For many of us, the mere mention of baseball cards is followed by waves of nostalgia. The cumulative process of collecting baseball cards can be a meaningful and rewarding chapter in many of our lives — especially when you realize you happened upon a card that’s worth a pretty penny.
If you’re someone who actually ended up keeping your cards and have them stowed away somewhere, you very well could be sitting on a literal winning lotto ticket. We took a look at 10 baseball cards in particular that are cash cows waiting to be traded in.
1. 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle
Sale price: $12.6 million
A 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle was listed on Heritage Auctions in July 2022 and sold in August 2022 for a whopping, record-breaking $12.6 million. Can you imagine if you found that literal shining diamond in your dust-coated attic? You’re probably taking a vacation after that discovery.2. 1914 Babe Ruth Baltimore News
Sale price: $7.2 million
What’s crazy is that there are less than 10 copies of the 1914 Babe Ruth Baltimore News cards that still exist. This immediately renders the card as one of the rarest baseball cards to exist. There are both blue and red variations of this card, and as a result of the low-quality paper stock used, they usually have numerous creases and folds. So if you find one of those out in the wild, make sure you really handle it with the utmost care. There are millions at stake, after all.3. 2009 Mike Trout Bowman Chrome Draft Prospects Superfractor Autograph 1/1
Sale price: $3.94 million
Don’t worry. If you have your eyes set on acquiring a 2009 Mike Trout Bowman Chrome Draft Prospects Superfractor Autograph 1/1 card, it’ll only cost around $4 million. Trout was a legend in the game of baseball. He had three American League MVP awards, eight Silver Slugger awards, and eight All-Star games. You might say that most players don’t ascend to such heights in their careers.For more lucrative pieces of nostalgia, please sign up for our free newsletters.
4. 1933 Babe Ruth Goudey Sport Kings #2
Sale price: $1.2 million
Babe Ruth is an undeniable and unforgettable legend. This card, though, is a life-changer. You end up with one of these in your possession and you just struck gold. Babe Ruth accumulated over 30 titles for home runs, hitting percentage, and run scoring throughout his career. But we don’t need to get too hung up on those details. We can just focus on the $1.2 million.Related: 10 of the Most Expensive Items Ever Sold on eBay
5. 1909-11 Eddie Plank T206
Sale price: $850,000
A theory circling the mystique of why this particular Eddie Plank card is valued as high as it is is that the manufacturer ended up destroying most of the Eddie Plank cards that existed as a result of poor printing. If poor printing translates to a card being worth $850,000, though, who is really losing in that game? Perhaps Plank’s biggest claim to fame was that he was the first left-handed pitcher to win 300 games.Related: Sorry, but These 32 Collectibles Are Now Worthless
Trending on Cheapism
6. 1909 Shoeless Joe Jackson American Caramel
Sale price: $667,189
SCP Auctions ended up selling a 1909 Shoeless Joe Jackson American Caramel for $667,189. The origin story behind Joe Jackson’s nickname of “Shoeless” is that he took off his cleats during a game because his shoes were making him ferociously uncomfortable. Definitely a power move.Related: You Won’t Believe How Much These Collectibles Fetched at Auction
7. 1909 Sherry Magee T206 Error
Sale price: $660,000
In general, when there are errors made on baseball cards, they end up diminishing the overall value of a given card. However, when it comes to the 1909 Sherry Magee T206 Error card, it’s the complete opposite. We’re talking about the error being so avidly desired that it’s valued around $660,000. The first printing mishap for this card resulted in Sherry’s last name being spelled as “Magie,” a now-coveted mistake.A quick fun fact about Sherry Magee is that he had a gnarly reputation for getting into notable bouts with umpires. Ironically, he ended up becoming an umpire after he had retired from baseball.
8. 1933 Lou Gehrig Goudey #160
Sale price: $576,000
Even though the actual quality of the printing for this Lou Gehrig card isn’t anything to write home about, the card itself is still valued enough that people are willing to pay $576,000 for it. Gehrig will go down in history as one of the all-time greats of baseball. Back in 1925, he kickstarted an iconic streak of playing 2,130 games in a row. That is heroic fortitude if we’ve ever seen it.Sign up for our newsletter
9. 1948 Jackie Robinson Leaf RC #79
Sale price: $468,000
Even though you’re not exactly going to be blown away by the quality of the printing for this highly valued and sought after Jackie Robinson card, you’re going to be floored by how much money you could get for it. We’re talking as much as $468,000. Maybe that tropical vacation is happening after all.10. 1954 Topps Hank Aaron
Sale price: $358,000
If you’re sitting on Hank Aaron’s rookie card, you’re sitting on a big financial windfall waiting to happen. If you do indeed have this card in your possession and it’s in mint condition, you could end up being able to secure yourself as much as $358,000 at an auction. Now that’s a home run. Maybe even a grand slam.
