Baseball cards are valuable antiques among baseball enthusiasts. One of the reasons behind this is they are expensive, hold memory, store value, and show passion for the game.
Since the beginning of the popularity of baseball games, each decade has witnessed some obsessed baseball cards around the time. The 1990s isn’t an exception. It also had some great, enthusiastic, expensive, and memorable baseball cards.
Today, I will show you and discuss 14 of the most valuable baseball cards 1990s, which will surely amaze you in various ways. They include their significance, price, memory, and more. So, why late? Let’s unleash and explore our inner desperation about the most valuable baseball cards in the 1990s.
Please, don’t go away. Otherwise, you can miss something interesting.
14 of the Most Valuable Baseball Cards 1990s – Highest $600,000
There were numerous baseball cards in the 1990s that got insanely popular among baseball stuff collectors. Even now, some of them are more expensive than at that time.
I have compiled a list of 14 cards. They are priceless, rare, and tempting for collectors. So, without further ado, let’s explore them in detail.
1. 1993 Derek Jeter Upper Deck SP Rookie Card Foil #279 – Highest $600,000
Can you believe that one of the 1993 Derek Jeter Upper Deck SP Rookie cards with PSA 10 sold at $600,000 in Goldin? This is insane, but this happened on 30th April 2022. Not only that but here are some other PSA 10 pricing of this card.
- 1993 Derek Jeter SP Rookie Card Foil Premier Prospects #279- $468,000 at PWCC on 6/16/2022
- 1993 Derek Jeter Upper Deck SP Rookie Card Foil #279- 276,000 at Goldin on 8/6/2022
- 1993 Derek Jeter Upper Deck SP Rookie Card Foil #279- 204,000 at Goldin on 12/17/2022
- 1993 Derek Jeter Upper Deck SP Rookie Card Foil #279- 204,000 at PWCC on 12/15/2022.
The Significance of This Baseball Card
However, there were more than 20,000 Derek Jeter Upper Deck submitted to PSA’s census, 22,029 PSA-graded items exactly. More than half of the cards are PSA 8s grade, 619 PSA 9s, and exactly 21 cards are PSA 10s grade.
Most of the others are less than PSA 8 grade, worth on average $100, PSA 9s $300, and PSA 10s worth $700. But, the craze of Derek Jeter and the rarity of the card pushed the PSA 10s grade price level to that insane. This card is among the most valuable 1990s baseball cards.
Aside from these, most of the Derek Jeter cards are worth, on average, $100 to $350.
By the way, do you know why this card is actually worth that high cost? Derek Jeter is one of the legendary batters who has a batting average of .310. Aside from this, he has 3,465 hits along with 260 home runs.
Derek Jeter is only one of 3 players who hit a home run at their 3000th hit. All in all, Jeter is 5 times World Series Championship holder, along with 5 times Gold Glove Awards.
His 14-time All-Star, 5-time Silver Slugger Awards, and New York Yankees No. 2 Retired, all are counted.
Alongside, his Baseball Hall of Fame induction in 2020 also impacts all these crazes. And what you should know is that he is one of the greatest baseball players of all time.
You know what? Ultimately, the PSA 10 Grade of this card isn’t a piece of cake; it is rather scarce. And being a Short Print (SP), the scarcity showed up, and collectors got crazy about it. Its rarity also makes it among the most valuable baseball cards 1980s and 1990s.
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2. Derek Jeter 1996 Select Mirror Gold Rookie /30 PSA 10 – Highest $287,000
The craziest thing about the most valuable baseball cards in the 1990s is the first two most expensive cards are of Derek Jeter. This one is a Mirror Gold, PSA 10s grade. The card has only been printed in 30 pieces in its history.
Significance of This Card
Card collectors and baseball enthusiasts love this card because the finish of the card is beautiful. It shines with its glow and blows the minds of any crazy card collectors.
Recently, I received the info that the card sold at $202,102.02, according to the PWCC auction. Another unofficial source has said the card was sold for $287,000.
Derek Jeter’s 1996 Select Mirror is among the most valuable baseball cards of the 1990s. It is also the rarest card of the 1990s as well. The card is PSA 10s grade POP 2. That means it is only available 2 in the marketplace to sell.
The rarity of the card here plays the most crucial role in making it one of the most expensive and craziest baseball cards of the 1990s.
The card was made in 1996. After five years of making, it got a huge 496% valuation increment.
Derek Jeter is undoubtedly the most popular player for the most expensive and hyped baseball cards. Also, this card is one of the top and most valuable baseball cards 1990s.
3. Topps 1990 Frank Thomas Rookie Card With No Name on Front #414
The number of such error cards is scarce in the market. There is no name of Frank Thomas on the card. A total of 250 cards were submitted to PSA for grading to date. Among all of them, only one piece got the grade 10s., which makes this card POP 1.
So, the rarity of the card is at its top, and the craziness of the card collectors for the card is insane. The only PSA 10s grade card was sold at $170,400 on 18th December 2022. It was sold on Goldin. Obviously the price makes it one of the most valuable Topps baseball cards 1990s.
This card is well preserved. Frank’s image is neatly centered on the card, among three colored razor-sharp corners. Each yellow, orange, and red corner ends at a razor-sharp corner.
By the way, this error card gets more hyped because of its error. Because players who crossed 500 home runs don’t get such an error on the card creation. This makes it unique and appealing to the collectors.
Frank Thomas, the Baseball Hall of Famer, was popular and nicknamed “The Big Hurt” because of his powerful swing. He recorded a batting average of .301 with 521 home runs and 2,468 hits.
He is a 5-time All-Star and 4-time Silver Slugger winner. He is the first player to win these two awards from two different positions.
He was also a one-time AL batting champion in 1997 and a 2-time AL MVP award winner as well. In 1993, he recorded a batting average of .317 with a club-record 41 home runs. Also, he did 106 runs and 128 RBIs that year.
He recorded a batting average of .300 with 20 home runs and more than 100 Walks and RBIs in three consecutive seasons. All his records make his first card that crazy and put it on the top of the highest-paying PSA 10s grade cards of the 1990s.
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4. Alex Rodriguez 1994 SP Foil Die-Cut Rookie PSA 10 #15 – $118,080.00
Though Alex Rodreguez wasn’t as popular as his teammate Derek Jeter, he successfully created a huge craze for him over time. He is the second most valuable card hero from the New York Yankees after his mate Derek Jeter.
Most recently, his 1994 SP Foil Die-Cut GEM – MT 10 grade was sold at $118,080.00. It is a POP 3 card available on the market. On the other hand, another Mint 9 card was sold for $1690. So, we can say the POP 3 PSA 10s is a real gem and has insane demand among the collectors.
By the way, this one is the all-time most valuable A-Rod card as well. Unlike Frank Thomas #414, it has the name on the card.
By the way, Rodreguez had a batting average of .295, along with 3,115 hits. But, the card value mainly increased due to his fabulous 696 home runs.
5. Ken Griffey Jr. 1998 Upper Deck “A Piece of the Action” Patch Autograph /24 BGS 8.5 – Highest $84,000 at PWCC
Ken Griffey Jr. was such a player who loved baseball rather than being famous. He has always said that he never ran for records or popularity. He didn’t even care about being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
This type of attitude made him one of the 1990s popular baseball players among the fans. Though he played until 2010, he already made some sky-high records beside his name.
In the 1997 MLB season, he made the second-highest home runs (56), along with a spectacular .304 batting average. Also, he had 147 RBIs and 125 runs in that season.
In the next season, in 1998, he made the same home run (56), 146 RBIs, and 125 runs, with a batting average of .284.
But, what was most significant was his career record at that time. He already acquired 35 homers, along with a .300 career batting average and 9 Gold Glove Awards.
At that time, Upper Deck traded with his “A Piece of the Action” card, which has his patch autograph. Though the card doesn’t have a PSA grade, the BGS 8.5 grade one recently sold at $84,000 at PWCC.
The card was an action jersey card, and Ken Griffey Jr. had signed on 24 action game cards by that time. This card is number three among those 24 cards and became sensitive to the collectors after this long time.
So, you may already understand that when such a gem comes out, the price would skyrocket, and it happened. The card was sold at $84,000 in the PWCC auction and passed through Beckett.
This card is a BGS 8.5, which is the highest grade from BGS for this card. Only 3 cards of those 24 got the highest BGS 8.5 grading, and this made this one of the most valuable baseball cards 1990s.
6. 1998 METAL UNIVERSE PRECIOUS METAL GEMS PMG KEN GRIFFEY JR. /50 #161 BGS 9 MINT- Highest $66,000
Due to Ken Griffey’s unearthly swing capability, his other card got insane popularity. It was another card from 1998, and the card was rated through BGS.
This is a PMG card, which is eye-catching and a pure piece of artwork. If you hold this BGS 9 Mint card in your hand, you will surely be amazed if you are an enthusiast card collector.
Griffey’s popularity got insane for his unearthly swing, as I already mentioned before. He mastered it with the combination of his tall length, his unique stance, his horizontal movement, and his capability of covering the entire area.
By the way, this Metal Universe BGS 9 is the highest grade for this, and it’s a POP 3 card. The rarity of this grade and the sensitive foil finish make it one of the rarest and the most valuable baseball cards 1990s. One of the BGS grade 9 was sold at $66,000 at PWCC.
Only 50 of these cards were printed, and a few are in good condition. Among the collectors, the card is also known as “The Ninth Wonder of the World.”
7. 1992 Little Sun “High School Prospects” Derek Jeter Signed Rookie Card – PSA GEM MT 10, PSA/DNA Authentic
When it was the 1990s, and there came baseball cards, Derek Jeter dominated the decade without a doubt. Jeter appeared in “High School Prospects” in a Rookie card at an early age.
This has come with Derek Jeter’s signature on it and his name in front. There were around 1,000 cards recorded in the PSA census, and 7% of them got the elite PSA 10 grading tier.
Finally, one of these elite graded 1992 Little Sun “High School Prospects,” Derek Jeter, sold at $61,200.00 in Goldin auction a few days ago, including the auction premium.
So, this pricing shows the craze of Derek Jeter in the 1990s.
8. 1994 Upper Deck #GM1 Ken Griffey Jr/Mickey Mantle Dual-Signed Card – BGS GEM MINT 9.5/BGS 10 – $57,600
This dual-signed Ken Griffey Jr./Mickey Mantle is one of the gems of the most valuable baseball cards 1990s. The card got a BGS grade of 9.5. The BGS report for this dual-signed card is surface: 10, Edges: 9.5, Corners: 9, and Centering: 9.5.
BGS authenticates this Gem Mint condition card with the signatures of Ken Griffey Jr. and Mickey Mantle.
In terms of authenticity and rarity, this card is one of the rarest ones. It is because such an incident doesn’t happen every decade that two legendary baseball players signed on a single card.
You will never see such a card creation in the future. So, the auction price would be really high, and it happened. The card was sold on September 1, 2022, at $57,600 through Goldin Auction.
Mickey Mantle is among the 500 homers. He had 536 home runs, along with a batting average of .298. Alongside, he had 2,415 hits and 1,509 RBIs.
Micky died in 1995, pushing the card to be that high priced.
9. 1998 SkyBox Metal Universe Precious Metal Gems (PMG) #199 Derek Jeter (#43/50) – PSA MINT 9 – Pop 1- $57,600
Here is another Derek Jeter show. You can feel the popularity of Derek Jeter from the craze of his baseball cards. He literally dominated the 1990s’ baseball card era.
The 1998 SkyBox Metal Universe is a PMG and POP 1 card on the marketplace. It is another gem that was sold at the same price as the dual-signed Mickey Mantle/Ken Griffey Jr. card I have discussed previously.
To understand Derek Jeter’s craze, you can consider the auction of this PSA MINT 9. It was sold most recently, on 27th April, 2023. This is the only card of #199 Derek Jeter that got the maximum MINT 9 grading.
There is no print of this available than this grade. There is no confusion that he would get this craze from fans because he surpassed the all-time career hits for the New York Yankees (3,465). He surpassed the greats of Yorkers like Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, and Lou Gehrig.
10. 1999 Metal Universe Gem Masters #238 Derek Jeter (#1/1) – PSA MINT 9
This is another unbeatable Derek Jeter show here. This Metal Universe Gem Master is a PSA MINT 9. It is the POP 1 and the only one available on the market.
The card was sold at $43,200.00 at Goldin Auction. In the card, Jeter is pictured with a Yankees jersey having a base run. As expected, this masterpiece is numbered 1/1, and being sold at this price isn’t unexpected.
11. 1999 UPPER DECK GAME JERSEY KEN GRIFFEY JR. PATCH AUTO /24 #JRS BGS 8.5 NM-MT+ #42,000
I can refrain from picking the most valuable baseball cards of the 1990s of Derek Jeter and Ken Griffey Jr. Because they put themselves to that high to make people crazy about them.
However, this gem of Ken Griffey is from Upper Deck. It is a BGS 8.5 and one of the 24 cards. No card of this product got more than BGS 8.5 grading, and it’s one of the rarest ones.
12. Derek Jeter 1998 EX2001 Credentials Now /7 – $34,010
To understand the craze of Derek Jeter, you can consider this card as an example. There is no grading for this card, but it already sold at $34,010 in 2019.
This masterpiece has only 7 copies on the marketplace. So, you will see its rarity is insane. This is Skybox Ex-Line, printed parallel. This card is #7, which has a parallel print run of 7.
Most importantly, Derek Jeter cards’ market suddenly increased after the 2000s. After he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2020, the craziness for his cards skyrocketed.
13. Barry Bonds 1999 Fleer Ultra Masterpiece 1/1 PSA 7 – $9,900
When it’s the Giant Barry Bonds, then a PSA 7 grade card can be sold at $9,900. Barry Bonds 1999 by Fleer got this price recently on the marketplace.
It was a Masterpiece and the only POP 1 card on the market that got the highest PSA 7 grade. And being Barry Bonds’ foiled cursive lettering poops, where Bonds hitting a ball on the plate, got that crazy price.
If you are already a seasoned fan, you already know the achievement of Bonds. There are only 9 baseball players in baseball history who hit more than 600 homers, and Barry Bonds is among them.
Bond achieved this achievement with a batting average of .298 and 2,935 hits, along with 1,996 RBIs. He also bagged 514 stolen bases in his career.
So, it does make sense that a PSA 7 masterpiece can be sold at almost $10,000 when this is a Barry Bonds card.
14. 1997 Ultra #518 David Arias
One of David Arias’s cards, #518, was sold at the highest price of $2,500. This was a PSA 10 grade card. The ungraded cards of #518 got as low as $17.50.
The PSA 10 grade card is a POP 2 card, while the population of this card of PSA 9 is 5, and PSA 8 is 10. Other population is unknown.
David Arias had a rich career record with 541 homers, a .286 batting average, 2,472 hits, and 1,68 RBIs. He debuted on September 2, 1997, for the Minnesota Twins. Later on, David Américo Ortiz Arias retired from baseball on October 2, 2016, for the Boston Red Sox.
List of Some Other Valuable Baseball Cards of the 1990s
Before packing up the discussion, here is another list of some other popular baseball cards of the 1990s. You may check them out if you find one of them or more.
- 1990 Topps #2 Nolan Ryan The Mets Early Years Card – Mint: Nolan Ryan is one of the all-time greatest in baseball history for his power pitching. This Topps #2 is a common and popular card from Topps. You can check this available on different marketplaces.
- 1990 Topps #300 Bo Jackson: Bo Jackson’s NM-MT grade card is found at around $3. This is a card from when he was in the Kansas City Royals. The maximum price of this card reaches up to $60, according to PSA.
- 1990 Topps #570 Cal Ripken Jr: The Cal Ripken Jr. #570 is a 1990 card from Topps. There is no grade from this card. You will get it at around $1.
- 1997 Bowman Chrome Refractors #182 Adrian Beltre: Only 8 of 230 graded cards got PSA 10 grade. But still, this piece of gem is reasonable and is found at around $51.09- $1,900.09
Wrapping Up
Collecting cards is something different than any other hobby. And being a collector of rare and popular baseball cards, many people emphasize decade-based cards.
However, in this guide, I have compiled the most valuable baseball cards 1990s. The top-graded cards got insane-level auction prices and were sold. Derek Jeter and Ken Griffey Jr., have particularly been dominating the marketplace for the last few years.
By the way, low-graded cards are available for public trade at lower prices, and you can check for them in different marketplaces if you want.
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Hello everyone. My name is Jason Butler, and I live in California, America. I was a professional AAA Minor League Baseball player. I lost my chance of playing MLB for injury issues, but I did not lose my love for baseball. I attended the coaching training program and am now working as a coach in a small school in San Diego.
I always love to share my experience and knowledge if that can help you. Play baseball, and stay fit.