Baseball Card Market Report for October 26-November 1, 2023 - Top eBay Sales post

PLUS -- Checking in on 1978 Topps baseball cards

Nov 03, 2023

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It’s a (Dave) Cash Market

The first thing you might notice about our list of the most expensive baseball cards sold on eBay last week (bottom of post) is that it’s a little lighter than usual — fewer cards sold above five grand than we’ve seen lately, and fewer still reached five figures.

Even so, we get treated to a nice variety this week, from Mickey Mantle to Jackie Robinson to Derek Jeter to … Dave Cash.

Dave Cash? Yep, on a PSA 10 copy of his 1976 Topps card. Goes to show how much condition and grading means in today’s market.

And, speaking of condition and grading and the 1970, lets’ go…

Checking in on 1978 Topps Baseball Cards

Continuing our recent run of market check-ins for “old” baseball cards, this week we took on the 1978 Topps set over on YouTube:

Following up on that theme here in this space, I decided to look at the top of the set, valuewise, and how those cards have fared over the last few years.

So here’s a rundown of some of the most popular and most valuable 1978 Topps baseball cards, with approximate selling prices (per PSA’s Auction Prices Realized) for the most commonly-graded condition (PSA 9) both before and after the pandemic.

1978 Topps Nolan Ryan (#400) - PSA 9

2019 Value: $500
2023 Value: $2400
Profit/loss: $1900
% change: 380

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1978 Topps Eddie Murray (#36) - PSA 9

2019 Value: $500
2023 Value: $800
Profit/loss: $300
% change: 60

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1978 Topps Paul Molitor/Alan Trammell (#707) - PSA 9

2019 Value: $600
2023 Value: $1000
Profit/loss: $400
% change: 67

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1978 Topps George Brett (#100) - PSA 9

2019 Value: $165
2023 Value: $450
Profit/loss: $285
% change: 173

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1978 Topps Rod Carew (#580) - PSA 9

2019 Value: $90
2023 Value: $350
Profit/loss: $260
% change: 289

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1978 Topps Reggie Jackson (#200) - PSA 9

2019 Value: $90
2023 Value: $250
Profit/loss: $160
% change: 178

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1978 Topps Lou Whitaker (#704) - PSA 9

2019 Value: $135
2023 Value: $200
Profit/loss: $65
% change: 48

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1978 Topps Dale Murphy/Lance Parrish (#708) - PSA 9

2019 Value: $50
2023 Value: $125
Profit/loss: $75
% change: 150

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1978 Topps Thurman Munson (#60) - PSA 9

2019 Value: $50
2023 Value: $125
Profit/loss: $75
% change: 150

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1978 Topps Nolan Ryan (#6) - PSA 9

2019 Value: $25
2023 Value: $100
Profit/loss: $75
% change: 300

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1978 Topps Dave Parker (#560) - PSA 9

2019 Value: $75
2023 Value: $225
Profit/loss: $150
% change: 200

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So it’s a clean sweep across the board, with all of these cards riding high on the pandemic-era wave of hobby interest.

In fact, the average increase for these 11 cards from late 2019 to late 2023 is 164%, which means they more than double in value, with plenty of room to spare. And that’s not even considering where they peaked, mostly sometime in 2021.

The only cards that didn’t at least double were the big rookie cards from the set — Eddie Murray, Lou Whitaker, and Paul Molitor/Alan Trammell.

Maybe that’s an indication that they already had and inordinate “lead” on the other cards in the set, and that we saw some catch-up in action over the last few years.

If that’s the case, though, what to make of clubhouse leader Nolan Ryan, whose 1978 Topps cards exploded from already heady territory?

Well, he’s Nolan Ryan, for one thing. You know, sort of the Mickey Mantle of the mound for collectors of the 1980s and 1990s.

And he’s a blue-chipper, for another, and we’ve seen those all-time classic cards and players lap the market time after time.

Now for another list that features some blue-chippers…

Top Baseball Card Sales on eBay for October 26-November 1, 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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