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When it comes to the junk wax era, 1991 just might have been the worst (1988 was tough) when you consider 1991 Fleer baseball and 1991 Pro Set football (that said, we did get 1991 Stadium Club baseball, so hard to be too upset). Silver lining though is that there is a lot of weirdness to talk about.
The most valuable pro set cards include:
- Santa Claus 1989 Pro Set #1989 Promo Raw ($69.71)
- John Randle 1991 Pro Set #835 Base Raw ($10.05)
- Barry Sanders 1989 Pro Set #494 Base Raw ($5.71)
- Santa Claus 1990 Pro Set #1990 Promo Raw ($5.04)
- Deion Sanders 1989 Pro Set #486 Base Raw ($3.44)
- Emmitt Smith 1990 Pro Set #685 Base Raw ($3.11)
- Bill Belichick 1991 Pro Set #126 Base Raw ($3.06)
This is based 365-day average of “raw” (ungraded) cards from the Market Movers catalog.
Yes, you’re reading all of that right. What a strange collection of cards, I’ll tell ya. Santa at the top of the list (and on the list twice) a coach card and the #2 most valuable not being a quarterback, let alone someone even on the offensive side of the ball.
Read More: Hottest Football Cards
Let’s start with the cards that do make sense. When it comes to older football cards, and rookies specifically, Score ruled 1989 and it’s not close. That said, it’s hard to deny rookie cards from two of the greatest to ever do it in Barry Sanders and Emmitt Smith. But, at $5.71 and $3.11, respectively, you can see just how far off these Pro Set values are from their Score counterparts.
Yes, you read that right—$40-$50 for an Emmitt Smith Score Supplemental vs under $3 for Pro Set. Likewise, again, close to $50 for a 1989 Score Barry Sanders compared to about $7 for the Pro Set rookie. For Sanders, one card you have a generic posed headshot and the other you have a Barry action shot but in his college uniform. While the market has spoken, which do you prefer?
(The discrepancy for Deion Sanders isn’t as large, but follows the same pattern—$12.85 average for his 1989 Score and only $3.44 for the Pro Set rookie (yet one of Pro Set’s most valuable.)
On to the weirdness. Well, OK, maybe not that weird, but just new to me—John Randle’s 1991 Pro Set rookie card goes for how much? I would have guessed a couple of bucks, not $10. Now, don’t go out buying up those sealed wax boxes yet hoping to pull one (I mean, a PSA averages around $75). These are only available in the 1991 Pro Set “Final Update” set.
Next is the only real life human being left on the list, yet a head coach, Bill Belichick. And no, this isn’t one of those instances where it’s a card from the coach’s playing days. It’s literally his rookie card as a coach. Only a few bucks, but to make it on the list of Pro Set cards worth something, that says a lot.
What might speak even louder though is not one but two Santa Clause cards, with the 1989 version being the most valuable Pro Set card. Well, a caveat—it’s not on the 1989 Pro Set checklist and was a dealer promo, hence the rarity and value. The 1990 version was a Series II insert, and more obtainable.
So there you go—Pro Set cards are worth something, with a handful of valuable options…half of which can be pulled from a pack, so have fun.
