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In 1990, Score produced what is now one of the most valuable cards from the 1990s—a black and white Bo Jackson wearing shoulder bats and posing with a baseball bat behind his head and across his shoulders. It was different then, and still iconic now.
Here are the 90-day average values for the card in raw and graded form:
- PSA 10 $217
- SGC 10 $190
- SGC 9.5 $53.97
- PSA 9 $37.95
- BGS 9 $36.47
- SGC 9 $33.29
- PSA 8 $18.77
- Raw $9.16
Interestingly, with so many people asking PSA vs. SGC, this is one case where it might make sense to grade with SGC. Maybe it’s the black and white “tuxedo slab that complements the card much nice than PSA’s red and white, I don’t know. But look at the figures above.
If you have what you think is a gem mint copy of the card, you’d get the most potential value by sending it to PSA ($217). That said, the 90-day average of SGC is up there at $190. Plus, if for whatever reason PSA graders think it’s less than a 10, you’re hit with a PSA 9 grade and average value of $37.95. On the other hand, if the same happens with SGC, you still have the chance at a 9.5 and an average of $53.97.
Again, choosing who to grade with depends on a number of factors, but with faster return and comparable grading cost, it might be safer to grade this card with SGC.
How do other black and white junk wax era cards fare?
One of the more famous examples, also from Score, is the Dream Team subset of cards, where, also shirtless, Jose Canseco and Rickey Henderson are shown swinging and stealing in what looks like a dream state. Other clothed Dream Team examples include Doug Jones holding a ball with a fire flame sprouting from the top, and Cal Ripken standing in front of a train.
- PSA 10 $34
- SGC 10 $NA
- SGC 9.5 NA
- PSA 9 $8
- BGS 9 $NA
- SGC 9 NA
- PSA 8 $9
- Raw $1
- PSA 10 $33
- SGC 10 $NA
- SGC 9.5 NA
- PSA 9 $14
- BGS 9 $NA
- SGC 9 NA
- PSA 8 $NA
- Raw $1
- PSA 10 $39
- SGC 10 $29
- SGC 9.5 NA
- PSA 9 $15
- BGS 9 $NA
- SGC 9 NA
- PSA 8 $11
- Raw $3
**Data from Card Hedge
As you can see from the above, there isn’t anything that stands out, and certainly nothing that screams “grade this card” like it might do with the 1990 Score Bo Jackson.
Anyway, there are other black and white card examples which carry a lot more value, like the “1990 Topps” George Bush Yale card, but that was not a general issue card intended for mass consumption, hence its value. This Bo Jackson is one you can easily get your hands on still today, and could even be one you have lurking in your boxes as we speak.
