What's going on with the 1989 Donruss Griffey Jr PSA 10 cards?
olb31
Posts: 3,327 ✭✭✭✭✭
They are selling over $200 apeice, wow. Did I miss something?
Work hard and you will succeed!!
0
Comments
generation with money now
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Major_League_Baseball_players_from_Panama
wow! I havent been tracking those. That is solid money for a card with production in the millions
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
PSA 10 POP 950,000 -- Just kidding
Been discussed a few times here before, but when compared to the Upper Deck Griffey RC, the Donruss pop is much lower. The Donruss card is often off center and the borders show touching easily (I know, I know....still a gigantic print run).
If the UD Griffey RC is a $400+ card, I can understand why the Donruss version has reached $200, though I personally wouldn't be in the market for one at that price.
Always looking for tougher PSA 10's of Nolan Arenado, Alex Bregman, Mookie Betts, Francisco Lindor, and Mike Trout.
Easily his toughest rookie PSA 10. Been that way for years. Price correction finally occurred.
Arthur
You missed that the Donruss rookie is awesome!
Thought the price was crazy but looking at pop report it is on par with PSA 8s of 70s HOF rookies. If I look at Schmidt they are nearly identical pops with his going for about $500. However I am not sure I could tell the difference between a 9 and a 10 and 9s are plentiful.
ha!
It has been at that price for a number of months. Better than the stock market lately..
POP is at 1,479, which is up about 200 over the last 25 months since I bought mine for $50.
Nic
Guides Authored - Graded Card Scanning Guide PDF | History of the PSA Label PDF
most black bordered cards are tough to gem and command a premium in PSA 10 grade.
The pop report doesn’t even matter to me. That card along with the UD RC Is a bad a** card!
Defined my collecting youth. What’s funny is as I get older those RC’s of my generation mean more to me than my high dollar investment grade cards.
Next up I need a PSA 1986 Fleer Jordan
CU Ancient Members badge member.
Collection: https://flickr.com/photos/185200668@N06/albums
I have a bgs 9.5 (subs 10, 10, 9.5, 9.5) - .5 from a 10. Would this sale for the same as a PSA 10, less , more, in the board's opinion? I figure a bgs 10 would go for $2,000 or more.
I couldnt agree more. I used to be pretty heavily into 50's - 70's cards. the last few years though, I have been drawn to the same 80's-90's cards i collected as a youth (all be it in much higher grade) I guess I am starting to get older too!!
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
I imagine there are completed sales for BGS 9.5s on eBay.
Arthur
There are but none with these subs. All 9.5's subs sell for about $100 - $125 range. I know a BGS 10 sold for $1200 about two years ago. That's all i've got for now. Really hard to find great rookie cards in BGS 10 or .5 away.
Here what mine looks like.
I collect hall of fame rookie cards, https://www.instagram.com/stwainfan/
I’d guess about the same as a psa 10. Might want to try a review to get a bgs 10 if you haven’t already
If my memory holds, Donruss came out in 1989 before Upper Deck. Topps was out around the same time as donruss, but didn't have Griffey in the set, which doesn't make sense considering they were all over draft picks and prospects in their set that year. Fleer had the Ripken FF blowing up so people were hoarding them. Donruss was the only option in the early going in grocery stores to get Griffey rookies.
Since we are sharing...
very nice. now you have me hankering for an 89 Griffey 10
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
The photo used for Griffey's 89 Upper Deck card was airbrushed from his San Bernardino Spirit uniform. Is the 89 Donruss photo airbrushed or is it a legit Mariners uniform? Personally I like the design of 89 Donruss so it's nice to see this card getting some recognition.
buying O-Pee-Chee (OPC) baseball
It doesn’t take much to get me to post a Griffey. Such a beautiful back too.. well maybe not.. 2 variants though.
Nic
Guides Authored - Graded Card Scanning Guide PDF | History of the PSA Label PDF
There's actually 4, all combos of INC/INC. & * Denotes/* Denotes * were available that year.
ETA: One was very, very difficult.
Thanks for posting these examples of gem mint. I notice a slight difference between the two PSA 10’s you posted. Now I’m curious what types or condition variants of PSA 10’s are there. What to look for in choosing THE PSA 10 for me? I like sharp corners and clean edges on that card. I figure anything closely resembling a fish eye will never make it into a 10 holder.
Although I have lots of these donruss Griffey RC’s I really want one in a PSA 10
CU Ancient Members badge member.
Collection: https://flickr.com/photos/185200668@N06/albums
I was referring to the Denotes variant. I have not looked into the INC one... I have a few gasp..BGS ones to look at for those
Variants. Thanks for the info Larkin!
Nic
Guides Authored - Graded Card Scanning Guide PDF | History of the PSA Label PDF
Here are my two top loader Griffey Jr. rookies I sent in. Popped the Fleer out of a pack in 1989 and was hanging out at a friends house in 2000 and someone said they had a sealed set of the 89 Upper Deck and we drive to his apartment and I bought it for $100 and popped it open.
There are loads of people my age 39 that loved Griffey Jr. His cards are not expensive and I think there is going to be a strong following for a long time.
The shot of Jr. in the 89 Donruss makes him look as young as he was and he looks dangerous. The Rated Rookie I believe debuted in 1984 so it had a nice run prior to 89 and many collectors like me were dying at the time looking to see who was in the set and having the hottest prospect in baseball as one was a match made in heaven for collectors and Donruss. A ton may exist but I can imagine that is a tough pull out of packs in a 10.
Great card to own I think.
You guys are making me want to change my collecting focus!!!! ....which I've already declared in another thread that I lack anyway. Haha
Beautiful George (Ken) Kenneth Griffey, Jrs., gents.
ETA: I recently bought a case of 1989 Donruss racks. I popped it and got 1 rack with Jr. on top.
Andy
I noticed the same thing as akuracy -- those are some roundish corners for a PSA 10 on that Donruss card....I too figured that sharp corners would be required to get a 10, as I don't believe it is expected that 1989 Donruss cards are going to have rounded corners....
Factory set likely, many came out exactly like that.
I said before I doubt I could tell the difference between a 9 and a 10. Seeing that UD - I cannot tell the difference between a 6 and a 10. Collecting primarily 50s and 60s cards they all look great to me.
No problem, we're all here for more info, right? I should qualify, I've seen it stated this is the case with all cards, and was able to find all four for my Larkin collection. I haven't followed/studied the Griffey enough to say for certain on that specific card. Out of over 100 examples in my Larkin hoard, I found only one example of a specific combo. I'd be interested to find out if that combo is the same for other cards.
Correct, due to the cello bricks they were issued in. They look much better in hand than they do in scans as they're sharp, but not flat. Wax versions are typically much easier to find raw, and much more difficult to find in slabs for whatever years Donruss did the cello bricks.
You will find the same out of the donruss the rookies box sets. I have an 87 maddux the rookies in a psa 10 and the corners are just as rounded as that last griffey. It was the way they were packed in those little tight bricks.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
@ahopkins want some more 89’s to look at... lose focus, come to the Jr side... It is a great place...
Griffey 1989 Rookies Digital Album: https://www.psacard.com/psasetregistry/showcase/rookies/ken-griffey-jr-1989-set/album/4007
Fun, right....
Nic
Guides Authored - Graded Card Scanning Guide PDF | History of the PSA Label PDF
Sweet run of Griffey Jr. you have. Thanks for sharing. Makes me want to go and purchase some as well.
Man, lots of fun right there. Thanks for the stroll through the album. I may have to use some of the eBay bucks to score an '89 Griffey 10.
Andy
Funny thing about Griffey rookies- I wasn't that much of a Griffey fan. I think I like all the memories associated with collecting in 1989, and Griffey was THE rookie. Nice to own these little reminders of my collecting youth. The UD, Bowman, and Donruss rookies are my favorites.
Hard to pick for sure. They all have their own story for me!
For the UD it was me finally saving up enough money working at the grocery store to send off and buy one from a mail order company for like $50. Still have it and is that baby off center and not shy of a few printing defects too! But I love it!
Nic
Guides Authored - Graded Card Scanning Guide PDF | History of the PSA Label PDF
I still have my original 89 UD griffey. bought it from one of my dads co-workers who sat up at shows. I saved up my lawn mowing money and made the purchase. it was in late 1990 i believe, because I spent a long time deliberating between the griffey and an 1987 fleer Bo Jackson rookie. I think he wanted around $18 each. I chose the Griffey and it was just a few months later Bo's injury happened. Mine is a well loved example that will never leave my collection.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
I never could find one with sharp corners. I did get a bgs 9.5 with all 9.5 sub grades. The scan looked good but when it was in hand, round corners. Sold it a few months ago but way too soon apparently.
Give that billions of cards were made, it looks like that’s the just way they are. Too bad because i think it’s his best looking rookie.
Has anyone been paying attention to the price of PSA 9's for the 89UD? Very wide range of prices, under $50 to nearly $80. That makes no sense that there is that much of range.
https://psacard.com/auctionprices/baseball-cards/1989-upper-deck/ken-griffey-jr/values/240889#g=9
I actively collect Kirby Puckett. I have collections of Michael Jordan, Emmitt Smith, Roberto Clemente, Dwight Gooden, Tom Seaver, Errict Rhett and Evan Longoria.
Looks like there 16 BGS 10's and about 20 (give or take 1 or 2) BGS 9.5's with two 10's and two 9.5's. So investment value wise
BGS 10 - $2,000 to $2,500 range (maybe higher)
BGS 9.5 (.5 away from a 10) - ?????
PSA 10 - $200
What makes no sense is that anyone pays any kind of money at all for 89 UD Griffey cards. Card number 1 was the upper left corner of the sheet, and many of the cards were cut OC or dinged or damaged in the original printing and subsequent packaging. Upper Deck, being a new entrant into the hobby, and wanting satisfied customers, had a guarantee for some period of time that you could return any cards with issues to the factory for replacement. They are said to have had to print thousands of sheets containing nothing but Griffey cards. Many of the current high grade examples likely come from the inside positions from those replacement sheets. I believe there is more to this than urban legend.
Iconic card, yes. Worthy of top dollar in a manufacturer's manipulated high grade condition, no.
I haven’t looked but I’m now curious if the packs or boxes have gone up in price.
That's true, it's not an urban legend. Sheets of the Griffey exist. The only counterpoint is that it is THE iconic card for at least one entire generation of collectors (and the largest generation there's ever been, at that). I don't own one, I won't pay $300+ for one, but do I want a PSA 10? Yeah, of course I do. I can't imagine any kid that collected baseball cards back then that wouldn't want one. It's got iconic status for the hobby as an industry, as well. It ushered in the premium card market which was a tectonic (Shark Tank!.... sorry) shift in the hobby.
I don't know what my price point would have to be. I'd probably try to sub a handful first before I went straight for an already slabbed PSA 10. I think if they dropped to $200 I would bite the bullet.
Arthur
Since @BPorter26 was kind enough to broach the unopened topic....
My unopened Griffey crown jewel: a 1989 Donruss Canadian wrapper w/ Griffey on the back
Arthur
How about this alternative '89 Griffey rookie....er.....chocolate bar? Let's buy this and do a group "eat"!
Andy
Oh man, the chocolate bar. I kept two of those in my freezer as a kid for years until mom said eat it or throw them out. They ended up being freezer burned. I threw them out.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
I only do FASC
Probably has been frankensteined in search of the golden ticket refractor 😜
I realize that I didn't express my thoughts with the nuance it deserved. Even after I attempt again, we may still have to disagree.
My comment was more directed towards the query about the wide price range on PSA 9s, although my feelings on a 10 are still colored by the same facts.
I am confident that sheets exist, while I've never personally seen one in hand. I've read enough discussion about it and spoken with others about it, that I am certain Upper Deck replaced untold amounts of damaged or OC Griffey cards with a new, "pristine" Griffey, many from inside positions. The new cards still would need to be centered, no dings, intact foil hologram, etc., to grade a 10. No easy feat even on a second chance.
My reference as "urban legend" is more out of my frustration that the above information rarely gets brought up when people discuss the 89UD Griffey. I'm quite certain a LARGE number of collectors in general, and Griffey collectors specifically, have no idea that these things occurred. I've brought it up, and been waved away as if it is urban legend, hence my use of that phrase.
The idea that Upper Deck manipulated the pop of Griffeys by taking back any that would certainly not be 10s, and giving out a second card (and not just another card from the upper left position, but many, many from inside positions) that has an increased likelihood of being a 10, waters down the appeal of owning any high grade Griffey to me, but especially one even after replacement, is still not graded a 10, like the PSA 9 examples that the original comment was asking of. I am also quite comfortable assuming that there are still large stocks of raw 89UD Griffey cards, guys with 800 count boxes full, that are just being slowly leaked out to the TPGs.
If I was to ever pursue a graded Griffey, it would be PSA 10 only, as a 9 holds zero appeal to me for this reason. I feel if many more collectors in pursuit of this card were actually aware of this manipulation, they would then view the non-10s similar to me, and the price of anything but a 10 would drop significantly.
I was lucky enough to be collecting in the moment when the 89UD Griffey was THE CARD, and fortunate to be able to afford the product, buy the packs, and pull multiple Griffey rookies during that time. I still own a handful of self pulled ones, with all but one boxed up somewhere. I have left one out, in a toploader, displayed with a card stand on a shelf in a prominent location in my card room. I have no idea what any of them would grade. Likely not 10s, I'm sure, but I don't care.
It is an iconic card, of which I own multiples. I look at smiling Griffey almost daily. It's just that my own raw Griffeys in non-10 grade hold more appeal to me than any of the multitudes of already graded non-10 Griffeys.
I hope that is a better expression of what I was trying to articulate.
If anyone has not already read this, it is a good read and fits this topic.
https://amazon.com/Card-Sharks-High-Stakes-Billion-Dollar-Business/dp/0026290618
Nic
Guides Authored - Graded Card Scanning Guide PDF | History of the PSA Label PDF