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The most expensive Bo Jackson card is the 1986 Topps Traded Tiffany PSA 10, which sold for $11,000 on May 2024. This is almost twice as much as what the same card graded as an SGC 10 sold for in November 2024 ($5.88K). (Market Movers)
Here is the fill breakdown of how the 1986 Topps Traded Tiffany sold in 2024:
- Bo Jackson 1986 Topps Traded Tiffany #50T Base PSA 10 $10, 980.00 (05/04/2024)
- Bo Jackson 1986 Topps Traded Tiffany #50T Base SGC 10 $5, 879.18 (11/02/2024)
- Bo Jackson 1986 Topps Traded Tiffany #50T Base BGS 9.5 $1, 526.00 (05/16/2024)
- Bo Jackson 1986 Topps Traded Tiffany #50T Base SGC 9.5 $1, 700.00 (02/26/2024)
- Bo Jackson 1986 Topps Traded Tiffany #50T Base PSA 9 $841.00 (12/23/2024)
- Bo Jackson 1986 Topps Traded Tiffany #50T Base BGS 9 $750.00 (03/20/2024)
- Bo Jackson 1986 Topps Traded Tiffany #50T Base BGS 8.5 $469.00 (07/09/2024)
- Bo Jackson 1986 Topps Traded Tiffany #50T Base PSA 8 $588.00 (12/23/2024)
- Bo Jackson 1986 Topps Traded Tiffany #50T Base SGC 7 $499.00 (10/17/2024)
- Bo Jackson 1986 Topps Traded Tiffany #50T Base BGS 8 $435.00 (09/04/2024)
- Bo Jackson 1986 Topps Traded Tiffany #50T Base SGC 8.5 $375.00 (10/05/2024)
- Bo Jackson 1986 Topps Traded Tiffany #50T Base SGC 8 $399.99 (12/07/2024)
- Bo Jackson 1986 Topps Traded Tiffany #50T Base PSA 7 $312.50 (01/01/2025)
- Bo Jackson 1986 Topps Traded Tiffany #50T Base PSA 6 $300.00 (12/27/2024)
- Bo Jackson 1986 Topps Traded Tiffany #50T Base PSA 5 $250.00 (10/13/2024)
- Bo Jackson 1986 Topps Traded Tiffany #50T Base SGC 6 $243.50 (06/07/2024)
As you might expect, the lower the grade, the lesser the value.
What can we learn from this?
1. Topps Tiffany sells much better
To make things crystal clear, the numbers above represent 1986 Topps Traded Tiffany sales, which is a separate, elevated set when compared to regular 1986 Topps Traded. The two cards look very similar, but Tiffany cards have a glossy front and were only released in complete sets. BaseballCardPedia.com reports that it is believed there were 5,000 sets produced.
The population on the PSA 10 1986 Topps Traded Tiffany Bo Jackson is only 37. To put that into perspective, the population of the non-Tiffany version of the card is over 1,100. As such, the values between the two – Tiffany and regular – vary greatly.
Compared to the $11K Topps Tiffany PSA 10 sale mentioned above, a regular Topps Traded PSA 10 sold for only $805 (December 2024).
2. PSA is #1 for PSA 10
I’ll caveat this with the point that over the last 365 days, there wasn’t one sale of the Bo Jackson 1986 Topps Traded Tiffany BGS 10. So, I’m looking at PSA 10 vs. SGC 10 (vs. BGS 9.5).
Revisiting the point above, PSA 10 trumps SGC 10 by almost double:
But, with my goal being to help you decide who to grade your cards with, what if you’re not expecting a 10? Meaning, with a PSA 10 population of only 37, you have to be realistic about the condition of your card. If you truly think it will gem, than that’s great! But if you know in your heart of hearts that a 10 isn’t attainable, which direction should you go?
3. SGC could be the play for lesser grades
If you aren’t familiar with the PSA grading scale, there are no half grades between 9 and 10. Or, said differently, there is no PSA 9.5. SGC, however, does award half grades. So, if you grade a 1986 Topps Traded Tiffany Bo Jackson with PSA and it doesn’t receive a 10, the next highest possibility is a PSA 9. With SGC, though, you can still get an SFC 9.5 if not a 10.
The difference between the two could be around $500, as a PSA 9 sold for, on average, around $1.03K over the last 365 days, while an SGC 9.5 sold for $1.56K over the same time period.
That said, take a look at what happens between PSA 8, SGC 8.5, and SGC 8:
In 15 sales, the PSA 8 averages $529 in value, while both the SGC 8 and SGC 8.5 sold 3 times for just about the same average as each other; $384 and $385, respectively.
All things considered, there is a lot of risk in cards, and grading is among the riskiest. Nothing is certain, and one person’s opinion of your card could be the difference in hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Look at the data, be realistic about your card’s condition, and make sure to scrutinize its corners, centering, edges, and surface.
