Derek Jeter Rookie Card Guide, Gallery and Investment Ideas

jeter-rookie card guide

Derek Jeter is considered by many to be one of the best baseball players of his generation.

He played his entire 20-year career with the New York Yankees, winning five World Series titles and becoming the franchise's all-time leader in hits.

Values of Jeter's rookie cards saw a significant increase upon his election to the Hall Of Fame in 2021, but have since cooled dramatically. Still, his rookie cards remain highly sought-after by collectors. 

Here's everything you need to know about Derek Jeter rookie cards, including a gallery of some of the most valuable cards and investment ideas.

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The Best Places To Sell Your Old Sports Cards For Top Dollar

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Has your old sports card collection been collecting dust in a closet?

If so, it's time to get rid of them and make some extra cash in the process!

Today, there are many options for collectors to sell sports cards online or offline. 

I've had decades of experience buying and selling sports cards, so this guide will help you avoid some of the same mistakes I have made in the past. 

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Mickey Mantle Baseball Cards: Top Ten To Invest In Right Now

top-mickey-mantle-investments

Mickey Mantle was one of the most accomplished players in the history of the game, and his baseball cards continue to reflect that status. 

As a recent example, investors in a Mickey Mantle 1952 Topps card would have tripled the returns of the stock market over the past eighteen years!

So, it's not unusual to consider some of "The Mick's" baseball cards as an investment right alongside our other savings or stock investments. 

We've analyzed all Mickey Mantle baseball cards and decided on ten cards that should be solid long-term investments.

Remember, this is not investment advice, please do your own research!

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1938 Goudey Joe DiMaggio Rookie Card (Value, Rarity, Investment)

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Joe DiMaggio was voted baseball's greatest living player in 1969, a testament to his all-around excellence on the baseball field. 

"The Yankee Clipper" had superstar credentials that few players, even today, could match.

Power? At the time of his retirement, he ranked fifth on the all-time home run list. 

Contact? His legendary 56-game hitting streak might be the best living record in any sport.

Winning? His 9 World Series rings in 13 seasons as a major leaguer make him arguably the game's most dominant individual champion.

Not surprisingly, the two 1938 Goudey Heads-Up Joe DiMaggio rookie cards are some of the hobby's most enduring gems.

Let's dig into this iconic rookie issue of one of baseball's greatest icons.

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The 14 Best Baseball Card Books Every Collector Should Read

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When I'm not scouring the web or local card shows for deals on vintage cards, I enjoy reading a good book.

I've discovered some excellent baseball card books over the years.

Here, I wanted to share a few different ideas for fellow collectors.

Not by any means an exhaustive list, so if you have a vintage baseball card book recommendation, please leave a comment below.

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What’s The Rarest Football Card Of All Time?

The 1894 N302 Mayo's Cut Plug John Dunlop card is one of the rarest football cards in existence. However, the 1925 Star Player Candy Red Grange has a lower graded population.

dunlop-mayo

This Dunlop card is often referred to as the 'holy grail' of football cards and is a part of the first football card set in history-the N302 Mayo's Cut Plug set.  

The cards featured ivy league football stars of the day and are the first 19th-century trading cards dedicated solely to football players. 

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What Is The Rarest Basketball Card Of All Time?

As we noted in our discussion of The Rarest Baseball Card of All Time, identifying the rarest basketball card of all time is a challenge.

The reason?  Over the history of basketball cards, many oddball misprints, or error cards or type cards were produced that have a very, very low population.

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Bell Brand Elgin Baylor card. In terms of regional basketball issues, this one is likely the rarest.

In addition, basketball truly had a late start in terms of becoming a mainstream sport (as compared to baseball); hence, the first widely produced basketball sets didn't begin until 1948. 

Thus, in answer this question, I like to focus first on the players that people care about, thus avoiding the common players that might be rare but aren't really in demand aside from set builders. 

In addition due to the dearth of early mainstream basketball card sets, we need to also examine some of the regional basketball card issues.

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What Is The Rarest Baseball Card Of All Time?

Someone asked me recently what the rarest baseball card is of all time?

While immediate thoughts for many center on the T206 Honus Wagner card, we have the population data that shows the card isn't quite as rare as most people think (about 50-75 copies of the T206 Wagner are thought to exist).

honus-wagner-t206

Collectors probably think the T206 Wagner card is the rarest of all time but it's not really close.

So, what is the rarest baseball card? The question is not an easy one to answer. The immediate starting point would be any card with an existing population less than say 50 cards (making it rarer than the Wagner). 

But there are quite a few cards with low 'graded' populations. And then the guesswork comes in to try and determine the existing 'ungraded' population.

As an example, lets examine the 1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth card, which is by most accounts, Ruth's rarest baseball card.  

PSA has graded three copies, SGC has graded 6, so we can probably safely assume there are less than 20 1914 Baltimore News Babe Ruth rookies out there. 

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1913 Fatima T200 Team Cards (An Underlooked Pre-War Gem)

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Most collectors eyeing an investment in the pre-war tobacco baseball cards shoot for the big time hall of famers like Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner, and Christy Mathewson as a few examples.

And most without a strong familiarity of tobacco card options, head straight for the premier sets from the early 1900's such as the ever popular T206 White Borders set.

However, what if I were to tell you there's a much cheaper (and rarer) option than the T206 set, with the ability to get cards featuring multiple hall of famers on one card?

That set is the 1913 T200 Fatima Team Card set, and although there are only sixteen cards in the set, it is one that all vintage card investors need to be familiar with. 

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PSA Grading Costs – 2022 Update

PSA's card grading prices have been quite volatile thoughout the past several years.

To offset an onslaught in demand during the midst of the pandemic, PSA shut down all card grading services at its most affordable price points 

The acquisition of Collector's Universe (the parent of PSA) has brought about a multitude of operational changes to improve PSA's grading service. 

Still, that hasn't stopped collectors from thinking PSA is the devil of the industry, controlling the fortunes of the hobby, and squeezing every last dime from grading fees.  

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