Derek Jeter’s most popular rookie card just saw a record sale of $690,000, and some observers say the buyer got a deal.

Derek Jeter SP (PWCC)
Some believe a Gem Mint Jeter SP rookie card could top $1 million at auction. (Image: PWCC)

PWCC announced on Facebook Saturday that a version of Jeter’s 1993 Upper Deck SP graded Gem Mint 10 by PSA hit that momentous number in a private, fixed-price sale on its marketplace.

“The highest sale for a Jeter PSA 10. Ever,” the post said. “That’s another record broken. What’s next?”

Incredible growth in value for Jeter SP rookie card

To understand the exponential increase in the card’s value, PSA’s own Sports Market Report price guide lists the value of a PSA 10 Jeter SP rookie at $160,000 based on past sales; less than a quarter of what one just sold for.

The card is notoriously hard to find in mint or gem mint condition. Its dark edges and foil coating create a situation where light damage easily occurs and is very noticeable. PSA notes that many of the cards exhibit “wear from the moment they are removed from a pack.”

Just 21 of the more than 18,000 copies of the card that PSA has graded earned the Gem Mint designation. Put another way, only about 1 of every 1,000 copies has been deemed virtually flawless by PSA.

Seven-figure card sales quickly becoming a trend

Because of the exclusivity of that grade, coupled with the boom in the sports card market, some believe the card could top $1 million the next time a gem mint copy comes to auction. If so, it would follow a recent trend of rookie cards of some of the top luminaries in other sports topping seven figures for the first time in recent weeks. An autographed Tom Brady rookie just sold for $1.32 million, while a pristine Kobe Bryant rookie card sold for nearly $1.8 million.

“That’s CHEAP!” wrote user here2havefun on the Blowout Cards Forum of the PWCC sale, noting that a PSA 10 Jeter SP last sold for $168,000 in 2019. “Based on what’s happened in the hobby since then, plus what’s happened to this card in the last 3 months, $690K feels like a good deal,” here2havefun wrote.

The Jeter SP card, along with many of his other rookie cards, saw a big bump in values in recent months in advance of the Yankees great’s Baseball Hall of Fame induction in July.

Comments

  1. I believe the most current sale of this card sold for $462,000 and is the 22nd sold graded by PSA Gem mint 10 in July of this year.look up PSA for verification so this new card would be 23rd unless this card was a resale of a currently graded Gem 10? ,Also I have this card in Gem condition I believe but not graded.ive had the since new.im afraid now to send the card to have it graded because of the condition sensitivity and don’t have the money for insurance any idea on how this can be done? I’ve looked at most of the cards that have been sold in Gem 10 condition with a magnifier and I’m confident mine is just as nice or better.

  2. I have a Derek jeter 1993 upper deck #279 rookie card I would like to sell it it’s 9.5