10 Random Cards Worth More Than You Think

One of my favorite things in the hobby are weird cards that are worth a ton of money…sometimes for dumb, strange, or rare reasons!

I’ve put together 10 of my favorites that I’ve learned about in the past few years.

I’m sure there are others, so please reply and let me know!

1. 1990-91 NBA Hoops Mark Jackson

This seemingly innocuous base card of a non-Hall of Famer sells for… $600 as a PSA 10!

That’s because, prominently in the background, you can see the Menendez brothers. They had recently killed their parents and used their money to sit courtside at a Knicks game before they were arrested for the murder.

I’ve seen some collectors build a PC of criminals, but this is likely the most famous example.

2. 1990-91 NBA Hoops Sam Vincent

Strangely, from the same set as the Mark Jackson card, this is another unremarkable base card from a no-name guy….

Except that it has a picture of Michael Jordan wearing #12! His Airness only wore #12 for a single game in his career when his #23 was stolen before tipoff.

In a hobby where Jordan is king, an appearance like this on someone else’s card can shoot up values—up to $250 for a PSA 10.

3. 1986 Fleer Johnny Moore

The most iconic set in basketball, the ‘86 Fleer has rookies for Jordan, Olajuwon, Barkley, Ewing, Drexler, Wilkins, Malone, Mullins, and more!

However, there’s one person you probably don’t remember (unless you're a sicko NBA fan) that’s one of the most valuable cards in this coveted set: Johnny Moore.

For whatever reason—perhaps because he was an afterthought—there are only 69 PSA 10s of his in existence! Jordan, by contrast, has 329.

Because set builders love putting together ‘86 Fleer, the PSA 10 Jonny Moore card recently sold for $9,500.

4. 2008-09 Topps Kobe Bryant

The design for this set is all-time great, plus you get this cool shot of Lebron guarding Kobe 1-on-1! As a Lakers fan, I own this card because it’s a fun piece of history for two Lakers legends.

PSA 10s sell for $900+—insane for a modern, non-rookie base card!

5. 2020-21 Panini Prizm LeBron James

Shortly after Kobe passed away, LeBron had a breakaway dunk that ended up looking almost exactly like an iconic Kobe dunk. LeBron said it wasn’t intentional, but the similarity, combined with the breathtaking photography, makes this a popular card.

Despite being a high-pop non-rookie, PSA 10s often sell for around $100. (Another card I own, BTW).

6. 1990 Topps Frank Thomas No Name

When Topps was printing Frank Thomas’s card, a printing error blocked the ink from printing his name on the card!

When it first came out, collectors didn’t think much about it. However, as he became a Hall of Famer and this was clearly a rare version of his rookie card, it has become highly sought after!

In fact, PSA 10s sell for around $25,000!

7. 1989 Fleer Billy Ripken White Out

I’ll keep this G-rated, but this is another very famous error card (but not really an error?). One of his teammates wrote an obscenity on the bat knob, which is visible in the initial release of this card.

However, the most valuable version of that card is one of the multiple attempts Fleer made to cover up the vulgarity: the “White Out Knob” card.

PSA 10s go for $4,000!

(It’s funny to me that what makes the card desirable to collectors—the swear word—isn’t even visible on the most valuable version of this card! The lesson is collectors love rarity over all else.)

8. Pete Maravich Autos

I’m including this one because it’s a headache for me… and it’s not even a specific card. Pete Maravich passed away suddenly in 1988 at the age of 40.

So, you can imagine that his autos are hard to come by, especially for someone like me trying to collect them for the Top-75 Players list.

A signed check of his recently sold for almost $2k. A random on-card auto sold for $5k (and this despite the recent memorabilia forgery scandal).

9. 1969-70 Topps Checklist

A checklist card? Yep.

This set is extremely popular among set builders because it has rookies for Kareem, John Havlicek, Walt Frazier, Earl Monroe, Nate Thurmond, Jerry Lucas, Wes Unseld, and more!

It seems like very few people held onto these, but now collectors search high and low for this card to fill out their sets.

A PSA 8 can run you $6,000+.

10. 1999 Upper Deck Century Legend Wilt Chamberlain Epic Signatures

This set is often considered unremarkable, with autos from many Hall of Famers fetching $100 or less.

However, this set was released the same year that Wilt died, resulting in this being one of the only auto cards of his to be distributed by a manufacturer.

For that reason, you almost can’t find them! There’s a PSA 7 available on eBay for $12k right now, but I can’t even find sold ones!

Buy/Sell Targets

This doesn’t constitute investment advice, more just a window into my overall strategy as well as for entertainment purposes. All pricing and screenshots are taken from Card Ladder—the only pricing & inventory tool I use.

✔ Jordan Love 🏈 - His cards are starting to move up, but there’s a chance to grab him fast. I’m a believer that the Packers could be the 1-seed with him in the top-3 for MVP. He’s cheap if that’s his trajectory this season.

✔ Julio Rodriguez ⚾ - His pricing has been down over the past 6 months, but he’s such a stud on a playoff team! His OPS is down, but he actually has the most WAR of his career at 6.2 (approaching MVP levels). He has 4 straight seasons of 20 HR + 20 SB to start his career. I think a few good games in the playoffs can bring his hype back. He’s still just 24!

Here’s his Player Index on Card Ladder

❌ Patrick Mahomes 🏈 - This isn’t an “Oh no, they lost 2 games!” overreaction. Mahomes is a made man. But, on some of his cards (like the PSA 9 Donruss rookie), he appears to be bumping up against a regular price ceiling ($400). I don’t think there’s much he can do in the regular season to bump his pricing up, but we’ve seen this card hit $375-$400 a few times and then drop down to $300. Even if the Chiefs roll for a while, this offense isn’t fun (again), and people will get bored until the playoffs. Sell now, and buy back in at $300 - $315 if you want the card back.

 ❌ Daniel Jones 🏈 - I was a big sell on him last week, but if you’ve still got him…well a big win over a tremendous defense has him riding high. I still can’t believe in him long term (and I’m conservative with these kinds of things), so I’d be offloading him ASAP. His Player Index:

Quick Hits

News From Around the Hobby

+ Football Cards Limited? - “There have been rumors and reports that Topps might take over the license from Panini this fall. And then there also have been rumors that Topps might not produce any NFL cards this season.” If this happens, then the majority of card releases would be unlicensed Panini cards. Blech.

+ Another Day, Another Record - “A 2004-05 Panini Mega Cracks Messi rookie card was sold for €1.5m…. This comfortably surpasses the €1.33m paid for a 1958 Alifabolaget Pele card in a private sale in 2022.” I know those top-end cards don’t affect you and me…but these types of stories make mainstream news, and that will affect all of us (I think for the better).

+ That’s a Lot of Cards - “Sports memorabilia icon Brandon Steiner recently acquired 4 million trading cards — including 30 Babe Ruths — in what might be the biggest baseball-card deal ever.” If you spent just 1 second looking at each card in that collection, it would take 1,111 hours. It would also weigh roughly 7.2 tons.

How to Get Sports Cards Graded in Just 8 Simple Steps

Collectors and flippers alike often get their cards graded in order to increase value or to better protect them. They also look great for displaying.

But the process can be a little daunting (I remember my first time), and so I've put together this post to help walk you through the process…[Keep Reading]

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