Is Gene Freese [Ernie Banks] worth grading?

Baseball · Baseball Cards 1962 Topps Stamp Panels · full price guide →

Worth grading — even a PSA 9 beats raw

A Grade 9.5 Gene Freese [Ernie Banks] sells for $191 against $15.50 raw: a $176 spread, 12× the ungraded price. Even a PSA 9 ($174) 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): $15.50
Grade 9.5: $191
PSA 9: $174
Gem premium: 12×
As of: Sep 3, 2026

Break-even by outcome and fee

Gene Freese [Ernie Banks]: 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	$191	+$151	+$126	+$25.50
PSA 9	$174	+$133	+$108	+$8.00
PSA 8	$146	+$106	+$80.56	−$19.44

Net = sale price − $15.50 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?

Gene Freese [Ernie Banks]: expected value of submitting by gem probability
Chance it gems	Expected sale	Expected net (standard fee)
25%	$178	+$112
50%	$182	+$117
75%	$187	+$121

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 →

Gene Freese [Ernie Banks] graded prices by company and grade
Grade	Graded
9.5	$191
9	$174
8	$146
7	$73.27

Run your own numbers

Should I pay this?

Asking priceGrading fee

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