Ryan Barone (@ballcardgenius, Card Expert) is a lifelong member of the hobby. He has been quoted in PSA Magazine, and his content has regularly been mentioned in “Quick Rips” (the Topps RIPPED Newsletter) and across other hobby publications. hello@ballcardgenius.com; Last Time Ago LLC dba Ballcard Genius.
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The top 5 sports cards going up in value right now include:
- Patrick Mahomes 2017 Playoff #204 Base Raw
- 2017 Bowman Draft #BDC-162 Chrome Refractor PSA 10
- Jared Goff 2016 Optic Red & Yellow PSA 10
- Zion Williamson 2019 Prizm Silver #248 PSA 9
- Coby White 2019 Prizm Silver #253 PSA 10
Now, importantly, this is not my opinion, nor is it advice. Plus, past performance is no way at all an indicator of future gains. I’m simply reporting some things I’m seeing in Market Movers. What goes up must come down, and these cards could all drop off a cliff tomorrow. It’s happened before (shoot, it happens daily.)
Do not rush out and buy these cards because of what I’m saying here. Is that clear? Now, of course, if after your own research and gut feelings have made themselves known, then by all means.
Plus, this is a weird time because the NFL playoffs are down to four teams, and players who were rising fast and steady among football’s hottest cards like Jordan Love and CJ Stroud can only expect to lose value now that their seasons are over. So, just a couple of days ago and those guys would be in the running.
So, that really just leaves us with the NBA and MLB, and the 49ers, Lions, Chiefs, and Ravens. Don’t get me wrong—that is still a lot to choose from. It’s more to prove the point that cards are seasonal, and can fall just as fast as they rise.
Patrick Mahomes 2017 Playoff #204 Base Raw
Don’t look now, but Mahomes is making a run at another Super Bowl. In a year filled with some ups and downs (along with the biggest celebrity on the planet), it wouldn’t have been crazy to think that this was (finally) just not the year for the Chiefs. And while they still have a tough task directly in their path to their Super Bowl, stranger things have happened.
So, how is that impacting the football card market? Of all the pretty and shiny Mahomes’ cards out there, one that I’m seeing make some pretty good leaps as of its last few sales is a pretty basic and straightforward Playoff base card.
It’s not the hobby favorite “rated rookie” and it’s far from the same level of a Prizm, Select, or Optic, but it’s seeing a nice increase in value. Here are the last few sales shown in the graph above:
- 1/21/2024 $143
- 1/20/2024 $160
- 1/18/2024 $89.00
- 1/16/2024 $70.94
- 1/15/2024 $64.69
2017 Bowman Draft #BDC-162 Chrome Refractor PSA 10
With yet another new uniform for the upcoming baseball season, many think Soto is poised to have a huge year thanks to the pinstripes and the short right field in Yankee stadium. And as we creep closer to Spring Training, Soto’s 2017 Bowman Chrome Draft Refractor is ticking upwards.
Now, remember—Juan Soto doesn’t have a 1st Bowman Chrome base or refractor (only an auto). So, it’s hard to believe this card sold for only $71 just a few days ago. It could even be argued the last two sales are still too low ($129 and $125), but I feel Soto has a lot to prove to get back into collector’s good graces.
The card is a pop 941, so not incredibly rare. Thus, there are still quite a few for sale right now. One thing I like to check when I see player’s cards rising or falling is how are current listings priced in comparison. The cheapest Buy It Now option available on eBay is $126 (but that’s via COMC, so cheaper if you buy directly on COMC.com. (Full disclosure, I just bought one for about $89 and will probably hold on to it.
Jared Goff 2016 Optic Red & Yellow PSA 10
What is happening? The Lions are in the NFC Championship game and Jared Goff is their on-field leader? Something I would have never predicted, but I’m certainly here for it. Goff seems like a good guy, and it’s only right that every fan base has something to cheer about every once in a while.
Given all of that, the market seems to be responding favorably, with the last couple of 2016 Optic Jared Goff Rated Rookies (PSA 10) selling for over $100, after cruising between $60 and $90 the last coupel of months.
Again, the season is almost over for everyone, and this could very well be Goff’s last game. Of course, the more optimistic view says the Lions only have to win two more games in order to be crowned champions.
Zion Williamson 2019 Prizm Silver #248 PSA 9
Are the Pelicans the real deal? Is this finally Zion’s breakout year? Has there ever been so much “up and down” with two stars from the same draft class as their has been with Zion WIlliamson and Ja Morant? So many questions!
For now, holders of Zion’s 2019 Prizm Silver PSA should enjoy the fact that the card seems to be on an upward trend.
Coby White 2019 Prizm Silver #253 PSA 9
One big reason I’m choosing to talk about Coby White here was because he was somewhat of a hobby darling for a long time and then completely fell off. Yes, this was the COVID card era, but just look at this drop:
Will this card ever reach those heights? Not a chance in heck. But again, to be fair, that time period saw a lot of “record” sales for cards that are simply not worth that much.
So, the fact that over the last 30 days the card has increased 30% in value is notable. Not to mention that back in late November, this card was selling for $23 on average! It’s now sold for $78 and $84.99 over the last two transactions (dark blue line below is the PSA 10; light blue is BGS 9.5).
I don’t dare venture a guess where the card goes from here, but again, I want to mention it because there are a lot of us that are holding a lot of Coby White right now, and this is the best time in a long time to sell.
