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Disclosure: This is not buying, selling, 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.
One day into the 2025 baseball card season, and all I can say is this:
Interest is alive and well.
While my jumbo box wasn’t a smashing success, my auto was decent (Matt Olson Real One Redemption which I just sold for $74.99) and one of the relics was a base James Wood 1990 version.
Other than that, weirdly, only one numbered card (Joey Cantillo Gold /2015). I don’t think that is ever happened to me with a jumbo.
Anyway, the main takeaways remain—if you’re selling your box or pack contents, sell as close to release date as possible, usually. If you’re buying, just wait if you can!
As for the list of top sales, I’ve put it together at different parts of the day, so I’m probably missing a few, but it still gives a great idea of what’s hot right now from S1. I’m also not including autos or 1/1s, just so you know.
1. Frank Thomas NNOF Variation /35 $1,000 Best Offer
It’s fitting that the highest “1990” card that has been sold is the 1990 king himself, Frank Thomas.
I personally think it would have been cooler to have an image that was more reminiscent of the NNOF original, but I don’t hate the batting pose.
Important Reminder: The price listed on eBay for a card sold via Best Offer is not necessarily what it actually sold for. In this case, the card was listed at $5,000, but by checking 130point.com, we see the true sale price was $1,000. That makes a huge difference for anyone buying/selling from this point onward.
2. James Wood Golden Mirror Image Variation Rookie $700 Best Offer
I mean, I get it. The top rookie of the class and an SP image variation. But is this card worth $700? Time will tell, I suppose.
But speaking of time, let’s turn back the clock—how does this sale compare with the same cards from 2024’s rookie card class?
Elly’s Golden Mirror Image Variation started at $828 before heading down to $500 and even lower most recently:
Jackson Merrill started at $700 and most recently sold close to $600, with some lower dips in-between (note a few of the sales on the graph are debut card sales, thus much lower value).
Paul Skenes isn’t really an apples to apples comparison, but after starting at over $1,100 with 35 bids in October 2024, even his Golden Mirror Image Variation has come down, with the last sale at $600.
So again, especially if these are PC buys, try to wait if you can (especially if it’s something with over 25 print run).
3. James Wood Number Variation /29 $425 Best Offer
Sticking with Wood, his number variation sold for $425.
Now, if we are thinking about print runs and appeal, this is a vertical card with a known print run of /29, compared to a horizontal Golden Image SP with a higher print run.
If it were me, I’d want this /29 before the Golden Mirror (though, the photo on the Golden Mirror is pretty sweet).
The number cards are new this year, with only 25 cards on the checklist featuring this variation (the numbering depends on the player’s jersey number…as I weep about the Jacob Wilson /5!)
1 Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers /17
20 Coby Mayo, Baltimore Orioles /95
49 Christian Yelich, Milwaukee Brewers /22
65 Gunnar Henderson, Baltimore Orioles /2
74 Dylan Crews, Washington Nationals /3
78 Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks /7
80 Jace Jung, Detroit Tigers /17
98 Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates /30
100 Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals /7
101 Nolan Arenado, St. Louis Cardinals /28
146 Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers /22
150 Elly De La Cruz, Cincinnati Reds /44
163 Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays /27
181 James Wood, Washington Nationals /29
187 Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees /45
200 Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels /27
207 Ronald Acuña Jr., Atlanta Braves /13
244 Yordan Alvarez, Houston Astros /44
250 Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies /3
266 Julio Rodríguez, Seattle Mariners /44
285 Rafael Devers, Boston Red Sox /11
300 Aaron Judge, New York Yankees /99
314 Jacob Wilson, Athletics /5
317 Brooks Lee, Minnesota Twins /72
350 Francisco Lindor, New York Mets /12
4. James Wood, Wood /25 $425 Best Offer
Ok, I take it back. This is the Wood to have, pun intended.
A wood parallel RC for the top rookie card in the series, James WOOD. It doesn’t get much better than that. It's like if Mike Trout had a fish scale refractor.
5. Roberto Clemente Plakata $300 Best Offer
Plakata!
Is this Topps’ answer to Kaboom! I’d love to see one in person to see just how much it pops. The Roberto Clemente Plakata! recently sold for $300.
As for pull rates, according to ChasingMajors.com, the odds of pulling a Plakata card are:
1 in every 4,670 hobby packs
1 in every 1,149 jumbo packs
I think it’s cool that the checklist includes Carlos Pena, a fine player in his time, but who has a Plakata! because he is the saying’s originator (or at least the one who brought it mainstream).
Other sales so far include:
Elly $208
Yordan $90
Lindor $135
Ozuna $60
Chourio $155
Pena $100
6. Paul Skenes All Aces $413 Auction
The All Aces insert set has returned for 2025, and man, I was not expecting this—a Paul Skenes All Aces card sold for $413.
Running to the odds to see if this makes much sense, hobby pack odds for pulling an All Aces card (any player from the checklist) are 1 in 1,167 hobby packs, and 1 in 287 jumbo packs
Other All Aces that have sold so far:
Jobe $165
Big Unit $152
Skenes $385
Lowder $128
Ohtani $350
7. Aaron Judge Golden Mirror Variation $226 Best Offer
I won’t spent too much time here…The Golden Mirror Image Variations have been another hot chase in 2025 Series 1 - just like they have in series’ past - and one of the standout sales is the Aaron Judge with Derek Jeter variation, which sold for $226.
8. Bryce Harper Golden Mirror Variation $320 Best Offer
And rounding out the list, Bryce Harper’s Cowboy Hat Golden Mirror Variation brought in a solid $320.
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