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

[Canthardlymiss1]

Originally Posted by 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.

Right on cue with that. 1990 Donruss Juan Gonzalez Reverse negative!


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[RealDocStrange]

No love for F$$$ F$$e yet?
First card I ever remember seeing on national news. For sure got to 3 digits.


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[Seitas]

No one has mentioned the Ben McDonald Upperdeck RC error. That was a big card for a few months.

[UMich92]

Originally Posted by RealDocStrange

No love for F$$$ F$$e yet?
First card I ever remember seeing on national news. For sure got to 3 digits.


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One of the local party stores (think liquor store with pop, milk, cheese, and snacks) always had cards throughout the 80s. The FF card hit pop culture enough that it caught my parents attention. Mom ripped more '89 Fleer wax than I did. I came home on break from college and there were piles of cards stacked in my room. All the Griffey RCs were a nice extra.

[junkwaxgems]

1998 probably had the greatest concentration of this type of surprise gain.

Aside from McGwire and Sosa, prospecting was in overdrive. Beckett started their Bowman prospect report articles and several key (back then) RCs from the not-rare-whatsoever 1994 and 1995 Topps Traded sets went as high as $40 (Grieve, Konerko). 1997 Chrome looked like the 2nd coming of 1992 Bowman.

Shane Spencer’s 96 Bowman was a $25-35 cards for a few weeks.

Kerry Wood’s 97 cards went absolutely nuts after his 20k game.

The 92 Traded Nomar USA RC, especially the gold version which went to $200-250 raw, I recall.

1993 UD Gold Jeter was finally listed and tracked and collectors woke up to it and it became a $300+ card by 1999.

96 SP Erstad was $30-40 at one point.

Troy Glaus RCs in 1998 Topps chrome products were $25+ forever. Granted they started out this way.

I can remember some runs on these guys to: Ben Davis, Richie Sexson, Michael Barrett, Ricky Ledee, Todd Helton. Tons of previously $0.50-$1 prospect RCs out of Bowman’s Best and Chrome of previous years became $10-15-20 cards at some point in the season or another.

The year ended with Fleer Update and Leaf R&S and JD drew while also dropping a ton of new guys who hadn’t appeared in anything before. It was a very exciting time.

Probably my favorite year as a fan and collector.

[LVDan]

Originally Posted by junkwaxgems

1998 probably had the greatest concentration of this type of surprise gain.

Aside from McGwire and Sosa, prospecting was in overdrive. Beckett started their Bowman prospect report articles and several key (back then) RCs from the not-rare-whatsoever 1994 and 1995 Topps Traded sets went as high as $40 (Grieve, Konerko). 1997 Chrome looked like the 2nd coming of 1992 Bowman.

Shane Spencer’s 96 Bowman was a $25-35 cards for a few weeks.

Kerry Wood’s 97 cards went absolutely nuts after his 20k game.

The 92 Traded Nomar USA RC, especially the gold version which went to $200-250 raw, I recall.

1993 UD Gold Jeter was finally listed and tracked and collectors woke up to it and it became a $300+ card by 1999.

96 SP Erstad was $30-40 at one point.

Troy Glaus RCs in 1998 Topps chrome products were $25+ forever. Granted they started out this way.

I can remember some runs on these guys to: Ben Davis, Richie Sexson, Michael Barrett, Ricky Ledee, Todd Helton. Tons of previously $0.50-$1 prospect RCs out of Bowman’s Best and Chrome of previous years became $10-15-20 cards at some point in the season or another.

The year ended with Fleer Update and Leaf R&S and JD drew while also dropping a ton of new guys who hadn’t appeared in anything before. It was a very exciting time.

Probably my favorite year as a fan and collector.

I can recall selling stacks of base/insert 98 McGwire cards to Ken at the card shop that bordered Santa Ana/Tustin for $2-5 ea. I always walked in with enough chachki to turn it into a few unopened boxes. That was a really cool shop, forget the name. I had just gotten back into my 2nd shift in cards after exiting in 89. 98 was nuts- I remember grabbing a bunch of the 98 Topps “minted in Cooperstown” parallels thinking theyd make me rich someday- yes, Glaus but also Jack Cust and a few others too…

[rwperu34]

Originally Posted by spiffycards

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.

My first pricing research came from this "magazine". I went through and looked for all of the most expensive cards in any given year and realized they all were (rookie). Then I looked at 2nd, 3rd year...etc and noticed the spread between the rookie and 2nd year widened the higher the price. That lead me to trade a $3 Don Mattingly for a $1.25 Jose Canseco straight across. Everybody thought I was crazy...

[Goldie]

November 1999 Tuff Stuff:

[Skipscards]

Originally Posted by fishepa

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.

This is a common misconception. Beckett wasn’t providing prices they “thought” cards should sell for. They were providing a range of what cards sold for. The Beckett Hi price just means that some dummy bought a particular card that high or that cards were being sold in a range. Most dealers used that Hi to set the market and come down off of that number. “30% off Beckett Hi” or whatever. It was reporting their research. Which in the pre-eBay world was very helpful.

[DaveTaplin]

2003 Bowman's Best Ryan Howard Auto was $700-$800 in 2005/06.

[oplum29]

i think this is a great topic that should have had some parameters on it.

non autographed cards
non inserts
non SPs or SSPs
non error cards

things like that.

that 85 Topps McGwire was HOT back in 1998, and now it's a $10 card raw, which is crazy. i should have picked one up at the shop, hopefully i will sometime later on.

i think the Mattingly and Canseco rookies were crazy hot too in the 80's, those are fascinating and fun stories to read.

did Bond's rookie ever peak like that when he was cheating his way, i mean bombing his way to 73 and the Babe's record?

[fabiani12333]

Originally Posted by junkwaxgems

96 SP Erstad was $30-40 at one point.

I remember getting the Erstad as a little kid in '96 at a LCS for no more than $10. The mid-90s etched-foil SP cards are some of the nicest cards ever produced in the hobby.

[RealDocStrange]

Originally Posted by Goldie

November 1999 Tuff Stuff:

We had one shop in Tacoma who refused Beckett and only bought/sold by tuff stuff pricing (this is early 1990s)

Whether he was just stubborn or some other reason he taught some 13 year olds the value of arbitrage! Tuff would usually be a month or two behind on fast risers or fallers.


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[fabiani12333]

Originally Posted by oplum29

did Bond's rookie ever peak like that when he was cheating his way, i mean bombing his way to 73 and the Babe's record?

I remember buying his '86 TT for no more than $50 bucks at an LCS in 2002. The '85 McGwire had a higher peak price for sure.

[Tomi]

Brien Taylor was always a fun one to watch. Never saw him throw a single pitch yet the hype was insane. Here's one from the January 1992 Beckett Topps GOLD.

[Canthardlymiss1]

Originally Posted by Tomi

Brien Taylor was always a fun one to watch. Never saw him throw a single pitch yet the hype was insane. Here's one from the January 1992 Beckett Topps GOLD.

More pricing screenshots please! Miss checking it every month back then for those arrows!


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[Tomi]

Originally Posted by Canthardlymiss1

More pricing screenshots please! Miss checking it every month back then for those arrows!


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Some more from the same issue. A great nostalgia trip for many of us.

[wallawalla]

The Beckett hot and cold lists! That was the first page I would flip to every month. Brings back memories…

[larry25]

Originally Posted by Triple B

Very dramatic take.

McGwire and Sosa put together a dream season that put baseball back on its feet after years of people not caring after the 1994 lockout. RCs of Sosa and McGwire were $1 and $5 in the years before and that home run chase was the highlight of 1998.

I get that you're grumpy, but don't edit what was actually happening back then to feed your hate for everything.

THIS ^ What a revisionist turd!

[Canthardlymiss1]

Originally Posted by Tomi

Some more from the same issue. A great nostalgia trip for many of us.

This is straight Gold! 1990 Leaf Ventura $14!!!!! Crazy how much base went for especially 84 Donruss… I always wanted that 1986 Donruss Set once I saw a kid probably a few years older than me purchase it in a local card store.
I wish complete set building was chased more often today!


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[ReggieBush22]

I don't have a Beckett at quite the peak of Big Mac in 1998 but here is a pic from Oct 1999, about a year past the peak and this card was still at $200.

[ReggieBush22]

I was talking about the 1981 Topps Montana peaking at $175. Here is a pic from March 1990 Beckett. You have to remember, Beckett's first football issue came out in Dec 1989 and the football industry was still in its infancy and for this card to reach $175 at this point in time was unprecedented for a football card. For reference, the 1986 Rice was $35, 1984 Marino $11, 1984 Elway $7. This card was on FIRE!

[ReggieBush22]

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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My first Beckett was 1987 Oct, McGwire on front.

[ReggieBush22]

Originally Posted by 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.

What about the 1982 Fleer John Littlefield card? Didn't really cause a craze but its rarity made it like a $200 card, which is ridiculously high back then.

[ReggieBush22]

Originally Posted by 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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Here you go, from July 1995 Beckett.