Top 10 Most Expensive Baseball Cards

The name for this sport is baseball, and it currently boasts more than 500M fans worldwide. Among those fans are millionaires and billionaires who don’t hesitate to splash money on their hobbies. Baseball card collecting is an expensive hobby because it’s such a popular sport. It just so happens that we’ve got a selection of the most expensive baseball cards in the world. They’re only getting more expensive.

Related Post: Panini Prizm: A Beginner’s Guide

Top 10 Most Valuable Baseball Cards

Here are the most expensive baseball cards sold in the world. Some of them cost a house or more.

1: Mickey Mantle 1952 Topps Baseball Card

The Mickey Mantle 1952 Topps card is iconic because of its rich history with Sy Berger, who reportedly dumped 100s of cards into the Hudson River. If it was a marketing strategy, it was ingenious. The last copy of this baseball card costs more than £9M, and if lady luck smiles on you and you find one, rest assured that even a damaged copy will fetch a handsome sum of money. Mickey Mantle 1952 Topps has also gained fame in the collector’s world because: 

• Mickey Mantle never earned an annual wage of more than £71K. 
• It’s the most valuable rookie card of any MLB player.

Read More: Panini Harry Potter Cards: A Collector’s Guide

2: Honus Wagner 1909-11 T206 Baseball Card

The T206 1909-11 Honus Wagner is quite the baseball card to collect. Acquiring one is difficult because there are only a limited number of copies in existence. Honus Wagner might have just been the greatest shortstop ever. Only his baseball card is more popular than his legacy, with the most recent copy sold for more than £5M. Back in 1909, a copy of this baseball card could fetch less than £40. Its owner’s history is also rich and dramatic, like so:

• Ice hockey legends: Wayne Gretzky and Bruce McNall purchased a mint copy of the Honus Wagner for less than £354K.
• Walmart and Treat Entertainment bought the ice hockey legends’ copy for around £392K.
• Described as Willy Wonka’s Golden Ticket by Keith Olbermann. 
• Bill Mastro trimmed the baseball card to increase its value. 
• Only 25 to 500 of these bad boys were made.

3: Babe Ruth 1933 Goudey

Funnily nicknamed the Sultan of Swat, Babe Ruth is arguably the best baseball player in the world. Legend has it, he is related to Hulk because of his hitting power. The Babe Ruth 1933 Goudey is a four-card set where the legend uses different poses and backgrounds. A set costs more than £3M.

• Only two known copies have been seen in the wild, with the value of each baseball card costing more than £3M.
• Only the cards with a yellow and green background have been sold.

4: Mike Trout 2009 Bowman Chrome Superfractor

A Mike Trout 2009 Bowman Chrome Superfractor card is the most expensive modern baseball card. One of its copies was sold for more than £3M through Goldin Auctions in August 2023. To be more specific, the autographed version of this card was sold at that price. Why hike the price so much? Well, only one autographed Mike Trout rookie card was printed. Other notable facts about this baseball card are: 

• Mike Trout has already earned three MVP awards and nine American All-Star awards.
• This is a rookie card.

5: Babe Ruth 1916 Sporting News

Not many fans are aware, but Babe Ruth was initially a pitcher. The 1916 Babe Ruth Sporting News baseball card highlights his phase as a pitcher before he became a world-renowned power-hitter. While he shined more in his batter position, Babe Ruth was also a capable pitcher because this card was printed when he was still a rookie. 

• The last sold copy of the Babe Ruth 1917 Sporting News card was purchased for more than £1.5M.
• Babe Ruth is a pitcher, not a hitter. 
• Babe Ruth is the only other baseball player whose card is featured twice on our list.

6: Roberto Clemente 1955 Topps

The 1955 Topps Roberto Clemente baseball card pays homage to the Pirates outfielder, who lost his life in a plane crash. Its already-expensive status is further bolstered by the Roberto Clemente Award, which is only given to players who showed excellent sportsmanship.

• A Roberto Clemente 1955 Topps baseball card is sold for more than £800K.
• It was once part of the Dmitri Young Collection.
• Clemente has been listed in the 3,000-hit club.

7: Mike Trout 2011 Topps

Mike Trout has gathered immense love from fans and haters alike due to his capabilities as a centre-fielder. The 2011 card shows a 19-year-old Mike Trout who was just tapping into his talents. It was sold to both DJ Skee (Music artist) and Mint 10’s Courtney and Carter Reum. As you can also see, it’s one of the most expensive Topps baseball cards ever made.

• The last-sold Mike Trout 2011 Topps baseball card sold for more than £700K.
• It’s part of the Topps Update Platinum Series.
• Three of his cards are usually featured on the most expensive baseball card lists.

8: Reggie Jackson 1969 Topps Baseball Card

The last sold copy of the Reggie Jackson 1969 Topps card fetched a huge sum of £800K. Being one of the greatest baseball players of the 1960s, Reggie still leads the board for the most strikeouts ever. More than 8,000 copies of this card were printed, but the copy in Dmitri Young Collection was the most preserved — easily earning a PSA Gem Mint 10 score.

• It’s the most expensive Reggie Jackson baseball card ever. 
• It was part of the Dmitri Young Collection.

9: Jackie Robinson 1952 Topps #312

Besides being a favourite among baseball card collectors, the Jackie Robinson 1952 Topps baseball card has become quite an investment. The next mint copy will surely be sold for at least £1M. Currently, though, there are only 11 cards produced in the Mint tier. Besides that, the card is beautiful, known for its red background and white borders.

• The last known copy of the Jackie Robinson 1952 Topps card was sold for more than £700K. 
• Topps printed more than 1,200 cards.

10: Mike Trout 2009 Bowman Chrome Draft Red Refractor Autograph

To cement his name as one of the greatest baseball players ever, a Mike Trout baseball card concludes our list. It’s expensive because it’s one of the first MLB cards to be officially signed by Trout. 

• Mike Trout’s baseball cards are some of the most expensive in the world.
• The last-sold copy was purchased for more than £720K. 
• There are only five signed and serially numbered Mike Trout 2009 Bowman Chrome Draft Red Refractor cards.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to Know the Worth of Baseball Cards?

You can appraise baseball cards based on a few factors, such as:

• Rarity. 
• Grading.
• Scarcity.
• Overall condition.
• Print variation.
• Print quality.
• The Baseball player. 

If you’re not sure of your baseball cards’ worth, you can take them to a specialist for an appraisal. Typically, the specialist will use the factors we listed above to evaluate how valuable your baseball cards are.

What Is the Best Card in Baseball? 

The best card in baseball is the 1909 T206 Honus Wagner. It easily beats all other baseball cards to be crowned number one in the world. It’ll make the list of rare baseball cards, so it’s wanted by collectors because there are currently only 25-200 copies in existence. The most recently sold copy of the 1909 T206 Honus Wagner card was auctioned for more than £2M. 

Which Sports Cards Are Worth Money?

The sports with cards that are worth money are baseball, basketball, American football, football, and many others. But cards are perhaps the most valuable type of collectables for baseball out there. For football, the higher-priced collectables are jerseys and boots.