Comparing Card Values, Grades & More: A Tribute to Rickey Henderson
A tough one to put together. These aren't Rickey Henderson’s “best” cards, but a tribute. Like Griffey, every Henderson card is a masterpiece, while still offering lessons and tips about collecting.
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This is not buying or investment advice. I’m simply reporting the data I’m seeing. Please do your own research and make your own decisions. Just because cards have increased in value up to this point, it doesn’t mean they will continue to do so.
I’m getting all of this data from the Market Movers platform. It’s not my platform, I’m simply a user and affiliate. If you want to do your own research, you can grab a free trial to Market Movers with code BALLCARDGENIUS. You’d also get 20% off of your membership forever if you wanted to continue once your trial has been completed.
Market Movers isn’t perfect; no tool is. I’ve seen instances where a graded card was being included in the raw numbers, which might cause a huge spike in value. So trust, but verify.
I can’t believe Rickey is gone. I’m still processing it.
I didn’t know him personally; never met him. I was born in 1984 and barely have memories of the 1989 championship squad, and just a little bit more of the 1990 team. So, really, I had memories of 1991-1993, and then Rickey’s return to the A’s in 1994-1995, and then again in 1998. But in baseball fan years, that’s not a lot of time. Three stints!
That said, from my vantage point as a lifelong A’s fan, he was the best of the best.
On the card front, he became my main PC (along with Canseco and McGwire), so there isn’t any shortage there.
For that I’m thankful.
This article is a bittersweet tribute. It’s also a tough one to put together. These aren't Rickey Henderson’s “best” cards, but a tribute. Like Griffey, every Henderson card is a masterpiece, while still offering lessons and tips about collecting.
1. Rookies Take the Cake
It’s no secret that rookie cards are usually the most coveted out of any player’s checklist, and that’s more than proven here. (I still maintain that a player’s LAST card should be a chase as well…bookends, am I right?)
Anyway, the best card of the 1980s, definitely, and one of the greatest in the entire run of the hobby. The 1980 Topps Rickey Henderson Rookie card.
Take a look—PSA 10 values of each of Rickey’s cards progressively get lower with each year removed from the 1980 rookie. Not to mention the tiny little $140K difference between his rookie and second-year cards.
1980 Topps $143.7K
1981 Topps $3.53K
1982 Topps $1.34K
1983 Topps $515
1984 Topps $163
2. Not Just Topps, But Still Topps or Bust
The beautiful thing about the 80s was that Topps wasn’t the only game in town. Both Donruss and Fleer were able to produce baseball cards, and did so starting in 1981.
But…both brands played second fiddle to Topps throughout the years. Here you can see the differences between the three for 1981, 1982, and 1983. Topps is far and away the most valuable in PSA 10 condition.
1981
Topps #261 PSA 10 $3.53K
Donruss #119 PSA 10 $1.25K
Fleer #574 PSA 10 $193
1982
Topps #610 PSA 10 $1.34K
Donruss #113 PSA 10 $215
Fleer #92 PSA 10 $118
1983
Topps #180 PSA 10 $515
Fleer #519 PSA 10 $93.69
Donruss #35 PSA 10 $68.35
3. PSA > SGC (Usually)
I get the question all of the time—what is the best grading company or service? Well, without carving out an entirely new blog post, if you want resale value, it’s usually going to be PSA. USUALLY, not always. It’s easy to check if you’re ever thinking about grading between the two.
Here is a look at a few comparisons. I’m limited by sale as reported by Market Movers, so trying to find those cards that were sold in PSA 10, SGC 10, and BVG/BGS. Again, these are 365-day averages.
1980 Rickey Henderson Cards
Topps #482 PSA 10 $143.7K
Topps #482 SGC 10 $38.4K
Topps #482 BVG 9.5 $20.5K
1981 Rickey Henderson Cards
Donruss #119 PSA 10 $1.25K
Donruss #119 SGC 10 $525
Fleer #574 PSA 10 $193
Fleer #574 SGC 10 $177
1983 Rickey Henderson Cards
Topps #180 PSA 10 $515
Topps #180 SGC 10 $351
Donruss #35 PSA 10 $68.35
Donruss #35 SGC 10 $79.68
1984 Rickey Henderson Cards
Topps #230 PSA 10 $163
Topps #230 SGC 10 $116
1985 Rickey Henderson Cards
Fleer #425 PSA 10 $739
Fleer #425 SGC 10 $599
4. PSA 9 Might Not Be Worth It
Let me preface this point by saying in my personal collection, the only graded cards I really pursue are Rickey Henderson PSA 9s. I like Rickey cards, and I wanted to get as many graded copies of his run through the years.
PSA 9s are affordable and still look amazing. I couldn’t do this with PSA 10 copies.
But, when it comes to buying and selling/flipping, PSA 9s usually aren’t worth it.
1980 Topps is one big anomaly. As a PSA 10, this card has sold 5 times over the last 365 days for an average of $143.7K. But for as close as you might think a PSA 9 is to a PSA 10, the values here would say otherwise… A PSA 9 sold for an average of $2.7K over 156 sales. Even at $2.7K, though, it’s clearly still worth taking a shot if you have a rookie in great condition that checks all of the boxes.
1981 Topps still might be worth it, but it’s tighter the average PSA 10 sold for $3.53K over 7 sales while a PSA 9 sold for an average of $102.
1982 Topps is the turning point, where it probably doesn’t make sense to grade and flip if we are assuming grading costs $25. A PSA 10 sold for $1.34K over 23 sales while a PSA 9 sold for $49.29 over 164 sales.
1983 Topps you’re pretty much in the red—PSA 10 average $515 over 35 sales, PSA 9 average $31.43.
As a collector on the personal side, collect what you love whether that’s PSA 9, SGC, etc. On the business side, dive a level deeper, make the comparisons, and understand the opportunity.