What card(s) PEAKED higher than 1985 Topps McGwire in 1998?

[Midi]

Kevin Maas mania was out of control. 1990 Donruss Joey Belle & David Justice went from commons to $5 a piece. I remember when Justice got hot I walked into my local card shop in New City NY and one of the owners - a woman, was on the ground in the middle of the store looking through Donruss boxes for them.

I also bought (13) Gary Sheffield 1990 Leaf cards for .25 each before the season started in 1993 - that summer I sold them for $10 each. I was 13 years old and still prospecting just like this today!

JT Snow was also a major success. He got traded to the Angels and hit like 10 HR in Anaheim.

Struck out on SF Giants 1B JR Phillips lol

[LVDan]

Originally Posted by MoreToppsPlease

Nice try, the only people trying to defend the vultures back then are vultures themselves.

Bringing up the players themselves here is irrelevant, everyone selling cards then obviously knew newbies were being gouged. Furthermore, Sosa and McGwire RCs are back to $5 adjusted for inflation.

Classic MTP stuff here

[ReggieBush22]

Originally Posted by itsbaytime

Yeah,

i don't really understand the rules of this. Sooooo many called up prospects were hotter than hell for varying periods of time. Kerry Wood, Strasburg, Dontrelle Willis, Jeff Francoeur, Jason Heyward were all guys that were blazing hot. I am sure many others can think of tons of players like that. McGwire and Sosa were both really hot that whole summer/fall, but I don't remember McGwires ever trading for that amount raw. I was at tons of shows and on ebay and the epic AOL message boards back then. Tons of volume for sure, but those prices were not really reached. Beckett just made up whatever they wanted. AROD was blazing hot by his 2nd season and his cards were on fire for quite some time. Vince Carter SP Authentic RC was also well over 1k as that set was on fire and the Slam Dunk contest made him a super duper star for a while. So many examples like this.....LINSANITY and Vinsanity were both at insano prices for a while.

Question isn't that complicated. It's a combination of factors, such as:

Percentage price increase over a short period of time (I think the McGwire was like a $50 card (on top of my head) before the season and it ended up around $250 in a few months)

Along with key words like frenzy, hype, buzz, etc that almost galvanized the hobby in a way.

[ReggieBush22]

Originally Posted by SaveMeTheGum

High # 1989 Upper Deck Jerome Walton's were on fire. I remember I had pulled so many Griffey's in the regular series I was rooting to pull Walton's over Griffey in the High #'s. Though i'm not sure I ever pulled a Griffey from the high # boxes.

This one sticks out too, it was on fire during his rookie year. Everyone wanted that card.

[ReggieBush22]

Originally Posted by eye4talent

Back to the original question… Is this trivia? As in, there is a specific answer that the OP is seeking?

Because I don’t recall an ‘80s card peaking higher than the McGwire USA card in 1998.

The Sosa ‘90 Leaf was a popular card at the time (but not ‘80s). Griffey’s UD got pretty high at some point. The ‘84 Fleer Update Clemens is the only card I can imagine getting close. But even then, I don’t know if that would’ve happened in ‘98.

Yup, i don't either. That's why i asked the question to see how many other cards truly PEAKED as high as Big Mac in 1998.

[hermanotarjeta]

Originally Posted by ReggieBush22

This one sticks out too, it was on fire during his rookie year. Everyone wanted that card.

I believe it got as high as $12.

[ReggieBush22]

Originally Posted by spiffycards

They were in the $275 each range. Some of you old-timers may remember Big Bob's Baseball Cards in Milford, CT. He was literally and figuratively huge before he went to prison for being an all-around scumbag. Well, 14-year-old me worked there (unloading 60 lb. cases of 1987 Topps from the back of trucks) and I remember a guy walking in with a briefcase that had an 800 ct. box full of 86 Donruss Cansecos. He left with a lot of money.

The Canseco peaked around $135 ish. I still have all of my Becketts from that era.

[ReggieBush22]

Originally Posted by Nostalgia

I remember when Gregg Jeffries 1988 cards were fire!

Indeed.

It's funny how certain players that no one today knows about was the talk of the hobby for a stretch in a moment in time.

[ReggieBush22]

Originally Posted by hermanotarjeta

1980 topps Rickey Henderson also hit $200 raw in 1989.

1984 Fleer update Puckett was $250 and Clemens was $300.

You're off on the Henderson. It peaked in 1991 at $185 ish. In 1989, they were going for about $75. I have all my Becketts. No big deal but just an FYI.

[SaveMeTheGum]

Sam Horn was hot fire for one Sept-Oct run.

[itsbaytime]

Juan Gonzalez--91 ultra update, Mike Piazza--92 fu and 92 bowman and Jeff Bagwell--91 ultra update were stupid hot in 92-94. I do remember that. 92 Bowman to the moon on tons of players (Frank thomas foil, cliff floyd, rondell white, manny, delgado, chipper, pedro, piazza and so many others) as well.

[Funkster]

Originally Posted by WhacksPacks

Lol this Bo Jackson was massive. Also the UD Michael Jordan white Sox card.


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[eye4talent]

Originally Posted by ReggieBush22

The Canseco peaked around $135 ish. I still have all of my Becketts from that era.

Wow, I’m not the only dork who saved them all?? April 1987, with Mike Schmidt on the cover, was my first one.


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[Canthardlymiss1]

If it’s not too much to ask can someone post some pics of the Beckett prices of sets like 1992 bowman, 1993 Finest or even the 1990 Leaf? I’m just curious to see and look back at what the prices were. I was too busy staying in my lane with 1990 Donruss and 1991 Fleer pricing back then!


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[OhioLawyerF5]

Originally Posted by Funkster

Lol this Bo Jackson was massive. Also the UD Michael Jordan white Sox card.


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The only 2 non-Reds players in my entire collection. I kept them solely because of how legendary they were.

[soey10]

Originally Posted by eye4talent

Wow, I’m not the only dork who saved them all?? April 1987, with Mike Schmidt on the cover, was my first one.


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I saved all of mine as well. My first one was June 1988 with Matt Nokes on the cover. My grandma would buy me and my brother a yearly subscription for Christmas every year.


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[csmtampa]

I was a teenager working at a shop in 1998 and we priced all cards at high Beckett. I believe at the time we had the 85 McGwire at $200. I remember selling 2 of my own for $150 or so on ebay. I also remember 1987 Donruss Maddux rookies at $25. The shop owners son hoarded that card and must've had 50 copies of it lol

[cardsin47]

There was definitely a moment in time - maybe a few Months? in 1988, when the McGwire Team USA ( ‘85 Topps ) was the #1 modern card of them all. I bought a raw Card and it graded a PSA 10, and I don’t remember how word got out back then ? ( pre- internet, but I was a SCD Advertiser ), and I got several calls from Dealers on my home phone / land line from around the Country saying they had clients that would pay top dollar if I wanted to sell ….. which I did, so I did.

One of the Dealers that called was Mark Murphy / The Baseball Card “Kid” ~ remember him?

[hermanotarjeta]

Originally Posted by cardsin47

There was definitely a moment in time - maybe a few Months? in 1988, when the McGwire Team USA ( ‘85 Topps ) was the #1 modern card of them all. I bought a raw Card and it graded a PSA 10, and I don’t remember how word got out back then ? ( pre- internet, but I was a SCD Advertiser ), and I got several calls from Dealers on my home phone / land line from around the Country saying they had clients that would pay top dollar if I wanted to sell ….. which I did, so I did.

One of the Dealers that called was Mark Murphy / The Baseball Card “Kid” ~ remember him?

How much did you get? Around $3k?

[cardsin47]

Originally Posted by hermanotarjeta

How much did you get? Around $3k?

From memory - yes. It was exactly or around $3k

[UMich92]

One thing that may be difficult to relate to is the imperfect information in the 80s and even 90s. Pre-internet, it was very difficult to find actual sales information and the flow of information was much slower. And when that monthly Beckett came out that show a card had increased in price, the information that it was based on was already old.

[fishepa]

Originally Posted by UMich92

One thing that may be difficult to relate to is the imperfect information in the 80s and even 90s. Pre-internet, it was very difficult to find actual sales information and the flow of information was much slower. And when that monthly Beckett came out that show a card had increased in price, the information that it was based on was already old.

And then ebay came along and turned the hobby upside down. Cards were actually valued for what they were worth, not what a magazine thought.

[cardsin47]

Originally Posted by UMich92

One thing that may be difficult to relate to is the imperfect information in the 80s and even 90s. Pre-internet, it was very difficult to find actual sales information and the flow of information was much slower. And when that monthly Beckett came out that show a card had increased in price, the information that it was based on was already old.

That’s right - you had to go shows and your LCS, talk to dealers and Collectors, and take anecdotal info as near fact - there was nothing else reliable at the time ~ this plus month+ late Beckett Monthly up and down arrows - with no idea who or what made those arrows move, and who benefited from them

You really had to be “into” the market and work within diligently to not get financially creamed! Newbies just had to hope Sellers were telling them the truth —- guess how many times that happened?

[spiffycards]

Originally Posted by UMich92

One thing that may be difficult to relate to is the imperfect information in the 80s and even 90s. Pre-internet, it was very difficult to find actual sales information and the flow of information was much slower. And when that monthly Beckett came out that show a card had increased in price, the information that it was based on was already old.

In the NY Metro Area we didn't use Beckett at all so it didn't matter what Beckett said. We used a newsprint magazine called Current Card Prices. It's funny that people on here are telling me that something I saw happen with my own two eyes is wrong, but that's why I generally don't bother posting and just lurk.

[ShoutFan2020]

Everyone overlooking the "error card craze" of 1989-1991. Hell we weren't even chasing Griffey Jr. in 1989 we were chasing reverse negatives, wrong positions and wrong back Donruss cards.