Record Jordans, Babe Ruth’s “Sincerely,” and the Smart Money Play for February ❄️🔥

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The Smarter Side of the Winter Market

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Acquisition Criteria

For the 1987–1999 era, we are strictly seeking High-Grade PSA Rookies or Sealed Cases with a minimum value of $1,000. We do not acquire raw singles, sets or commons from this period.

Acquisition Criteria

Modern Acquisition Criteria (1995–Present): We are exclusively seeking PSA/SGC Graded 10s, Low-Numbered Autographs (/25 or less), or Rare Inserts of Tier-1 Hall of Famers and top-tier active Stars. We do not acquire raw base cards or modern “inserts” from this period.

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The ground might be frozen, but the vintage market is currently on fire.

We just witnessed several major auctions wrap up—including ​Memory Lane’s $7.1M Winter Rarities​ and ​Goldin’s Elite event​—and the data is telling a very specific story:

Collectors Are Paying Up For High-Grade Grail Cards.

1. The Tip Off: Record-Breaking Auction Results

The ’84 Star Jordan Peak: A BGS 9 1984 Star #101 Michael Jordan just realized $387,484 at Memory Lane, more than tripling the last sale of the same grade back in 2025. We are seeing a massive flight to quality in high-grade early-80s Star and Fleer basketball. If you’ve been holding high-grade Star team sets, the market is officially calling for them.

The Return Of The 86 Fleer Jordan: And at Goldin, a PSA 10 Fleer Jordan rookie hit the final bid at $317,200, which marked a near-term high for a PSA 10 Jordan rookie. After peaking at 350K in early 2025, sales have been in decline.

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Babe Ruth’s Personal Touch: A 1933 Goudey #144 Ruth (PSA 1.5) signed “Sincerely, Babe Ruth” hammered for $307,500 at REA. In 2026, “Signed Vintage” has moved from a niche hobby to a premier asset class.

T206 Resilience: High-grade T206 subjects are seeing “Pop 1” records, including a Bobby Byrne PSA 10 (one of only 13 known PSA 10 T206s), which has collectors rethinking the ceiling for pre-war “Common” Hall of Famers.
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2. The “Smart Money” Tip: The Non-Rookie Play

If you are feeling priced out of the “Holy Grail” rookies (1951 Bowman Mantle, 1948 Leaf Jackie), the smart money is shifting to secondary growth years.

• The Target: Look at the 1954-1956 Topps issues for Mays, Mantle, and Jackie Robinson.
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• The Strategy: These “mid-career” cards are becoming increasingly “sticky” (hard to find in the wild). We are seeing a 20-30% “centering premium” on these years. A perfectly centered PSA 5 will often out-sell a tilted PSA 6 in today’s market.

Here’s a nice, clean mid-grade SGC-graded copy of a 56 Topps Jackie Robinson card up for auction on eBay right now.

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3. The “Blue Chip” Profile: The 1980 Topps Scoring Leaders Trio

Target: 1980-81 Topps Bird/Erving/Magic RC (Signed by all three)

If you want the ultimate “Smarter Side” play, look no further than the most important basketball card of the modern era—signed by all three icons. While all three are still alive, signings for each are becoming less frequent, and all are getting up there in age – Dr. J, the oldest, at 75.

• The Investment Play: While unsigned copies are easy to find, a Triple-Signed slab is a museum-grade asset. You are capturing the entire history of the NBA’s 80s resurgence in one 3.5″ x 2.5″ holder.
• Survival Rarity: Finding this card where the ink isn’t crisp or doesn’t overlap the “perforated” lines is incredibly difficult. A clean signature on each panel—Bird, Erving, and Magic—commands a massive premium over single-signed copies.
• The Trend: Dual-authenticated (Card + Auto) copies have outpaced the “card-only” market by 40% over the last 24 months.
• Note, avoid the signed Reprint cards if you can, just not worth the investment in my opinion.

​Here’s one on eBay right now available for a Buy It Now price of $4295. Not the best grade for the card, PSA 4, but it’s clean overall, and the autos are very nice (PSA 10 on the auto grade). Obviously, the higher the grade you go, the more money you will spend. My advice is to limit yourself to $5K and find the nicest-condition, best-combination auto you can. Don’t be afraid to buy a BGS copy which could save you some money and lead to a potential PSA crossover at some point.
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Smart Tip: Look for “Bold Blue” Sharpie. Avoid vintage ballpoint signatures on this specific card stock, as the porous paper tends to “bleed” the ink over time.

4. Auction Watch: Closing Soon

• Goldin Winter Vintage Elite (Ends Feb 21): Features a T206 Honus Wagner (PSA 1) and a signed 1933 Goudey #181 Ruth (PSA 4.5/DNA 8).
• Clean Sweep Champions (Ends Feb 11): Highlighting a 1951 Bowman Mantle PSA 3 and a 1912 T202 Triple Folder complete set.