Baseball Card Market Report for May 18-24, 2023 - Top eBay Sales

PLUS -- Do "fun" baseball cards carry more value in the long run?

May 26, 2023

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They Call Him “Lucky”

There’s an old joke about a poster asking for help finding a lost dog.

The author of said poster describes the pooch as having suffered all manner of maladies, from patches of mange to a lost leg to a missing ear to a misshapen tail, and more.

The punchline is that the dog answers to the name of “Lucky.”

That joke could also describe the card at the top of our list of big sellers on eBay from last week (see bottom of post).

It’s a PSA 1.5 card with stains and creases and banged-up corners and print lines … but it sold for more than $31,000 on the strength of 42 bids.

Yeah, it’s a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle, so it does have that going for it.

All in all, a pretty fun card to look at.

Which leads into this week’s question …

Are “Fun” Baseball Cards More Valuable?

Today kicks off Memorial Day weekend in the U.S.

It’s a time we honor our fallen military heroes, specifically on Monday.

But Memorial Day is also the unofficial start of Summer. And Summer is all about having fun, making this one of the more festive weekends on the calendar.

Know what else is fun? Baseball cards.

Some more than others.

To wit, a few years back, I put together a couple of articles over on WaxPackGods.com showcasing some of the most iconic “fun” cards around.

You can check out those pieces here and here, in case you’re interested.

Some of the fun cards running around out there have become downright hobby classics.

But…does that mean they’re extra valuable?

I decided to find out, using a familiar tactic…

First, I picked out 10 great, fun baseball cards. Then, for each one, I found the Card Value Multiplier to get an idea of how its value compares to commons from the same set in the same condition.

(The following section contains affiliate links to eBay listing for the cards being discussed.)

Here is what I found:

1952 Topps Gus Zernial (#31) - PSA 6

Value: $160
Common Value: $75
Multiplier: 2.13

Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)

1954 Topps Ed and John O'Brien (#139) - PSA 6

Value: $150
Common Value: $35
Multiplier: 4.29

Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)

1966 Topps Don Mossi (#74) - PSA 8

Value: $40
Common Value: $20
Multiplier: 2

Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)

1976 Topps Kurt Bevacqua Bubble Champ (#564) - PSA 9

Value: $80
Common Value: $6
Multiplier: 13.33

Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)

1983 Donruss San Diego Chicken (#645) - PSA 10

Value: $35
Common Value: $5
Multiplier: 7

Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)

1984 Fleer Glenn Hubbard (#182) - PSA 9

Value: $300
Common Value: $5
Multiplier: 60

Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)

1986 Fleer Mickey Hatcher (#396) - PSA 9

Value: $125
Common Value: $5
Multiplier: 25

Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)

1988 Fleer Tim Flannery (#582) - PSA 9

Value: $5
Common Value: $5
Multiplier: 1

Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)

1989 ProCards Keith Comstock (#14) - PSA 9

Value: $60
Common Value: $5
Multiplier: 12

Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)

1993 Stadium Club Oscar Azocar (#257) - PSA 10

Value: $3
Common Value: $3
Multiplier: 1

Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)

—

Overall, eight of our ten fun cards sell for more (at least in these grades) than commons from the same set in the same condition.

And some of those silly cards win the battle handily. The Glenn Hubbard “snake” card is the winner in that regard, checking in at about 60 times the going rate for a high-grade 1984 Fleer common.

For most of these players, there’d be no reason for their cards to be worth more than common prices if it weren’t for the particular fun factor these pasteboards bring to the table.

Which just goes to show that more than just on-field performance factors into the supply side of the hobby’s supply-demand equation.

And, while we’re on the topic of demand and prices, let’s jump into the list of…

Top Baseball Card Sales on eBay for May 18-24, 2023

(Quick note — this list contains affiliate links to the original eBay listings.)

If you want to see updated 30-day market toppers anytime, we have a couple of resources over on WaxPackGods.com:

Most expensive baseball cards sold in the last 30 days
Most expensive football cards sold in the last 30 days
Most expensive basketball cards sold in the last 30 days

Now, on with the show …

Baseball Card Values Newsletter

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