Baseball Card Market Report for November 17-23, 2022 - Top eBay Sales
PLUS -- Do black-bordered cards really carry a condition premium?
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Rookie Cards, “Rookie Cards”, and Icons
This week’s list of the top baseball card sales on eBay from last week (see bottom of post) is littered with the names we’ve all come to expect, from Ruth to Mays to Trout to Cobb to … Mantle.
Mostly Mantle, it seems, as The Mick appears six times.
In fact, he leads off with his 1952 Topps “rookie card” that’s not really an RC at all.
And then, later on, there are a couple of really low-grade 1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle rookie cards, which really are rookie cards.
And then there are some more mundane offerings, like 1963 Topps and 1956 Topps.
That last one, issued during Mantle’s own self-proclaimed favorite summer, isn’t really all that mundane, though.
It’s an almost perfect mash-up of 1950s Americana and The Mick in his prime.
It’s a bona fide hobby icon, the kind which never seems to go out of style.
And, speaking of hobby icons and hobby styles, I have a question …
Do High-Grade Black Borders Cost More?
If you’ve been around the hobby for any length of time, you can name a wide swath of card sets that suffer from condition sensitivities. Often, that affliction befalls black-bordered cards since they’re likely to show any little bit of wear in the form of chips, flaking, or fraying of the edges and corners.
You know the roll call: 1971 Topps, 1985 Donruss, 1991 Score, 1962 Topps, 1955 Bowman, and on and on.
Part of the mythos around these black-bordered cards and their condition-sensitive brethren is that you have to pay a real premium to land a card in nice shape.
But is that really true? Or do the condition-tough cards just follow a sort of standard price curve as you move up the condition ladder?
To find out, I identified five popular baseball cards from black-bordered and other condition-sensitive sets. For each one, I …
Found the most common grade (or one bump up) as per the PSA Population Report.
Found the value of the card in that condition, based on recent sales prices.
Found the value of the same card one condition lower — so, if my target card was a PSA 7, I notched down to a PSA 6 for this step.
Found the card value multiplier between the two prices, with the higher-grade price in the numerator and the lower-grade price in the denominator.
Identified a card of the same player in either another set from the same year (e.g., Donruss v. Topps), or from a set the year before or the year after the black-bordered set.
Found the values and multipliers for that second card in the same two conditions used for the target card.
Then, for each pair of cards, I found the Multiplier of Multipliers (MoM), with the condition-sensitive card’s multiplier in the numerator and the non-condition-sensitive card’s multiplier in the denominator.
That gives us an easy metric for comparison: if MoM > 1, that means people are paying a relative premium for higher grades of the supposed condition-sensitve cards.
Got all that?
All right, here are our lineup and results …
(Note: The following discussion contains affiliate links to eBay listings for the cards being discussed.)
1985 Donruss v. 1985 Topps
Donruss followed up its super popular 1984 set with these black-bordered beauties that helped Big D keep applying pressure to Topps at the top of the market. The Eric Davis rookie card was one of the hottest cards in both sets through the rest of the 1980s and into the 1990s.
1985 Donruss Eric Davis (#325) - PSA 9
Condition: PSA 9
Value: $25
PSA 8 Value: $15
Multiplier: 1.67
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1985 Topps Eric Davis (#627) - PSA 9
Condition: PSA 9
Value: $40
PSA 8 Value: $15
Multiplier: 2.67
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Multiplier of Multipliers (MoM): 0.63
1971 Topps v. 1970 Topps
The 1971 Topps set was the original condition nightmare for most collectors, and by the time of the hobby boom in the 1980s, everyone knew you could expect white spots and chipped boarders on most of the 1971s. And Pete Rose, of course, was and is one of the most popular players of the era.
1971 Topps Pete Rose (#100) - PSA 7
Condition: PSA 7
Value: $350
PSA 6 Value: $100
Multiplier: 3.5
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1970 Topps Pete Rose (#580) - PSA 7
Condition: PSA 7
Value: $170
PSA 6 Value: $80
Multiplier: 2.13
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Multiplier of Multipliers (MoM): 1.64
1962 Topps v. 1961 Topps
The 1962s don’t have black borders, but they present many of the same problems — chipping and pitting, in particular. Those who pulled these first-run may have scoffed when newbies complained about the 1971s, but everybody wanted (wants) a Mickey Mantle card.
1962 Topps Mickey Mantle (#200) - PSA 7
Condition: PSA 7
Value: $3200
PSA 6 Value: $900
Multiplier: 3.56
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1961 Topps Mickey Mantle (#300) - PSA 7
Condition: PSA 7
Value: $1550
PSA 6 Value: $775
Multiplier: 2
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Multiplier of Multipliers (MoM): 1.78
1955 Bowman v. 1954 Bowman
Even before the 1962, Bowman rode off into the sunset on the wood-bordered horse of their 1955 set, with each card simulating a TV set showcasing each player. Not only did these babies flake and chip like their descendants, the borders also tended peel away from the cardstock. Bonus!
1955 Bowman Gil Hodges (#158) - PSA 7
Condition: PSA 7
Value: $175
PSA 6 Value: $50
Multiplier: 3.5
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1954 Bowman Gil Hodges (#138) - PSA 7
Condition: PSA 7
Value: $120
PSA 6 Value: $75
Multiplier: 1.6
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Multiplier of Multipliers (MoM): 2.19
1971 Topps v. 1972 Topps
Back to the 1971s for another go-round, this time with Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente and a comparison to a later set (rather than an earlier one, as with Rose).
1971 Topps Roberto Clemente (#630) - PSA 7
Condition: PSA 7
Value: $675
PSA 6 Value: $300
Multiplier: 2.25
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1972 Topps Roberto Clemente (#309) - PSA 7
Condition: PSA 7
Value: $200
PSA 6 Value: $135
Multiplier: 1.48
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Multiplier of Multipliers (MoM): 1.52
—
So, what do we see here?
Well, in all but one case, the card that we perceive to be tougher from a condition standpoint does indeed draw a relative premium when compared to its more “common” counterpart.
The MoMs are fairly tightly bunched for those cards, too, ranging from 1.52 to 2.19.
But what about the outlier?
That’s the Eric Davis rookie card, which is the only in-year comparison on our list. In this case, the Topps version handily downs the Donruss version, condition toughness be darned. I suspect we’d see this Topps preference in a lot of other cards, and it’s something the might be fun to dig into later on.
For now, though, our limited sampling here really does seem to point to a solid market for condition-tough cards, with the premiums to match.
And speaking of big prices, better get your premium machine warmed up if you want to play with the boys among the …
Top Baseball Card Sales on eBay for November 17-23, 2022
(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
Most expensive hockey cards sold in the last 30 days
Now, on with the show …
1952 topps mickey mantle rookie card 311
Selling Price: $26,363
Date Sold: 11/22/2022
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T206 SETBREAK Ty Cobb Green Portrait HOF Detroit Piedmont 150 Subjects SGC 4
Selling Price: $19,655
Date Sold: 11/22/2022
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1955 Topps Baseball Roberto Clemente ROOKIE #164 PSA 7 PIRATES HOF NM SET BREAK
Selling Price: $15,300
Date Sold: 11/17/2022
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2019 Bowman Chrome Gold Refractor Wander Franco RC /50 BGS 9.5 w/ 10 AUTO
Selling Price: $12,322
Date Sold: 11/21/2022
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T206 SETBREAK Ty Cobb Bat On Shoulder HOF Detroit Piedmont 150 Subjects SGC 5
Selling Price: $12,077
Date Sold: 11/22/2022
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T206 SETBREAK Walter Johnson Portrait HOF Washington Piedmont 150 Subjects SGC 5
Selling Price: $11,655
Date Sold: 11/22/2022
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2019 Bowman Chrome Gold Refractor Wander Franco RC Rookie AUTO 19/50 PSA 9
Selling Price: $11,100
Date Sold: 11/21/2022
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1952 Topps #261 Willie Mays - PSA 5 (EX)
Selling Price: $10,834
Date Sold: 11/19/2022
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1922 E121 AMERICAN CARAMEL BABE RUTH SGC 1 FRESHLY GRADED CENTERED RARE HOF CARD
Selling Price: $9,676
Date Sold: 11/20/2022
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T206 SETBREAK Ty Cobb Red Portrait HOF Detroit Sweet Caporal 350 Subjects SGC 4
Selling Price: $8,356
Date Sold: 11/22/2022
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1953 TOPPS #82 MICKEY MANTLE PSA 5 EX VERY SHARP LOOKING MID-GRADE CARD!!!
Selling Price: $8,308
Date Sold: 11/20/2022
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T206 SETBREAK Ty Cobb Bat Off Shoulder HOF Detroit Sweet Caporal 350 SGC 4
Selling Price: $7,989
Date Sold: 11/22/2022
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1967 Topps ~ #444 George Smith ~ Boston Red Sox Signed Card
Selling Price: $7,600
Date Sold: 11/19/2022
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1963 TOPPS #200 MICKEY MANTLE PSA 8 NM-MT
Selling Price: $7,200
Date Sold: 11/21/2022
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2020 Bowman Chrome Jasson Dominguez 1st 1/5 Red Shimmer RC BGS 9.5 9
Selling Price: $7,099
Date Sold: 11/20/2022
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1955 Topps Sandy Koufax HOF ROOKIE RC #123 PSA 7 NM
Selling Price: $6,500
Date Sold: 11/20/2022
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1955 Topps Baseball COMPLETE SET 210/210 Clemente Koufax Killebrew HOF RC
Selling Price: $6,400
Date Sold: 11/21/2022
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2016 Bowman Chrome Oneil Cruz RC Superfractor 1st 1/1 PSA 9 Oneal error
Selling Price: $6,351
Date Sold: 11/20/2022
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1955 Topps Baseball Sandy Koufax ROOKIE #123 PSA 7 DODGERS HIGH GRADE SET BREAK
Selling Price: $6,350
Date Sold: 11/17/2022
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1951 Bowman #253 Mickey Mantle RC Rookie HOF SGC 1 " ICONIC CARD "
Selling Price: $6,300
Date Sold: 11/21/2022
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1951 Bowman #253 Mickey Mantle RC Rookie HOF CSG 1.5 " ICONIC CARD "
Selling Price: $6,089
Date Sold: 11/17/2022
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2019 Bowman Chrome Julio Rodriguez BGS 9.5 Atomic Refractor /100
Selling Price: $6,000
Date Sold: 11/23/2022
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1956 TOPPS #135 MICKEY MANTLE GRAY BACK PSA 7 NM VERY NICE EYE APPEAL !!!!
Selling Price: $6,000
Date Sold: 11/20/2022
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🔥 2020 Topps Definitive Dual Auto Collection TROUT OHTANI /10. PSA 10 Pop 1 🔥
Selling Price: $6,000
Date Sold: 11/18/2022
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1986 Topps Traded Tiffany Barry Bonds RC PSA 10 GEM MINT
Selling Price: $5,300
Date Sold: 11/20/2022
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1955 Topps #164 Roberto Clemente RC - PSA 6 (EX-MT)
Selling Price: $5,100
Date Sold: 11/19/2022
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2018 Topps Update Baseball Factory Sealed 12-Box Hobby Case
Selling Price: $5,001
Date Sold: 11/21/2022
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1993 Topps Derek Jeter 1992 Draft Pick Rookie Card RC # 98 Yankees HOF.
Selling Price: $5,000
Date Sold: 11/18/2022
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2022 Topps Allen & Ginter Nolan Ryan & Roger Clemens Dual Auto Relic Book #5/10
Selling Price: $5,000
Date Sold: 11/22/2022
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