40 Most Valuable Baseball Cards from the 70s & 80s

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The most valuable baseball cards from the 70s and 80s are made up of early career, rookie cards, and rookie card variations of stars and Hall of Famers graded in mint or gem mint condition. For example, over the last 365 days, these cards include 1971 Topps Thurman Munson #5 PSA 9 ($192,000), 1980 Topps Rickey Henderson #482 PSA 10 ($162,000), and 1975 Topps George Brett #228 PSA 10 ($124,440).

Here are the top 40 most valuable cards from the 70s and 80s of those in the Market Movers catalog:

1. Thurman Munson 1971 Topps #5 Base PSA 9, $192000
2. Rickey Henderson 1980 Topps #482 Base PSA 10, $162000
3. George Brett 1975 Topps #228 Base PSA 10, $124440
4. Roberto Clemente 1973 Topps #50 Base PSA 10, $105000
5. Willie Mays 1973 Topps #305 Base PSA 10, $79200
6. Roberto Clemente 1971 Topps #630 Base PSA 9, $66000
7. Willie Stargell 1975 Topps #100 Base PSA 10, $51465.6
8. Roberto Clemente 1972 Topps #309 Base PSA 10, $43200
9. Mike Schmidt 1974 Topps #283 Base PSA 10, $42000
10. Reggie Jackson 1974 Topps #130 Base PSA 10, $33500
11. Rickey Henderson 1980 Topps #482 Base SGC 10, $31800
12. Steve Garvey 1972 Topps #686 Base PSA 10, $30000
13. Carlton Fisk 1974 Topps #105 Base PSA 10, $26296.77
14. Rod Carew 1975 Topps #600 Base PSA 10, $22922
15. Mike Schmidt 1976 Topps #480 Base PSA 10, $22200
16. Bob Gibson 1975 Topps #150 Base PSA 10, $19320
17. Gary Carter 1975 Topps #620 Rookie Catchers-Outfielders PSA 10, $19200
18. Barry Bonds 1987 O-Pee-Chee #320 Base PSA 10, $19200
19. Willie Mays 1972 Topps #49 Base PSA 10, $19200
20. Nolan Ryan 1970 Topps #712 Base BVG 9.5, $17500
21. Nolan Ryan 1977 Topps #650 Base PSA 10, $16800
22. Catfish Hunter 1975 Topps #230 Base PSA 10, $16800
23. Johnny Bench 1975 Topps #260 Base PSA 10, $16200
24. Barry Bonds 1986 Topps Traded Tiffany #11T Base BGS 10 Pristine, $13331
25. Nolan Ryan 1971 Topps #513 Base PSA 8.5, $12722
26. Nolan Ryan 1971 Topps #513 Base BVG 9, $12500
27. Cal Ripken Jr. 1982 Topps Traded #98T Base PSA 10, $12000
28. Rod Carew 1974 Topps #50 Base PSA 10, $11070
29. Hank Aaron 1971 Topps #400 Base PSA 9, $10800
30. Nolan Ryan 1972 Topps #595 Base SGC 10, $10800
31. Pete Rose 1977 Topps #450 Base PSA 10, $10700
32. Nolan Ryan 1970 Topps #712 Base PSA 9, $10500
33. Mike Schmidt 1973 Topps #615 Rookie 3rd Basemen PSA 9, $10000
34. Ken Griffey Jr. 1989 Bowman Tiffany #220 Base PSA 10, $9600
35. Harmon Killebrew 1975 Topps #640 Base PSA 10, $9088
36. Tom Seaver 1977 Topps #150 Base PSA 10, $9000
37. Bo Jackson 1986 Topps Traded Tiffany #50T Base PSA 10, $9000
38. Nolan Ryan 1975 Topps #500 Base PSA 9, $8850
39. Roger Clemens 1985 Topps Tiffany #181 Base PSA 10, $8700
40. Carl Yastrzemski 1975 Topps #280 Base PSA 10, $8245

As you’d expect, any list of the most valuable 70s and 80s cards is going to be dominated by 70s cards simply because they are older and more scarce (especially in good condition). As such, 80% of the cards listed above are from the 1970s.

In terms of the types of cards that make for something valuable, in the 80s, it’s rookie cards primarily. In fact, of the 8 1980s cards in the list above, all are considered rookie cards by some standard (with a debate between certain cards like the 1986 and 1987 Topps Barry Bonds’ cards). The 1980 Topps Rickey Henderson in PSA 10 condition is the most expensive baseball card from the 80s.

Read More: Most Valuable O-Pee-Chee Baseball Cards

The same can be said of the most valuable 70s cards, with rookies of George Brett, Mike Schmidt, Steve Garvey, and Gary Carter all in the first half of the list. That said, with so many of baseball’s greatest stars either in their hay day or at the end of their career in the 70s, it’s not surprising to see Roberto Clemente, Willie Mays, Johnny Bench, and others.

Interestingly enough, the #1 card on the list – 1971 Topps Thurman Munson – is not a rookie card, nor is it as household of a name as many of the others. That said, 1971 Topps is a notoriously-difficult card to grade thanks to its black borders. And for Munson’s career, it met a tragic end 11 seasons in when he was killed in a plane crash in 1979.

To illustrate, a PSA 9 Thurman Munson rookie card sold on 11/19/2023 for $2.55K, and on that same day, a PSA 8 1971 Topps sold for $4.57K. So, a lesser grade and a second-year card sold for $2K more than a rookie card in better condition.

To drive this point home, the lowest number grade you’ll see on the entire list above is a PSA 8.5 of Nolan Ryan from, you guessed it, 1971 Topps.

Speaking of grades, most of those on the list are graded as “9” or “10” and mostly from PSA, with a few from Beckett (BVG and BGS) and one from SGC (1980 Topps Rickey Henderson).

Read More: Most Valuable Rickey Henderson Baseball Cards

The highest grade on the list? No, it’s not a trick question. While you’ll see plenty of PSA 10s “tied” with each other, there is one BGS 10 Pristine, which, for most cards, will trump its PSA 10 counterparts. The card in this examples is the 1986 Topps Traded Tiffany Barry Bonds.

The BGS 10 Pristine Barry Bonds sold for $13.3K in October of 2023. That same card last sold as a PSA 10 sold for $4.7K and as an SGC 10 for $2.18K.

Last, while the 1986 Topps Bonds is one of the more recent cards on the list, it’s not the “newest.” A Ken Griffey Jr. 1989 Bowman Tiffany PSA 10 sold for $9600.