Is 'Babe' Ruth [Hand Cut] #3 worth grading?

Baseball · Baseball Cards 1923 W515 1 · full price guide →

Worth grading — even a PSA 9 beats raw

A Grade 9.5 'Babe' Ruth [Hand Cut] #3 sells for $33,550 against $8,418 raw: a $25,132 spread, 4.0× the ungraded price. Even a PSA 9 ($30,500) clears the raw price after an economy-tier ~$25 fee, so a near-miss still comes out ahead. Centering is the usual reason a clean copy misses the 10 — measure it before you submit.

Raw (NM): $8,418
Grade 9.5: $33,550
PSA 9: $30,500
Gem premium: 4.0×
As of: Sep 4, 2026

Break-even by outcome and fee

'Babe' Ruth [Hand Cut] #3: net result of grading versus selling raw, by outcome and fee tier
If it comes back…	Sells for	Economy / bulk (~$25.00)	Standard (~$50.00)	Express (~$150)
Gem — Grade 9.5	$33,550	+$25,107	+$25,082	+$24,982
PSA 9	$30,500	+$22,057	+$22,032	+$21,932

Net = sale price − $8,418 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?

'Babe' Ruth [Hand Cut] #3: expected value of submitting by gem probability
Chance it gems	Expected sale	Expected net (standard fee)
25%	$31,263	+$22,794
50%	$32,025	+$23,557
75%	$32,788	+$24,319

Even a miss (a 9) beats selling raw after the standard fee — the gem rate only decides how much you win by.

Full grade ladder

Raw conditions & history →

'Babe' Ruth [Hand Cut] #3 graded prices by company and grade
Grade	Graded
9.5	$33,550
9	$30,500
7	$6,600

Run your own numbers

Should I pay this?

Asking priceGrading fee

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Other 1923 W515 1 cards worth checking

Full set checklist →

'Babe' Ruth [Hand Cut] #47

Raw $1,753Graded $12,300

Walter Johnson [Hand Cut] #38

Raw $208Graded $1,900

Frank Baker [Hand Cut] #15

Raw $163Graded $1,499

Waite Hoyt [Hand Cut] #8

Raw $63.50Graded $605

'Babe' Adams [Hand Cut] #6

Raw $38.05Graded $550

Bob Shawkey [Hand Cut] #9