Rare Baseball Cards From History

What It's Worth: $12.6 million and up
Why It's Worth So Much: New York Yankee Mickey Mantle's 1952 Topps card holds top value. Last, it sold for $12.6 million, becoming “the most world’s most expensive piece of sports memorabilia.” Many were made; few exist now because hundreds went into the Atlantic Ocean. Topps was just over a year old when its second card series failed with buyers, kids who bought them for a penny at carnivals. After the cards sat seven years in a warehouse collecting dust, Topps owner Sy Berger dumped hundreds of boxes of cards in the Atlantic Ocean, creating the second most valuable baseball card.

What It's Worth: $3 million and up
Why It's Worth So Much:The 1909 Honus Wagneris the Holy Grail of baseball cards. It is extremely rare: At most 200 were printed, and only about 60 remain globally. The American Tobacco Company made the cards, but Wagner, a Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop, stopped production for one of two reasons: He did not want his name and face linked to tobacco because many fans were kids, or he lacked payment for using his likeness.

Either way, he halted production, creating the most valuable baseball card in the world. Even damaged ones sell for six figures (a "2" sold for $1.2 million in 2019, and the highest price ever paid for a Wagner reached $7.25 million in 2022.

What It's Worth: $660,000 and up
Why It's Worth So Much: "Shoeless" Joe Jackson's official rookie card is one of few made while he played as an outfielder in the MLB. Few of these cards exist, and those at auction are not in great shape. Even though it lacked mint condition, one sold for $667,189 in 2016.

What It's Worth:$612,000 and up
Why It's Worth So Much: The Nolan Ryan rookie card is not extremely rare, but those in top shape with no printing flaws are highly collectible and hard to find. Depicting the young New York Mets pitcher, Nolan Ryan rookie cardsissued by Topps command high demand, and even lower-quality cards fetch a few thousand dollars at auction. Demand keeps rising for these cards, which can reach six or seven figures in "gem mint" condition.

What It's Worth: $588,000 and up
Why It's Worth So Much: Like his 1952 Topps card, the 1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle card commands high prices. Kids collected these, played with them widely, and printed them poorly, so finding a high-grade collectible is difficult. Still, it happened. A near-mint card graded "9" sold for $588,000 in the spring of 2019.

What It's Worth: $575,000 and up
Why It's Worth So Much: A Babe Ruth rookie cardThis is a high-value collectible. Ruth plays for the Baltimore Orioles in the minor leagues. Fewer than 10 copies exist.Only 10 copies exist.Ten copies exist, and they rarely hit the auction block. In 2012, a card in "good" shape sold for $575,000. If one surfaces in "gem mint" condition, it could fetch a million dollars or more.

What It's Worth:Starts at $470,000.
Why It's Worth So Much: A 1955 Topps Roberto Clemente rookie card sold for $478,000.$478,000.It sold in near-mint condition (grade "9") in 2016. Kids collected these cards, trading them or sticking them in bicycle spokes. In 2015, another Pittsburgh Pirates rookie card in the same shape sold for $310,700. Chris Ivy, director of Sports Collectibles Auctions at Heritage, said, "This is a high-grade example of a very famous baseball card of one of the most legendary players to ever put on an MLB uniform."

What It's Worth:Starts at $350,000.
Why It's Worth So Much: This is the only officially recognized rookie card of Hank Aaron, then an outfielder for the Milwaukee Braves. Finding one printed correctly and in perfect shape is hard. Kids loved this card and traded it.Of the over 3,000 Aaron cardsjust over 20 have been graded in mint condition. Only two of those were "gem mint." A gem mint card sold for $357,594 in 2012. Near-mint cards sell for $10,000 to $200,000.

What It's Worth:Starts at $225,000 to $500,000 and up.
Why It's Worth So Much: Joe Doyle, a pitcher for the New York Highlanders, had a collectible error. The card shows Doyle winding up to pitch with "N.Y. NAT'L" next to his name. Doyle played in the American League, not the National League. The card was fixed and reissued; only a few wrong versions exist. Collectors have not seen mint cards, but finding one could raise the price a lot.

What It's Worth:Starts at $150,000.
Why It's Worth So Much: The name Pete RosePete Rose's gambling fame makes him controversial. However, most people agree he was a great player, and his cards are highly valued. His 1963 rookie card with the Cincinnati Reds (shared with three others) sells well. Finding it in "gem mint" condition without printing errors is tough. A pristine card could cost $157,366 or more.

What It's Worth: Starts at $130,000.
Why It's Worth So Much: This card shows Babe as a young Boston Red Sox player before the team traded him to the Yankees. Two card versions exist: one with a blank back and one with ads. Both are getting harder to find.

In 2019, a rookie Babe was found stuffed inside a piano. auction. The owner found several baseball cards from that time. One card sold for $130,000. If a card like this has "gem mint" condition, it could sell for a million or more. Ruth's popularity never dropped, so its value only rises.

What It's Worth:$100,000 and up
Why It's Worth So Much: Nothing on this card was printed wrong, and it was not scarce then. This card is the oldest on this list, so its age makes it rare.Cap Anson, a first baseman. He played for the Chicago Cubs as the White Stockings and the Colts. He is considered one of baseball's great early hitters. A card in poor condition sells for about $1,000.to nearly $100,000or more for one in "gem mint" condition.

What It's Worth:$188,000 and up
Why It's Worth So Much: Philadelphia Athletics pitcher, much like Honus Wagner.Eddie PlankPlank avoided tobacco and did not want his name linked to the American Tobacco Company, which made his 1909 card. Experts suggest the cards likely had printing flaws, and the American Tobacco Company removed most of them. A "good" condition card sells for in thelow six figures.

What It's Worth: $30,000 and up
Why It's Worth So Much: How awesome would it be to find eight, not just one, Ty Cobb cards at once?Ty CobbOne family found these cards while discarding items at a great-grandparent's home. They hid the cards in a paper bag, thinking it was trash. Fifteen Detroit Tigers centerfielder cards were first thought to exist before this discovery. Seven cards sold for about $3 million. The family kept the eighth card as a reminder of their luck.