Auctions
Ken Griffey Jr. collectors keep Junior rookie market buzzing
For legions of collectors born in the 1970s and ‘80s, Ken Griffey Jr.’s first Upper Deck card, issued in 1989, is the Mickey Mantle Topps rookie of their generation.
No, it doesn’t have the same value; very few cards in existence live in the stratosphere of The Magnificent Yankee’s 1952 Topps. But it’s an iconic piece anyway because of its instant impact and long-term buzz it created.
Fittingly anointed card #1 in Upper Deck’s debut set, Griffey Jr.’s rookie heralded the arrival of a can’t-miss prospect. He was a baseball prodigy who grew up in MLB stadiums and locker rooms as he shadowed his dad and soaked in the life of a ballplayer. (And we’ll remind you that Griffey Sr. was no slouch himself, batting .296 with 152 homers and 200 stolen bases in 19 seasons.)
We mention “The Kid” because in May 2025, we spotted a Griffey Jr. rookie with a secondary-market autograph that soared to $19,100 on 72 bids.
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It’s not the first such example we’ve seen. In February 2025, Heritage Auctions sold a signed PSA 10 Griffey Jr. rookie for $20,130. A month later on eBay, a seller got $18,853 on 81 bids for yet another signed PSA 10 Griffey Jr. rookie.
But what about unsigned Gem Mint Griffey Jr. rookies?
Well, in the crazy Covid years of 2020 and 2021, 1989 Upper Deck Griffey Jr. cards were spiking dramatically. Multiple examples sold at major auction houses for prices between $10,000 and $15,000. Since then, it’s come back down to earth. PSA’s price guide currently puts it at $2,726, based on recent auction house sales.
At least one eBay auction over the past three months shows it hasn’t crashed that much. In April 2025, a seller offered a specimen graded “10/Pristine” by BGS and saw it jump to $7,877 on 49 bids. However, other current eBay sales of unsigned Griffey Jr. rookies are more in line with PSA’s average. Among prices recently realized: $3,050 on 32 bids; $2,967 on 16 bids; and $2,949 on six bids. All three were graded PSA 10.
So if you didn’t sell your 10-grade Griffey Jr. rookie in 2021, hold off for a while longer and see if values rise again. The generation that got pulled into collecting because of this perfect-looking card will always make sure it’s in demand.
