Top 5 Most Valuable Baseball Cards

These cards were mainly aimed at children although some adults would purchase them for themselves. They were cheap to make and cheap to purchase which is what made them so popular at first. Over the years these cards lost significance and it was not until the 1980s that there was a renewed interest in collecting them.

Today the most expensive baseball card around what sold for over $2 million. This shows that the most valuable baseball cards are certainly worth having and that is why so many collectors will go out of their way to purchase them.

Top 5 Most Valuable

The top five most valuable baseball cards are –

1909 Honus Wagner baseball card T206 White Border #366. This baseball card is worth $250,000 - $2,000,000 depending on the condition of the card. There are thought to be only 50 of these cards in existence and there is a lot of excitement when one comes up at auction.

1914 Ty Cobb baseball card E145-1 #30. This card is estimated to be worth $4000-$6000 and it is widely sought after by collectors.

1933 Nap Lajoie baseball card Goudey  #106. This card is so expensive as it was not included in the original Goudey set and collectors could only get it by writing in to ask for one. The card is worth $20,000 - $30,000.

1914 at Joe Jackson baseball card E145-1 #103. This card is popular as in 1919 Jackson was banned from baseball as it was believed that he was one of the people involved in throwing the World Series. The card is worth $5,000 - $9,000.

1952 Mickey Mantle baseball card Topps #311. Many think of this baseball card as the one that really kick-started the excitement of collecting baseball cards in the 1980s. The card itself is thought to be worth $12,000 - $18,000.

There are obviously many more baseball cards that are very expensive although these are the top five that many collectors will talk about. As times change different baseball cards become popular and are seen as collector’s items, however those listed will always be classed as being some of the most expensive in the world.

Why Are they Valuable?

There are different reasons why a baseball card would be valuable. In some cases it is that there were only limit limited number of a particular card produced whereas in others it was due to the success of a particular team. However the most common reason as to why a particular baseball card would be valuable is the player that it is of. As with any sport there are baseball players that go up and down in popularity, and there are some, such as Mickey Mantle who was popular for his entire career. The baseball cards of these popular people tend to attract the most amount of money and are highly sought after by collectors. Popular players also tend to have made the most impact on the fans in other areas which is what makes owning baseball cards with them on them so important to collectors.

Another reason why certain baseball cards are so valuable is that as an actual product they are quite throwaway. They were cheaply produced en masse and the majority of people who have bought these cards when they were first introduced were children. These children will have played with the cards and discarded them without really thinking about their potential value. As a result there are thousands of baseball cards that have been lost and destroyed simply because they were not classed as being valuable at the time.

What Can Affect Baseball Card Price?

The main issue that can drastically affect the price of the value of all baseball cards is their condition. Cards that are in mint condition will sell for the highest amount. Cards that are worn or damaged in any way will, obviously not fetch the same kind of price. Many people who are interested in collecting baseball cards will use grading standards for the cards. These standards will help other people to know what kind of condition in individual card is in.

Many of these grading standards are based on the guidelines that were created by Beckett and they use initials to determine the grade of a card. For example if a baseball card was graded as NMMT it would be a card that was mint condition or as close as possible to it. Cards that are graded as Ink, Stain or Hole are the worst ones of all and will have little or no real monetary value based on their particular damage.

Learn More About Baseball Cards Online

Baseball Cards 101

At the Baseball Cards 101 website which you can visit here http://www.baseballcards101.com/most-valuable-card.htm you will be able to find out more about the most valuable baseball card in the world and more. This website is packed full of information for baseball card fans and is certainly worth visiting if you would like to know more about this popular hobby. The website is split into different categories that are really easy to understand and make very interesting reading.

Baseball Almanac

On the Baseball Almanac site you will be able to take a closer look at the different sets of baseball cards that are valuable. The website is located here http://www.baseball-almanac.com/baseball_cards/baseball_cards.php and it is an absolute must for anyone who is interested in collecting baseball cards. If you are a collector sites like this are useful as they show all of the cards that should be in a particular set.

Baseball Cards Only

On the Baseball Cards Only website you can take a look at some of the rarer baseball cards that they have on offer to sell. The website can be found here http://bbonly.com/ and it has some excellent information on grading baseball cards, a baseball cards value list and much more. So if you are new to the hobby or an old hand you will find plenty to read and look out on this fantastic website.