News

On 10/10, PSA rates iconic sports cards with the most PSA 10 grades

The number 10 means perfection, so on 10/10 PSA rates the sports cards with the most PSA 10 grades relative to their card population.
By Jeff Owens
OCT 10, 2024

Today is Oct. 10, which is numerically significant as 10/10.

The number 10 symbolizes perfection, and nowhere is that more significant than in the trading card industry.

A high-end sports card with a perfect 10 grade can be worth thousands, if not millions, of dollars.

In honor of 10/10, PSA has compiled a list of iconic cards with the most PSA 10 grades, and the highest percentage of PSA 10s among their respective populations. PSA is the hobby’s largest card-grading company, grading more than three-fourths of all cards in the U.S.

PSA GEM MINT 10 RATINGS

Here’s a look at the *rate of PSA 10 grades for some of the most iconic sports cards in the hobby, and their current **PSA 10 values:

A 1986 Topps Jerry Rice rookie card sold for more than $125,000 online in 2021. eBay

There are 63 Jerry Rice rookie cards with PSA 10 grades, which is 0.16 percent of the total graded. PSA 10 Value: $82,100.

1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card. Lelands

There are only three PSA 10 grades of the hobby’s most valuable card, or 0.18 percent of the total. PSA 10 Value: NA (none of the PSA 10 Mantle cards have been sold; a SGC 9.5 holds the sports card record at $12.6 million).

1986 Fleer Michael Jordan rookie card. PWCC Marketplace

There are 331 PSA 10s of Jordan’s iconic rookie card, or just 1 percent of the total graded. PSA 10 Value: $150,000.

1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card. Heritage Auctions

There are 4,268 PSA 10s of Griffey’s rookie card, or 4 percent of the total. PSA 10 Value: $2,050.

1989 Score Barry Sanders rookie card. PSA

Sanders’ rookie card has 2,485 PSA 10s, or 8 percent of the total graded. PSA 10 Value: $1,325.

2017 Panini Prizm Patrick Mahomes II rookie card. PSA

There are 955 PSA 10s of the Mahomes rookie, which is 17 percent of the total graded. PSA 10 Value: $7,300.

*Percentages based on all-time volumes of cards graded.

**PSA 10 Values from PSA Card Facts.

RARITIES

*The most rare PSA 10 cards of all time:

1980 Topps Rickey Henderson rookie card. PSA

Rickey’s rookie card has just 26 PSA 10s, which is 0.07 percent of the total graded. PSA 10 Value: $125,250.

A 1993 SP Derek Jeter rookie card. Mile High Card Co.

The Jeter rookie has 22 PSA 10s, or 0.09 percent of the total. PSA 10 Value: $360,000

As mentioned above, the Rice rookie has 63 PSA 10s grades, just 0.16 percent of the total grades. PSA 10 Value: $82,100.

1981 Topps Joe Montana rookie card. eBay

Rice’s Hall of Fame quarterback also has a rare rookie card among the top grades. Montana’s rookie has only 114 PSA 10 grades, or 0.35 of the total graded. PSA 10 Value: $73,500.

1985 Topps Mark McGwuire 1984 US Baseball Team card. PSA

McGwire’s rookie card has 306 PSA 10 grades, or 0.48 percent of the total graded. PSA 10 Value: $1,135.

*Rankings based on PSA’s Top 1,000 cards with the lowest rate of Gem Mint PSA 10s per volumes of cards graded

**PSA 10 Values from PSA Card Facts

Jeff Owens is the editor of SCD.