Is Don Cardwell #193 worth grading?

Baseball · Baseball Cards 1969 Topps · full price guide →

Worth grading — even a PSA 9 beats raw

A Grade 9.5 Don Cardwell #193 sells for $90.91 against $1.95 raw: a $88.96 spread, 47× the ungraded price. Even a PSA 9 ($75.46) 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): $1.95
Grade 9.5: $90.91
PSA 9: $75.46
Gem premium: 47×
As of: Sep 3, 2026

Break-even by outcome and fee

Don Cardwell #193: 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	$90.91	+$63.96	+$38.96	−$61.04
PSA 9	$75.46	+$48.51	+$23.51	−$76.49
PSA 8	$33.44	+$6.49	−$18.51	−$119

Net = sale price − $1.95 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?

Don Cardwell #193: expected value of submitting by gem probability
Chance it gems	Expected sale	Expected net (standard fee)
25%	$79.32	+$27.37
50%	$83.19	+$31.23
75%	$87.05	+$35.10

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 →

Don Cardwell #193 graded prices by company and grade
Grade	Graded
9.5	$90.91
9	$75.46
8	$33.44
7	$14.09

Run your own numbers

Should I pay this?

Asking priceGrading fee

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