I have a load of these cards from 91 but who buys them anymore? All Rights Reserved. What a joy reading! Bagwell was in the Minors at the time and showing decent promise, but the Red Sox were in win-now mode and trying to hold off the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL East race, so management green-lighted the trade. This set is especially interesting to me because a master set contains more variations than any other Topps set, before or since (excluding intentional parallels and variations), Charles said. For the first time since the 1974 Topps set, the company included individual player cards that were oriented horizontally. It then advertised the insertion of every single card, some 300,000 in total, from its 40-year archive into packs. Anson Whaley is a contributor to Sports Collectors Daily and has been an avid pre-war and vintage card collector for more than 20 years. Most are statistical errors, but some players have the wrong photo or wrong team. 9. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2008-2023 The Cardboard Connection. The only box set I ever purchased. Regular cards also cost $1000 if it's in mint condition. However, while some of them made their way overseas, there are reports of others remaining here in the states. Its no surprise that this beauty of Bo blazing around the base paths made the list. Compared to the ugly 1990 Topps design this was leap years ahead. That slugging percentage is what actually gives this card much of its value. And, by the time his fifteen years with Houston were up, he'd smashed 449 home runs, appeared in four All-Star Games, won an MVP, collected three Silver Sluggers and one Gold Glove to tie the knot on his Hall of Fame career. Within ten years, Gum Inc. grasped 60% of the gum production in the US market. I had them in their original boxes placed in shoeboxes in my closet, in fact in 2019 I offered the entire package to a friend in NY for $1000 plus shipping, fortunately his kid isnt into sports so he said no. But those kids are adults 30 years later and many now appreciate a clean design that may have been too subtle for younger collectors. 1991 Topps #333 Chipper Jones Rookie Card Estimated PSA 10 Value: $85 It may not be quite as valuable as the Mark Whiten variation or Griffey's base card but the Chipper Jones rookie card is easily the face of the entire set. We'll respect your privacy and you can unsubscribe at any time.. Posted by Adam Hughes | Baseball Card Values, Baseball Cards, Topps Baseball Cards | 2 |. Grade: Ungraded. In all, there are 792 cards in the set, just like the regular 1991 Topps baseball cards. By the time the 91 season began, Smith had already earned 11 Gold Gloves. Click on any card to see more graded card prices, historic prices, and past sales. 1991 Topps Turns 30 Rip for Chip? As you read through this list, please keep in mind that most cards in this set have little to no value these days. Check out eBay, and youll find complete sets for $10 or less, often under $5. 1 set on the PSA registry with an amazing 759 of 792 cards graded a PSA 10 sold at auction for over $106,000, A completely unopened wax box of 36 packs was sold in December 2020 by Heritage for $30,000, Pre-1980 Graded Baseball Cards $10 and Less, Pre-1980 Graded Football Cards $10 and Less, Vintage Graded Basketball Cards $25 and less, Joe Montana Collection Sells for $3.7 Million at Goldin, Hindman Grails and Goats Auction Ending March 24, 2023, Clean Sweep Auctions All Sports Card, Autograph and Memorabilia Auction Ends April 12-13, 2023, David Cycleback's Identification and Authentication Advice, Baseball Card Auctions on eBay Ending Soon, Basketball Card Auctions on eBay Ending Soon, Football Card Auctions on eBay Ending Soon, Vintage Sports Memorabilia on eBay Ending Soon, Top 100 Most Watched Baseball Rookie Cards on eBay, Top 100 Most Watched Basketball Rookie Cards for Sale on eBay, Top 100 Most Watched Hockey Rookie Card Auctions, Top Authenticated Vintage Unopened Sports Card Boxes, Packs on eBay, 100 Most Watched Graded Rookie Cards for Sale on eBay, 100 Most Watched Tom Brady Card Auctions on eBay, 50 Hottest Hobby Boxes at Auction on eBay, 50 Most Watched Golf Trading Cards on eBay, 50 Most Watched Wrestling Trading Cards on eBay, Most Watched Complete Baseball Card Sets at Auction on eBay, Most Watched Football Rookie Card Auctions, Most Watched Goudey Baseball Cards on eBay, Most Watched Soccer Cards for Sale on eBay, Most Watched Unopened Sports Card Boxes, Packs on eBay, Most Watched Vintage Sports Memorabilia on eBay, Hottest Panini National Treasures Cards on eBay, Sports Memorabilia Auctions Ending Soon on eBay. And, the numbers indeed show it as his slugging percentage and OPS plummeted to .383 and .714, respectively. He'd appear in just 23 games for the White Sox in 1991 before missing the entire 1992 season due to hip replacement surgery. Need help buying or selling cards or have a general question about the hobby? Lets start at the beginning and work our way through the rest. Whether you include the sequential game card inserts, the bold 40th logo cards, the Glow Backs, the sheet code variants or just the more clear-cut error and corrected cards; it can go pretty deep and that means a lot of mystery to explore. Those sets that followed just dont seem like trading cards to them. 1991 Rare Vintage Error Nolan Ryan Donruss "Highlights" Prices are updated daily based upon 1991 Topps Micro listings that sold on eBay and our marketplace. The guy had just broken out, to say the least, the season before when he appeared in his first All-Star Game while winning his first MVP, Silver Slugger and Gold Glove Awards. Almost every PSA 10 the man has ever been on baseball, football, whatever is considered a collectible. KEY: RB=Record Breakers, MGR=Manager, AS=All-Star. An earlier Sports Collectors Daily article with a first-hand account from a soldier in the Middle East mentions cards being thrown away and even burned as part of fires. So why is the set so expensive? These things were always hit-or-miss in terms of player selection, depending on who was moving around. 1991 Bowman Baseball has a 704-card checklist. They must have found their way into the hands of collectors quickly because I remember seeing them for sale at shows at the time. 1991 Topps card list & price guide. Im not collecting again till Topps bring back inexpensive cards like they did in the 1980s. If you do not receive the verification code within 60 Seconds, we will send you the activation link again. Few cards shine a light on Jose Canseco's athletic splendor like the 1991 Topps Desert Shield #390. . Due to the special nature of this anniversary set and because the errors were caught early enough in the press run, Topps decided to correct a number of the cards. In addition, the sets featured a super glossy finish on card fronts. Of course, The Big Hurt was uber consistent at the plate (nine seasons of 30-plus dingers) and has proven to be similarly dependable in the card market. Considering his Hall Of Fame legacy and untimely passing, this is very surprising. One thing to watch out for? The power with the bat was gone but he still had his glove, though, and in 1991 he would earn his sixth of nine career Gold Gloves. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Copyright 2022 by Old Sports Cards, LLC. You do see sets for sale on occasion (more on that in a bit), but it doesnt happen all that often and usually requires not only a collector with some patience, but one with a little bit of money to spend. And the fact that Griffey Jr. appears on this list twice goes back to what I was saying earlier: he was one of the most popular athletes in the world at the time and collectors wanted any card on which he appeared. On the other hand, Bagwell began his career with the Astros the following season in 1991 by capturing the NL Rookie of the Year Award. Ripken was simply on fire during the 1991 season and there was nothing that he couldn't do. Inserted one per jumbo cello pack of 100 cards. KEY: RB=Record Breakers, MGR=Manager, AS=All-Star. If theres a cooler card capturing MLBs stolen base king in his dust-filled, head-first glory, we probably havent seen it. The problem, in terms of value for the 1991 Topps set is that the cards were everywhere, and they still are. Not to mention the hundreds of thousands of (opened product) cards found in hand-collated sets, collections, thrift store hauls and miscellaneous boxes that I have picked up over the years. It is also an indicator of the price movement of trading cards. And I was incredibly excited when these cards were released because of a special they were offering Because of their 40th anniversary of producing baseball cards, Topps randomly inserted a copy of every card they ever made into packs to help build hype. From 1984 through 1991, Topps gave collectors what we wanted sort of. Back in 1991, Topps issued them as a parallel to their regular baseball cards. Then, theres the Chipper Jones card, with graded examples usually running close to $1,000 or more. Yeah, 1991 Topps Baseball contained those old familiars the record breaker cards, league leader cards and ugh checklists, each issued on gray cardboard for one last time. By utilizing Kodak technology, Topps delivered an incredible product that firmly put them as a serious competitor in the premium segment of the hobby. The variety of Topps photography in the set stands out to this day. . 2022 Topps Chrome Baseball, Sonic Base Cards Are Different. Nothing against the Boston Red Sox, but despite being one of baseball's most storied franchises, they're also known for a couple of bonehead deals. Ungraded & graded values for all '91 Topps Baseball Cards. But there were still all those randomly inserted cards. Indeed, Topps did unearth many of the old cards for the promotion in its Brooklyn headquarters but it also bought cards from fellow collectors for the contest. The horizontal layout was perfect in framing Ryan in the final moments of delivering one of his signature heaters. 2. But hobbyists know its value, as this gem mint card consistently sells between $80 and $100. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network. Other cards in the set also show hats, bats or body parts extended over the border as well but for some reason Topps decided to correct this on Whiten's card. And at the same time, Fleer threw its had into the premium card market, too. And to date Ive only pulled a single vintage card, a 1968 common!. It was recently sold on eBay for $150.50, thus making it worthy of being on our list of most valuable Bo Jackson baseball cards. Things were a bit more manageable for Sanders since he was at least playing for two teams in the same city, but the two-sport conflict reared its ugly head right when the Braves needed him the most. Pretty neat find. To some veteran collectors, it remains the last true baseball card set and has been elevated in their minds through year after year of glossy fronts and backs. As the fortieth anniversary of their first sets 1951 Topps Red Backs and Blue Backs dawned, Topps unveiled a classy, understated base set in the spring of 1991. List by Card #, You own: 0 / 850 items 4. Guessing the Braves did, seeing as how they chose the Florida native with the first overall pick in the 1990 MLB Draft. Topps relied on a sales gimmick, tied to its anniversary, to entice collectors to the old standby, while still dressed in the familiar, old, gray cardboard. I have about 30 box or 1991 tops baseball cards. I got my dads card collection going back to the mid 1940s. Ross is the founder of Old Sports Cards and has been collecting sports cards for over 30 years. All rights reserved. Love that Benny Santiago card you guys posted in the checklist page. #18. 1991 Topps: Top 10 Baseball Cards Johnny Lawrence July 18, 2009 Just Missed The Cut. Ripken's streak has since been broken multiple times. Though the Kid would finish third in voting for the 1989 AL Rookie of the Year Award behind Baltimore's Gregg Olson and Kansas City's Tom Gordon, he clearly showed the most long-term upside of any player in that season's rookie class. But we have a fondness for this card because it shows the Wizard showing off his base-running wheels, a skill he doesnt get nearly the credit he deserves. PSA Price Guide for 1991 Topps Baseball Card Values - Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) & PSA/DNA Authentication Services Services Set Links - Overview - Checklist - Teams - Errors / Variations - Hall of Famers - Rookies - Inserts and Related Sets - Comments - Packaging - Pricing On January 5, 1920, the Boston Red Sox dealt Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees for cash and we all know how that turned out. You can expect to pay $10 or more for stars in PSA 8, all the way up to $5000 or more for the Tiffany Chipper rookie. So in 1991, Topps experimented with that by creating its Stadium Club brand a glossy, upscale Topps branded product. Estimated PSA 10 Gem Mint Value: $250 Upper Deck could not have chosen a better player than Ken Griffey Jr. to lead off the checklist as card #1 of their debut set in 1989. Was he originally slated to be the first card in the set but Topps decided to go with Dave Stewart at some point instead? Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network. 1993 Finest Ken Griffey Jr. Refractor #110 #5. 1991 Donruss Jose Uribe Brand New Card 4. Nonetheless, PSA 10s in the following still command respectable coins. History All-Star Game; A.L.C.S. Anyway, Ripken Jr. will always be known for that "other streak", the one in which he played in 2,632 consecutive games. You can, after all, routinely find thousands of them on eBay. By season's end, he added his ninth-straight All-Star appearance, second MVP Award, his sixth Silver Slugger, and his first Gold Glove. To pick up where the guides leftoff after the majority of the hobby moved on [past] error cards.. I have some Topps baseball cards (1988-1991).How do I get the value of these cards? Ungraded & graded values for all '92 Leaf Baseball Cards. Through 1989, when they produced 25,000 Tiffany sets, Topps actually released print run numbers publicly. Card #311 Mickey Mantle is one of the Topps baseball cards with the highest value on the market. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. 1991 Topps Baseball Cards Complete Your Set U-Pick (#'s 1-200) Nm-Mint Emmitt Smith Rookie Cards: Values and Details 2020 Hall of Fame 2020 Spring Training 30-Day Baseball Card Challenge Baseball Books Baseball Briefs Baseball Card Challenges Baseball Card Statistics Baseball Card Values Baseball Cards Baseball Cards Daily Baseball Cards for Sale The popularity of 1991 Topps Baseball does not come from the Rookie Cards that continue to carry so many other sets only the Chipper Jones draft pick retains significant rookie value it resides in its variety, the stunning photography and the continued collectability of the set, the ability to be all things to all collectors. Its hard to believe but the 1991 Desert Shield baseball cards issued by Topps have turned 30. Who knew that the young man stoically staring at you in this picture would become a 468-homer-hitting, MVP-winning Hall of Famer? Price: $1,000. The fact that this gem from Gwynns 10th season has a $60 sticker today isnt quite as amazing as some of the Padres legends hitting stats, but its still impressive enough. However, the 1991 Stadium Club set will always be remembered as a game-changer for Topps with its unique place in hobby history. Im looking for the way to the honest price for a van load of NFL hockey baseball basketball collection. Card fronts display a vivid color photo surrounded by colored piping and an outer white border. I think its a great promotion, Richard O. Rieger, an analyst for a financial services company, told the Los Angeles Times in 1991. Ungraded & graded values for all '91 Topps Micro Baseball Cards. 22. Check Desert Shield prices on eBay (affiliate link), Check Desert Shield prices on Amazon (affiliate link), The relative scarcity of pristine Desert Shield cards has led to some big prices on the secondary market, including . I do believe that Topps upped the production on this set, being a big anniversary issue with a massive promotion behind it. Click on any card to see more graded card prices, historic prices, and past sales. 1989 Deion Sanders Yankees Signed Card 6. 1989 Ken Griffey Jr. Auto Topps Card 5. All rights reserved. I began buying in 1967 and in 1972 I got lazy and just bought complete sets, that I did mail order not at the corner store. PSA graded 3,178 of the '86 Topps Nolan Ryan cards. 1993 SP Derek Jeter Rookie Card #279 #2. Like Griffey, Bo Jackson has seen his status in this hobby continue to rise in recent years as collectors who were kids during this era are now adults full of nostalgia scooping up cards of their former heroes. That may seem like a lot until you consider that collectors arent too likely to submit new cards unless they think theyre in top shape. 1991 Nolan Ryan Topps Desert Shield #6 Buy on eBay One of the most underrated cards of all the Nolan Ryan baseball cards. Topps did a great job with its All-Star card design for its 1991 set. Prices are updated daily based upon 1992 Leaf listings that sold on eBay and our marketplace. That would change in 1992 as the company would follow the trend of other modern issues and move to a light-gloss style of card. Its a perfect card that still sells a handful of times every month. Now that we got that out of the way, let's take a look at the top ten most valuable 1991 Topps baseball cards: This set was notorious for its numerous variations. Topps also used the horizontal layout a technique it still uses in flagship today to produce striking portrait cards such as Roger Clemens propped up against the Fenway Park scoreboard. I have hundreds of these cards in good to perfect condition. A short bio is added for those players with enough space. Upper Deck had proved with its $1 packs that there was a market for premium brands. That led collectors everywhere to "chase the Mick" in hopes of landing one of the most coveted cards of all time: the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle. Ryan was 43 years, 4 months and 11 days old when he threw that record-breaking no-hitter (his sixth) against Oakland on June 11, 1990. A pair of thin frames are also around the photo. 1991 Topps Micro card list & price guide. 33 cards. From Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Famer Honus Wagner to Los Angeles Angels standout Mike Trout, here are nine iconic cards of star players that were sold or auctioned for significant sums: 1. My brother and I must have gotten tired of opening them, and moved on to something new. From 1984 to 1991, Topps released a limited edition version of both their regular and traded sets called "Tiffany" sets. I was so pumped up and dreamed of pulling a vintage Mickey Mantle or any vintage star for that matter. 1 Nolan Ryan - Texas Rangers 2 George Brett - Kansas City Royals RB 3 Carlton Fisk - Chicago White Sox RB 4 Kevin Maas - New York Yankees RB 5 Cal Ripken Jr. - Baltimore Orioles RB 6 Nolan Ryan - Texas Rangers RB A complete raw set sold for nearly $3,000 in September on eBay. 1991 Donruss Original Ken Griffey Jr Error Card 3. For Cal Ripken Jr., though, there is no question: the 1991 season was his career year. That is probably the most fantastic shot of all time. The 91 design offers an element never before seen on Topps cards, instead of merely listing the team name, it utilizes word marks for each club, mimicking the script on the uniform. Please enter the verification code that you received on your email. As mentioned, it is believed there were roughly 6,500-7,000 of the cards printed for each player. Tucked into the upper left-hand corner was a Topps 40 Years of Baseball logo. No matter what form of packaging a collector purchased, the promotion appeared, exclaiming the chance to pull any card from Topps vast inventory from the previous 40 years. Sensing they had a good thing, TCG issued a few extras and parallels that have stood up to time and hobby fluctuations better than the original. Most of the cards show the logo faded with the stats easy to read, while variations off er a bright, bold, red logo that dominates the stats. There is plenty of room for all the game's top stars. There were only a handful of cards worth more that $50 during this time. For some of those veterans, 1991 Topps will always be the last real baseball card set. Given the increasing prices of high-grade cards, the potential for unopened packs and boxes could be even greater by now. In the end, Jack Glenn, a 43-year-old collector from New York City, won the grand prize of every Topps set. & N.L.C.S. It makes sense that Topps would feature the first player in this set in a tuxedo as a clever way of helping to market their first premium set in a higher standard. Key rookie cards include Jeff Bagwell, Luis Gonzalez and Ivan Rodriguez. - http://bit.ly/W. Aside from batting .325, well above his career average of .276, Ripken also set career highs in home runs (34), RBI (114), OBP (.374), slugging percentage (.566), OPS (.940), OPS+ (162), and total bases (368). A Baseball Card Database by Baseball Almanac. Ungraded & graded values for all '91 Topps Archives 1953 Reprint Baseball Cards. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Stay in the know about the latest sports card, hobby news, and promotions from Beckett. In that year Uribe won the Millie Mac Award for his spirit and leadership efforts with his team. How much are YOUR cards worth? During his sophomore season in the big leagues, 23-year-old Frank Thomas broke out in a monster way on the Southside of Chicago. I read it a while ago and because of it, finally picked up a factory sealed set for ~$20 tonight. The base card design is very clean and highlights the stellar photography. This was the year Topps finally woke up and decided to try to put out a set to try to compete with Upper Deck. What wasnt known at the time was that only vintage cards valued at $50 or less were randomly inserted into packs. PFEW as I did sell every card to one guy who appreciates them and will take care of them, and yes, much more than $1000. 2000 Finest Randy Johnson Gold Refractor I have this box set too. 1991 Chipper Jones Topps Desert Shield RC #333 Buy on eBay The most obvious problem is there's no way in hell a Jose Uribe card from any year and in any kind of condition should go for $758,000. Ichiro Suzuki 2001 Topps Limited Edition Rookie Card 4. The picture of the legendary pitchers body uncoiled after what we can presume is another heater whizzing past a helpless hitter. By 1991, Mattingly boosted his slugging percentage to .394 and in the following seasons above .400, although barely.