Only worth about $10 in top condition, it's not his most expensive rookie card by any means. That protects against someone saying you sold them a fake. Which wire is hot, black or white? The "Topps All-Star Rookie" trophy symbol made this one stand out a bit more from other cards in this set, too. Sure, it's not George H.W. The company's chairmain, Arthur Shorin, even presented some of them in a binder to the former president in 1989. Neither the Twins nor the Red Sox ever played him in the outfield in the majors — I checked. And he was an integral part of the Yankees dominance of that era. And I don't think I ever pulled one from a pack. In 1991, Topps issued a special version of its 792-card set with a foil Desert Shield logo for distribution to soldiers serving in Iraq. I think it was a great way to salute Ryan and these cards remain one of my favorite subsets of all-time from any set. And the card lists him as a part-time outfielder. Thanks for the additions. Griffey was one of the most popular players of the era and his cards were always in high demand. His 1991 card just shows him fooling around in the batting cage, but in 1994 he did attempt to change sports with the White Sox. Among many of the parallels produced in the late 90’s, the 1997 Certified Mirror Black cards are amongst the most sought after, as they were not announced during production and distribution. If you need help selling sports cards but aren't sure where to start, click the button below to learn how I can help! Estimated PSA 10 Value: $20. It took a few years for the Astros great to join his teammate Craig Biggio in the Hall, but Bagwell’s rookie is one of the best cards of a thin decade, and Bagwell is one of the greater heists of all time. It’s not worth much, but there’s a Joe Thornton rookie card in there. His 1990 Leaf card can reach three figures. So, in order for the cards on this list to be worth much, they'll either have to be the Tiffany version (Topps' premium factory set) and/or be graded by PSA to be in perfect, gem mint condition. And by late decade, the manufacturers had mostly sorted out their overproduction issues. Copyright © 2021 by Old Sports Cards, LLC, Baseball Card Values: How To Determine Their Worth, 100 Most Valuable Baseball Cards: The All-Time Dream List, 40 Most Valuable Football Cards: The All-Time Dream List, 52 Most Valuable Basketball Cards: The All-Time Dream List. Gonzalez was one of the most feared hitters of his era and seemed like a lock for 40+ homers and 100+ RBI every season. There is also a 1990 Topps George Bush USA1 in a glossy (white house issued) and regular stock version that consistantly commands four digits+. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The 1992 Fleer Jeff Bagwell is another worthwhile card. Here's a fix. Baseball cards were big in the 1980s, which led to overproduction and the baseball card bubble. If the 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. is the most iconic baseball rookie card of the 1980s, the 1993 SP Derek Jeter holds a similar spot in for the 1990s. 5. Shop COMC's extensive selection of baseball cards from the 1990's. Baseball Cards Issued Before 1981. It's said that those that made it to the White House were coated with a glossy finish. Between that, and so many people buying and preserving cards during that decade, there aren’t a lot of super-valuable cards from the 1990s. This Frank Thomas 1990 card … He was also the rare modern superstar who spent his entire career with one team. Baseball cards that are ungraded make it more difficult for buyers and sellers to agree on a fair price based on the supposed condition. Not enough people care about the rookie card of Mark Quinn to drive up its value. Buy from many sellers and get your cards all in one shipment! 1990 Bowman Frank Thomas Rookie Card (#320) If you weren’t following baseball in the early 1990s, then you missed out on the amazing phenomenon of a young Frank Thomas. David L. Farquhar, computer security professional, train hobbyist, and landlord, Home » Baseball » Most valuable baseball cards of the 1990s. It now sells for around $20. Bagwell just went on to be the 1991 Rookie of the Year, and then star 14 more seasons for Houston, clubbing 449 home runs and hitting for a .297 lifetime average. He was consistently productive although he did have some seasons here and there shortened by injury. 4 1992 Bowman Chipper Jones #28 Fix it easily. The 1992 Bowman Mariano Rivera is worth ($50). To honor President Bush, Topps printed 100 or so of these with a picture of him during his college days in his Yale uniform. Most of these are thought to have a print run out of only one. I never really had enough money to own any card that was worth a lot. I'm not sure if he's got the career stats to warrant it, but I would love to see this guy in the Hall of Fame someday. Jackson was an incredibly popular player of that era and there are collectors today who were kids then that still chase his cards. It’s worth about 60 bucks now. Generally, the older a baseball card is, the more value it will have. The errors/variations keep things interesting while there is some decent star power within the 800-card checklist. 1990 Fleer Baseball Cards In Review So there you have it, the ten most valuable 1990 Fleer cards. And even among the overproduced cards from the first year in a decade noted for, well, overproduction, 1990 Fleer baseball cards seem especially plentiful. Despite that tarnished reputation, his 1990 Topps rookie still has some value to it in high grade. The following list includes a year-by-year breakdown of the most valuable card for each flagship Topps baseball set from 1952 to 2020. Sure, the cards are so findable that even a Hall of Famer’s Gem Mint 10 rookie card has little relative value, but let’s take a step back and remember why we are all here in the first place. You could argue he was a better center fielder than others (like Lloyd Waner, for example) who made it to the Hall of Fame, too. George H.W. Every year, companies like Topps, Bowman, and Leaf all release full series of baseball cards featuring players from the MLB. They were placed in the early printing packs and are worth between $250 and $750. Still, that doesn’t mean 1990 Fleer cards have no value. Enter your e-mail address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by e-mail. The 1990 Topps Baseball design is one of the brand's most colorful of all time. The top card in a major debut release, it has a memorable look for a generational talent. But, for Sosa fans, it's a must-have card and features a great action shot of him running along the base path. Bush never played in the major leagues, but his 1990 Topps USA baseball card is worth a pretty impressive amount of money. For instance, a common baseball card from 1912 will be worth more than a common card printed in 1970. So let’s take a look at the most valuable baseball cards of the 1990s. Not only does it feature a picture of him in his Yale baseball uniform, there weren't very many of these made. So if you find a stash of 1990s baseball cards, the majority of the value is going to be tied up in a handful of cards. The best class of rookies of the decade came out in 1992. Another big 90’s card that, IMO was ahead of its time, was the 1992 Score The Franchise Players triple autographs featuring Yastrzemski, Mantle, and Musial. Plus, his postseason heroics in 2004 and 2013 help build his case. Is the black wire hot? But for now, the 1994 SP (Upper Deck) Alex Rodriguez card is worth $20-$150 depending on condition. We all know of his association with the PED controversy. Late 1990s cards also tend to be very attractive, with vivid colors and high quality photography. Added to that, there are presidential artifact collectors who also drive up the price for it. It might no longer be the biggest card in the biggest set of 1990 baseball cards, but the 1990 Leaf Sammy Sosa RC still carries some clout and importance. The regular issue Jones card is worth closer to $25. But this one is still worth enough to round out the top ten list of 1990 Topps. Former commissioner, A. Bartlett Giamatti has a memorial card in a middle of the checklist. Topps quickly corrected the issue, but a small quantity of Frank Thomas’ Topps rookie card ended up without his name on the front. But his numbers do match up nicely with Hall of Famers. 6 Best Sports Cards to Invest in 2021 (Easy Money) by James Milin-Ashmore January 11, 2021. I especially remember that monstrous 1997 season he had with 49 home runs, 143 runs scored, 130 RBI and a .363 batting average. But even this Yankee hater has to admit if you can collect 3,400 hits and have a career average of .310 and stick at shortstop for two decades, you’re a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Somewhat surprisingly, Griffey Jr.'s card is actually worth more than the Frank Thomas rookie (with his name on the front). The set begins with five Nolan Ryan cards. Like the "No Name On Front" Thomas rookie card, this one is exceptionally rare and card collectors go crazy for this card. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. 1990 Donruss. Up until a decade or so ago, collectors were forced to consult Beckett's yearly Baseball Card Price Guide and other similar publications to find out a card's estimated worth. Rivera’s cut fastball spawned dozens of imitators, and he saved a record 652 games over his 19-year career. When it comes to which baseball cards are still worth money deep into the 21st century, you can pretty much lump them into four categories. Dig into the decade's greatest, most valuable and iconic Rookie Cards, errors and more. Because of his accomplishment the year before of eclipsing the 5,000 strikeout mark, Topps placed him as the first card in their 1990 set. He’s not a Hall of Famer yet. There are some great 90’s cards out there and it is nice to see an article that highlights them in all their glory. (NOTE: This post contains affiliate links to eBay listings for the baseball cards discussed.) Its condition sensitivity has made high-grade versions very scarce and very valuable. Canseco’s Donruss Rated Rookie card was nearly as popular as him, with some sellers asking at the time for well over $100. Like the 1990 Donruss, Fleer, Leaf, Score, Bowman and Upper Deck sets, far too many of them were printed and the market is over-saturated with them. His is the last of the key rookie cards in this set. If you’re listing one for sale, by all means work the name “Ortiz” in to get more value. In mint condition, this rarity is worth up to $9,000. As with the Thomas card, get this authenticated before you sell. The decade includes at least one big surprise. But that doesn’t mean all 1990s baseball cards are worthless, and you’re more likely to find a stash from the ’90s than the ’70s. Thomas, of course, was one of the decades’ biggest sluggers, with the nickname of “The Big Hurt” to go with his numbers. The 1990 Topps baseball card set contains 792 standard size cards. Ryan's popularity drives most of the reason for the value of this card being what it is. Nolan Ryan Highlights (#154) You can bet that any list like this for cards from the 1960s through the middle 1990s is going to contain at least one Nolan Ryan card. Sosa's career got off to a slow start so I don't remember many collectors going crazy for this card when it was first released. This number is mind-blowing when you think about all the time, energy and money that goes into the grading process for 1 card… Print Year. But as his career progressed and the home runs kept piling up, he turned into one of the most popular players in the league. But in this time of card shops on every corner, everybody was forgetting about one of the most basic rules of economics: supply and demand. Yankee great Mariano Rivera is the greatest relief pitcher of his generation. There are tons of Nolan Ryan collectors so demand is still decent for this card. Now that we got that out of the way, let's take a look at the top ten: No Name On Front Estimated PSA 10 Value: $50,000. The 1990s featured a number of exceptional players. Even if it's not in pristine shape it can still be worth thousands of dollars. The version without his name on the front (pictured below) is an incredibly rare error and collectors are willing to pay up big time for it. Personally, I’ve always liked the look of these cards and as a kid I loved ripping packs in search of rookies and star players. The rule of thumb with most valuable baseball cards of the 1990s is that rookie cards of Hall of Famers or likely Hall of Famers rule. As shocking as it may seem, yes, this version of the 1990 Topps Frank Thomas rookie card can be worth some serious money. Flawed rookie cards of superstars still have some value, but the value does drop off considerably. But the card fell back to earth when Canseco’s career did. I think it's odd that he was a two-time MVP but only a three-time All-Star. Great list of cards I overlooked. The subsets for the 1990 Topps baseball cards are All-Star selections (385-407) and Turn Back the Clock (661-665).The key rookie cards for this set include #331 Juan Gonzalez, #414 Frank Thomas, #692 Sammy Sosa, #701 Bernie Williams and #757 Larry Walker.