Is Cal Ripken Jr. #68 worth grading?
Baseball · Baseball Cards 2025 Topps Diamond Icons · full price guide →
Grading rarely pays for this card
Grade 9.5 copies of Cal Ripken Jr. #68 sell for $97.00, only $0.00 above the $125 raw price — less than an economy-tier grading fee. A PSA 9 ($88.51) sells for less than raw, so anything short of a 10 loses money. Keep it raw unless you are grading for the slab itself.
- Raw (NM)
- $125
- Grade 9.5
- $97.00
- PSA 9
- $88.51
- Gem premium
- 0.8×
- As of
- Sep 4, 2026
Break-even by outcome and fee
| If it comes back… | Sells for | Economy / bulk (~$25.00) | Standard (~$50.00) | Express (~$150) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gem — Grade 9.5 | $97.00 | −$53.00 | −$78.00 | −$178 |
| PSA 9 | $88.51 | −$61.49 | −$86.49 | −$186 |
Net = sale price − $125 raw value − fee. Fee tiers are illustrative; plug your grader's current price into the calculator below.
Expected value — how often does it need to gem?
| Chance it gems | Expected sale | Expected net (standard fee) |
|---|---|---|
| 25% | $90.63 | −$84.37 |
| 50% | $92.75 | −$82.25 |
| 75% | $94.88 | −$80.12 |
At the standard fee this submission does not break even at any realistic gem rate unless the miss lands above the 9 price.
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Grading Cal Ripken Jr. #68 — FAQ
Is Cal Ripken Jr. #68 worth grading?
Grade 9.5 copies of Cal Ripken Jr. #68 sell for $97.00, only $0.00 above the $125 raw price — less than an economy-tier grading fee. A PSA 9 ($88.51) sells for less than raw, so anything short of a 10 loses money. Keep it raw unless you are grading for the slab itself.
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