Is Lou Gehrig [Hand Cut] #29 worth grading?

Baseball · Baseball Cards 1948 R346 Blue Tint · full price guide →

Worth grading — even a PSA 9 beats raw

A Grade 9.5 Lou Gehrig [Hand Cut] #29 sells for $4,950 against $310 raw: a $4,640 spread, 16× the ungraded price. Even a PSA 9 ($4,500) 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): $310
Grade 9.5: $4,950
PSA 9: $4,500
Gem premium: 16×
As of: Sep 4, 2026

Break-even by outcome and fee

Lou Gehrig [Hand Cut] #29: 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	$4,950	+$4,615	+$4,590	+$4,490
PSA 9	$4,500	+$4,165	+$4,140	+$4,040

Net = sale price − $310 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?

Lou Gehrig [Hand Cut] #29: expected value of submitting by gem probability
Chance it gems	Expected sale	Expected net (standard fee)
25%	$4,613	+$4,253
50%	$4,725	+$4,365
75%	$4,838	+$4,478

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

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Raw conditions & history →

Lou Gehrig [Hand Cut] #29 graded prices by company and grade
Grade	Graded
9.5	$4,950
9	$4,500

Run your own numbers

Should I pay this?

Asking priceGrading fee

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