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ONLINE AUCTIONEER: Nolan Ryan’s second-best card to collect; Babe Ruth collectibles still hot
If you’ve been looking for a Nolan Ryan rookie card to fill your 1968 Topps set (as your Online Auctioneer has been doing), you know it can be price-prohibitive—with good reason.
It’s an iconic and beautiful card, a two-player “Rookie Stars” issue that also boasts longtime lefty pitcher Jerry Koosman, who won 222 games in 19 seasons. The Topps design featured that distinctive burlap-looking frame around the photos of baby-faced hurlers Ryan and Koosman.
In Gem-Mint 10 grade, Ryan’s rookie has hit the $600,000 mark. If graded 9, it rises above $100,000. We saw a PSA 8.5-grade Ryan rookie sell on eBay in March for $21,766. In 7 grade, it will set you back several thousand dollars.
Next-best thing to a Ryan rookie? His 1969 card. No, it won’t complete your 1968 set, but it’s a beauty on its own—and it’s Ryan’s first full player card.
Topps’ 1969 design gave us a photo of Ryan in a follow-through pitching pose, with rows of empty Shea Stadium seats as the backdrop. Then there’s the endearing detail of Ryan hiding a baseball in his glove. You can see it peering out from the pocket.
Ryan’s second-year card is far more budget-friendly than his 1968 rookie, but it’s gaining steam. On eBay recently, a PSA 9 specimen sold for $10,200 on 49 bids.
Examples graded 8 sell for around a quarter of that. Recent eBay listings of 1969 Ryan cards graded PSA 8 brought prices of $2,750 and $2,250 in Buy It Now deals and $2,024 in an auction (on 26 bids). Two other PSA 8 examples of Ryan’s 1969 card sold at auction for $1,714 and $1,655.
By the way, Ryan would appear on only one other card with the Mets: the 1970 grey-bordered Topps issue. We’re seeing 9-grade examples of that one go for $5,000 to $6,000 on eBay. PSA’s price guide puts Ryan’s 1970 card at $132,000 if in Gem-Mint 10 condition.
Also See: Topps launches MLB Rickwood Field
TOP 10 CHART
(through May 18)
$41,100 on 55 bids: 1976 Topps Walter Payton (PSA 10)
$30,099 on 55 bids: 1984-85 Star Michael Jordan (PSA 7)
$26,300 on 48 bids: Babe Ruth signed baseball (PSA/DNA)
$26,100 on 44 bids: 2003-04 Topps Chrome LeBron James Refractor (PSA 10)
$25,855 on 38 bids: 2009-10 Upper Deck Exquisite Stephen Curry, #137/225, auto (PSA 10, auto 10)
$25,105 on 58 bids: 2009-10 Upper Deck Exquisite Stephen Curry, #75/225, auto (PSA 10, auto 10)
$25,001 on 30 bids: 2009-10 Upper Deck The Cup “Sidney Crosby Tribute” Tiger Woods, #3/10, auto patch (Nike), (PSA 9)
$24,989 on 6 bids: 2000 Playoff Contenders Tom Brady Rookie Ticket (auto) (PSA 8)
$24,100 on 56 bids: 1984-85 Star Michael Jordan (BGS 8)
$21,760 on 52 bids: 1996 Select Certified Derek Jeter Mirror Blue (PSA 10)
ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN
Our charts this time out have put the hobby's ultimate king front and center: George Herman "Babe" Ruth. A signed Ruth baseball is featured in our Top 10.
In our "next 10" list, two Bambino items show up. Both are early-1930s cards that sold for around $20,000. Each has a grade of PSA 4—impressive condition for cardboard collectibles that are closing in on 100 years.
Here’s our full “next 10” list:
$21,600 on 49 bids: 2004-05 Upper Deck Exquisite LeBron James Limited Logos, #26/50, auto patch (BGS 8.5, auto 10)
$20,100 on 93 bids: 2009-10 Upper Deck The Cup “Sidney Crosby Tribute” Wayne Gretzky, #10/10 (PSA 9)
$20,099 on 56 bids: 1932 U.S. Caramel Babe Ruth (PSA 4)
Also See: Are collectors overlooking Mookie Betts?
$19,457 on 48 bids: 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth (PSA 4)
$19,375 on 51 bids: 1969-70 Topps Lew Alcindor (PSA 8)
$18,800 on 44 bids: 2023-24 Panini Select Victor Wembanyama Gold Courtside, #7/10 (ungraded)
$18,200 on 89 bids: 2020-21 Panini Prizm Anthony Edwards Gold Shimmer Prizm, #10/10 (PSA 9)
$17,500 on 51 bids: 1948 Leaf Jackie Robinson (PSA 4.5)
$17,300 on 67 bids: 2000 Playoff Contenders Tom Brady Rookie Ticket, auto (PSA 7)
$17,100 on 47 bids: 2020-21 Panini Flawless Anthony Edwards, #10/10, auto patch (ungraded)
