you do, you'll see them sell for around $12,000 or so. This means only 6% of the population is in near-perfect conditions. Because there werent many produced, the market has not been flooded with these. Among the most anticipated cards of the late-1986 releases were the first MLB-licensed cards of rookie sensation Wally Joyner. At the time this card was pulled from packs of 1988 Topps, Glavine was en route to a 17-loss season as a rookie. The cards look exactly like their Topps counterparts, save for the Nestle logo in place of Topps. The young, bearded lefty poses in his White Sox uniform on his 1981 Topps rookie card, which has received a nice boost in price ever since his Hall of Fame induction. Puckett died of a stroke at age 45, becoming the second-youngest man to pass away after already being enshrined in Cooperstown. . The Canadian version of Gwynns Topps RC. Now that he's forever a Los Angeles sports hero, Gibson's rookie card is a must-have. This card should be an excellent investment as long as the population stays low. Despite his complicated legacy,Pete Rose cardsalso remain some of the most desirable in the hobby. Rookie Cards were so valuable to collectors in 1989, that if Oprah had been involved in baseball cards, she would have been saying to her studio guests, You get a Griffey Jr. RC! The USA Baseball subset in 1985 Topps introduced the program to the masses, and brought this slugging first basemans first licensed trading card to the forefront of the collectibles industry. Donruss did, letting collectors believe Floyd Bannister was actually Tom Seaver in the first printing of 85 Donruss. While New York faded from the postseason race in September, Mattingly kept the city enraptured with a batting crown race for the ages. With the bright orange curved borders and team and player names, the design of the card pairs up nicely with the Orioles team colors. New companies, new technologies and a booming marketplace all brought the hobby into the mainstream. And that's where the substantial premium in price between the two comes into play. If you were unaware, the holy grail of Mark McGwires rookie card is his 1985 Topps Tiffany Team USA #410 card. The 1985 Leaf set was much smaller than its Donruss counterpart as it included only 264 cards instead of 660. The Littlefield can still be found, but its value hasnt changed much in the last 35 years. It didnt take long for those busting 82 Fleer to realize that John Littlefields card featured a reverse negative, making the righthander a lefty on the card front. A big-shot hitter for USA Baseball and at Mississippi State, Clark was a highly anticipated rookie coming into the 1986 season. Ripken was one of my favorite players as a kid and it has been nice to see this card get much more notoriety as time passes. 1989 Topps #530 Nolan Ryan. In addition to the low population, this example graded out to be in PSA 10, gem mint condition. the more valuable the card. And many collectors already have figured that out. And, by default, its O-Pee-Chee cousin is also an incredibly desirable baseball card though it is much more difficult to find in top condition. The hype surrounding Ken Griffey Jr. turned out to be well-placed as the legendary slugger went on to a Hall of Fame career. The availability of this set is much more limited than the regular issue Topps Traded set. However, he and Lee Smith both received the nod to Cooperstown when the Today's Game Era Committee selected them as part of the Hall of Fame Class of 2019. The only difference between the two is the color of the word Highlights, located in the lower left-hand corner of the card. PSA has seen just 196 cards from this entire set, which is practically none compared to other 80s sets. When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Check out this guide if you want to learn how to submit your cards to PSA. In addition to picking up his only career Gold Glove, he also snagged his first Silver Slugger and finished second in MVP voting to Milwaukee pitcher, Rollie Fingers. This Dick Perez-produced art was card #1 of the very first offering of his famous Diamond Kings cards that populated so many Donruss sets. Not a bad career for the kid who attended Cincinnatis Moeller High School, the same school that later graduated Ken Griffey Jr. Back before his 3,000 hits and 500 home runs, and back before Raffys life became complicated, there was this. For example, as of this writing, there are just under 700 examples of Gwynn's Topps rookie card that achieved PSA 10 grade status, while there are over 13,000 examples of Ken Griffey Jr.'s 1989 Topps Traded rookie graded in PSA 10 holders. Jackson was already a household name when his card appeared in the 1986 Topps Traded set. This drives the $2,000 price tag behind this legendary players card. The dual-photo fronts remain a favorite with many collectors. Many people often wonder if there are any 80s baseball cards worth money. No position player in the American League enjoyed a better all-around season as Rickey Henderson did in 1981. This set is one of the rarest Topps sets ever produced, with less than 100 of each card known today. This isnt even Cals first Topps card that appears elsewhere on this list but it was more challenging, and more expensive, to secure after its release in late 1982. Unlike his regular 81 Topps RC, the then future Hall of Famer is pictured on his own card, another gem from the ground-breaking 1981 Topps Traded set. There is, however, a big market for older baseball cards and other sports cards (generally cards manufactured before 1980). Interestingly, Ryan's highest single-season strikeout total in nine years with the Houston Astros was only 270 in 1987, a year in which he also led the NL with a 2.76 ERA. So they printed the cards with the words F**k Face. So far, PSA has graded 265 of the Platinum, with only 17 making the PSA 10 grade. But this, the only RC of future Hall of Famer Raines pictured alone, is about as close as it gets. The white lettering with pink Two For the Title came from factory sets. Nobody knew it at the time, but the presses ran day and night for 87 Topps Baseball. If youre a Barry Bonds collector or an 80s baseball card collector, O-Pee-Chee cards are the way to go. Valenzuela appeared alongside Joe Perconte and Mike Scioscia in the base 1981 Topps set as the three "Dodgers Future Stars" on card #302. What makes 1980s baseball cards so great? Back in 1983, the bubble in the baseball card market had already started to form as Donruss and Fleer had both entered the market in 1981 and all three companies started to boost production. But, given its popularity, it became one of the most frequently-submitted cards to third-party grading companies like PSA as collectors sought to capitalize on the high values. A 1982 Topps Orioles Future Stars base set card will make a great addition to any authentic Baltimore Orioles fan collection. Top 100 cards of the decade of 80s and not one of the king, Nolan Ryan? This means less than 4% of the population are in gem mint condition cases. In 2007, he was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility and currently has the fifth-highest voting percentage (98.53%). Predating his other MLB cards by a year, the 1984 Fleer Update Roger Clemens is legitimately rare in top condition. He threw fastballs over 100mph consistently and even into his 40s. He won 10 Gold Glove awards, batted an even .300 over 17 years and finished less than 300 hits shy of 3,000. Of those 22 submitted, 14 were found in mint condition, with just 1 being gem mint. But Fleer did have a moment of lapsed competency when it spelled Graig Nettles name as Craig (with a C) on the card back. The total Topps count is at 13,308! Since most collectors in this hobby tend to draw the line on the "vintage era" at 1980, many consider theRickey Henderson rookie card to be the last big-name vintage rookie. For those who dont know, Bill Ripken had the word F**k Face boldly written in black sharpie on the bottom of his bat. The third of Donnie Baseballs three 1984 Rookie Cards from the major manufacturers of the time. Of those 130 steals, he was caught just 17 times. To be fair, though, his innings pitched totals in Houston weren't as steep as those during his time in California, and his 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings in 1987 was the highest mark of his career. However, print quantities of 1983 Topps weren't at the same levels they were by the late 80s and early 90s. The 1980s marked a period of rapid interest in baseball cards. It includes the O-Pee-Chee logo in the upper right in place of the Topps logo. Fleer was ahead of the curve for this one, as well as card #10 on this very list. This Topps RC was, and is, Rynos card of choice as he played a near-flawless second base throughout his Hall of Fame career on the North Side. He made one All-Star appearance and never sniffed more than 136 hits in a single season. In any given year, an O-Pee-Chee card is usually distinguished from its Topps cousin because of the O-Pee-Chee trademark appearing on the front or back of the card. We love the '80s (and '90s) baseball cards: The top 15 sets of the era | Sporting News KAN MIN 1:10p -250 BAL DET 3:40p -127 CHC MIA 3:40p -120 PIT WAS 4:05p -124 SEA TOR 4:07p -108 ATL NYM 4:10p. And it did. Check out my list of the Most Valuable Baseball Cards from the 1980s. And as you can see, it's value has held up very well over time. Roger Clemens played for 24 seasons in the MLB and put up some monster stats during his career. This is, hands down, his best rookie card to date. And, like Clemens, that might cut into the value and prestige of his 1985 Fleer Rookie Card to a . Easily one of the most iconic baseball cards of the 1980s, theDon Mattingly rookie card is the clear headliner of the 1984 Topps set. But how do you mistake a Hall of Fame righthander with a merely decent lefthander named Floyd Bannister? And it was a more affordable option than the 84 Fleer Update an important fact to budget-conscious collectors. Also, this seems to be available in fewer quantities than Topps and Donruss Clemens efforts in 1985. But, unlike the Tiffany cards, O-Pee-Chee cards weren't necessarily premium in quality.
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