20 Most Expensive Baseball Cards of All Time

A PSA 10 1956 Topps Mantle was sold for a staggering $382,400 in August 2016, reports Old Sports Cards. The card has a portrait of famous American professional baseball player Mickey Charles Mantle.

Mickey Mantle, better known by his moniker the Commerce Comet or the Mick, was a Major League Baseball player who played the entirety of his MLS career with the New York Yankees. He was born on October 10, 1931, in Spavinaw, Oklahoma.

He played in the MLS for seventeen years as a center fielder, right fielder, and first baseman. Mantle is considered one of the greatest switch hitters in the baseball industry and was one the greatest offensive threat in baseball history. In 1956, Mantle won the Triple Crown and hit a massive fifty-two home runs. 

To summarize his achievements, he won the Most Valuable Player award three times and a Gold Glove winner once. He holds the World Series record for the maximum number of home runs at eighteen.

The 1909 T206 Ty Cobb card is among the four Ty Cobb cards in the prestigious T206 set. However, this particular card stands tall by pushing behind the infamous T206 Honus Wagner.

The card showcases the portrait of the famous Ty Cobb on a red background, an advertisement for his own tobacco brand, ‘Ty Cobb, King of the Smoking Tobacco World.’ There are nineteen Cobb cards, but the A PSA 3.5 T206 ‘Cobb-Cobb’ got sold for a staggering $408,000 in February 2018.

The Georgia Peach, Ty Cobb, was an American baseball player who played in Major League Baseball in the early 1900s. Cobb started his career in 1905 and played for twenty-three years.

He only played for two teams; Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Athletics. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936 by obtaining two hundred and twenty-two votes out of two hundred and twenty-six votes.

Cobb was ranked third on the Sporting News’ Baseball’s Hundred Greatest Players in 1999. His MLB statistics include a Batting average of .366, four thousand hundred and eighty-nine hits, 117 home runs, and 897 stolen bases.

The PSA 3 1909 T206 Doyle was sold for a massive $414,750 in 2020. However, the reason behind the card’s whopping value is a mistake.

A printing error occurred when the card was included in the legendary 1909 T206 set. The original card was supposed to say American on the bottom but instead got printed with ‘Nat’I.’ This served as the reason for making the collectors go crazy on his card. Even though the printing mistake was found, ten misprints survived.

Nicknamed, the Slow Joe Doyle, He was born on November 21, 1881, in Clay Center, Kansas, United States. He was a very slow-working pitcher and took a lot of time between pitches. He played in the Major Baseball Leagues for the New York Highlanders and Cincinnati Reds from 1906 to 1910.

Doyle’s Major League Baseball statistics include a 22-21 Win-Loss Record, a 2.85 run average, and 209 strikeouts. 

A PSA 9 mint copy of the 1932 U.S. Caramel Baby Ruth was sold for $432,000 in April 2019. The reason behind the card’s astonishing price was its condition.

It isn't easy to find such rare cards in good shape, and they easily get stained. Another reason for such a high price of the card is the player himself.

George Herman ‘Babe’ Ruth Jr was an American professional baseball player who played in Major League Baseball for twenty-two seasons starting from 1914 to 1935. Ruth was nicknamed ‘the Bambino’ and ‘the Sultan of Swat.’

He started his career at the Boston Red Sox but gathered worldwide success after joining the New York Yankees as a slugging outfielder. Ruth is considered the greatest basketball player of all time, and he was one of the first five members to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936.

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A PSA 8 copy of the card was sold for $432,000 in November 2018. The card featured the portrait of Leroy ‘Satchel’ Paige, who was the most destructing hurler in Negro Leagues history. He played for a massive fifty years and retired at the age of fifty-nine.

Paige made his professional debut in 1926 with the Chattanooga Black Lookouts of the Negro Southern League. He did not play in Major League Soccer until the age of 42. He joined Cleveland Indians in 1948 and became the oldest player ever to make his MLS debut.

Paise was the first African-American pitcher to play in the American League and the seventh black player to star in a Major League Baseball game. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971 and became the first electee of the Negro League Committee to do so.

The PSA 9 1915 Cracker Jack Cobb was sold for $432,000 in May 2016, as per Old Sports Cards. The design of this card is somewhat similar to the 1914 Cracker Jack, but 1915 is more expensive.

Cobb’s cards are recipients of the highest bidding on the market. He was also a top-class era during his period and was feared by other teams.

A PSA 9 1952 Topps Willie Mays was sold for $478,000 in May 2016. It is one of the most sought-after cards of that time.

The three-day sports auction managed by Heritage Auctions sold a total of $11 million worth of memorabilia, with the Wille Mays card being the most valuable item. It was a part of the auction that took place.

Willie Howard Mays Jr is a former professional baseball player who played as a center fielder in Major League Basketball.

Willie is regarded as one of the greatest baseball players ever to enter the field. He was born on May 6, 1931, in Westfield, Alabama. He is the oldest living member of the Basketball Hall of Fame at the age of 91.

Mays started his career in 1948 by playing for the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro League and joined the New York team of Major League Baseball in 1951.

He retired from professional baseball in 1973 from the New York Mets. Mays is the winner of twenty-four times All-star, one time World Series, and four times NL home run leader.

A PSA 9 1955 Topps Clemente was sold for a whopping $478,000 in February 2018. Roberto Clemente was a Puerto-Rican professional baseball player who played in Major League Soccer.

Clemente played in the league for eighteen seasons for the Pittsburgh Pirates as a right fielder. He was a smooth all-rounder of the game who won the All-Star fifteen times and became World Series champion in 1960 and 1971.

After his demise, Clemente was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973. He was heavily involved in charity work and frequently delivered food and baseball equipment to the needy.

A PSA 9 1909 T206 ‘bat off the shoulder’ of Cobb was sold for $488,425 in August 2016. The T206 models are over a hundred years old, and this particular card is one of the four Cobb cards in the prestigious T206 set.

The American baseball player Cobb was a Triple Crown champion in 1909, twelve times AL batting champion, four times AL RBI leader, six times AL stolen base leader, and many more over his illustrious career as one of the greatest baseball players to have ever lived.

A PSA 2 1914 Baltimore News Ruth was sold for $575,000 in 2012. It is one of the rare ten copies which features Ruth as a pre-rookie.

The other versions of the card are found in red and blue tint versions of this one and showcase Ruth in his minor league Baltimore Orioles uniform.

Ruth made numerous public appearances in his later years, particularly to promote American efforts in World War II. He was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer in 1946, and two years later, the disease claimed his life.

1910 T210 Old Mill of Joe Jackson was sold for $600,000 in the year 2019.

Joe Jackson was one of the most demanded outfielders of his time who played in Major League baseball. In the early 1900s, he made the position of the fourth-highest scorer in the history of MLB.

His fans still remember him as Shoeless Joe, and his popularity has not ended even after seventy years of his death. He began his Major League Baseball journey in 1908 and started playing for the Philadelphia Athletics.

He played his last game on September 27, 1970, for the Chicago White Sox. Over his career, Jackson’s batting average was .356, hit 1772, a total of fifty-four home runs. Similarly, he became the World Series champion in 1917 and got inducted into the Cleveland Guardians Hall of Fame.

A PSA 10 1968 Topps Nolan Ryan was sold for $612,359 in August 2016. The card was sold for a staggering price thanks to being graded as the only PSA 10.

Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr is an American former professional baseball player. He was a righthanded pitcher who used to throw pitches over one hundred miles per hour.

Nolan started his career with the New York Mets in Major League Baseball in 1966. He played for three more teams after saying goodbyes to the Mets, including California Angels, Houston Astros, and Texas Rangers.

Nolan won All-Star eight times, the World Series championship one time, the Angels Hall of Fame, the Houston Hall of Fame, the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame, and many more.

A PSA 8 T206 Sherry Magee was sold for $660,000 in September 2018. But the reason the card is worth so expensive is another T206 error.

Magee’s name was first spelled as Magie by the printing team, which made the card be sold at a huge price. Still, Magee was an American left fielder in Major League Baseball who started his professional career in 1904 for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Magee was born on August 6, 1884, in Clarendon, Pennsylvania. He played for two other clubs after Philadelphia Phillies, such as Boston Braves and Cincinnati Reds. Sherry became a World Series champion in 1919 and the NL batting champion in 1910.

The famous rookie card of the legendary baseball outfielder Shoeless Joe Jackson was sold for a massive $667,149 in August 2016.

The PSA 8 1909 American Caramel E90-1 Jackson is one of the rare cards in baseball. Joe Jackson played professionally in the early 1900s.

Joe played for the Philadelphia Athletics from 1908 to 1909 and joined the Cleveland Naps and Indians from 1910 to 1915. He completed his professional baseball career in 1920 with Chicago White Sox.

Over his illustrious career, Joe won the World Series Championship in 1917, AL triples leader in 1912,  1916,1920, and was inducted into the Cleveland Guardians Hall of Fame.

All of the other baseball cards were sold publicly for whopping prices, but the PSA 7 Plank was sold privately for a price of $700,000 in 2012.

The card has a portrait of the famous Eddie Plank. Often referred to as the ‘Gettysburg Eddie,’ he was a professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball in the early 1900s.

Plank was the first ever left-handed pitcher to land a win on two hundred games and is currently ranked third in all-time wins among the all-time left-handed players by winning three hundred twenty-six games.

Plank started his Major League Baseball career with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1901 and contributed to the team until 1914. He then joined St. Louis Terriers and St. Louis Browns in 1915 and 1916, respectively.

Eddie’s career highlights include three World Series Championships, a Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame, and an Athletics Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946.

The PSA 10 1963 Topps Rose rookie card was sold for $717,000 in August 2016. Even though Pete is banked from baseball for life, he and his baseball card are as popular as ever.

There are 3,711 rookie cards of this legendary baseball player, but only one was graded as ‘Gem Mint.’ Nicknamed Charlie Hustle, Pete is an American former professional baseball player who played in Major League Baseball from 1963 to 1986.

Rose started his career with the Cincinnati Reds in 1963 and played for the team until 1978. His MLB statistics include a Batting average of .303, hits of 4256, home runs of 160, and a winning percentage of 525.

He played for two other teams, including Philadelphia Phillies and Montreal Expos. Pete has won the All-Star seventeen times, became the World Series Champion three times, two times Gold Glove Award, and many other accolades.

Babe Ruth's 1916 Sporting News rookie card may be the most significant rookie card ever made, given his prominence in baseball.

The 1916 Ruth was "a collector business card," in contrast to the other items on this list, which the American Tobacco Company solely employed for promotional purposes.

The printers made the cards black on the back, which made other businesses include their advertisements on the back. Thanks to that, The PSA 7 was sold for a massive $717,000 in August 2016.

The Sultan of Swat was among the most talented baseball players in the 1900s. He was also famous for his diet, which included two porterhouse steaks, two heads of lettuce, four hot dogs, two apple pies with ice cream, two order cottage-fried potatoes, and four colas in a six-hour period time.

Mickey Mantle is listed in one of the most expensive baseball cards beside one. A PSA 9 1951 Bowman Mantle was sold for $750,000 in April 2018.

Even though Mantle is no more with us, he enjoyed his popularity to the fullest, even among baseball card collectors. He was the five-time American League runs leader in 1954, 1956, 1957, 19581, and 1960.

Similarly, he was a four-time American League home runs leader in 1955, 1956, 1958, and 1960.

A 1909 T206 Honus Wagner's card was sold for a massive $7.5 million in 2022. The card was sold in a private sale organized by Goldin Auctions and even topped the industry record of another copy of the card at $3.12 million.

Popularly referred to as Hans Wagner, Wagner was as kind as he was a beast on the field. Wagner did not allow the American Tobacco Company to produce more of his cards to prevent children from buying cigarettes to get hold of his card. Some even suggest that he wanted to get paid for his game, not for a card.

The most expensive and rare baseball card of all time is the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card. The 9.5 grade from grader SGC was sold for a staggering $12.6 million in August 2022.

Even though the Topps cards are worth millions, thousands of 1952 Topps Mantles were dumped into the Atlantic Ocean in 1963 to make space in the Topps warehouse.

The cards were not considered collectibles at the time. So, all the fishermen in the Atlantic Ocean might have a chance to become millionaires if they ever get their hands on the precious baseball cards of the legendary Mickey Mantle.

The late Mickey Mantle is still considered one of the greatest baseball players in history. The current generation considers him their ideal and hopes to become as good as him to make their baseball cards as impressive as his.

Mantle was inducted into the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in 1999 and got inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974. He is a legend for the New York Yankees, and the current worth of his card shows what a great player he was.