Is Lou Gehrig [Red Border] #8 worth grading?

Baseball · Baseball Cards 1972 Laughlin Great Feats · full price guide →

Worth grading — even a PSA 9 beats raw

A Grade 9.5 Lou Gehrig [Red Border] #8 sells for $158 against $12.01 raw: a $146 spread, 13× the ungraded price. Even a PSA 9 ($144) 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): $12.01
Grade 9.5: $158
PSA 9: $144
Gem premium: 13×
As of: Sep 4, 2026

Break-even by outcome and fee

Lou Gehrig [Red Border] #8: 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	$158	+$121	+$95.99	−$4.01
PSA 9	$144	+$106	+$81.49	−$18.51

Net = sale price − $12.01 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 [Red Border] #8: expected value of submitting by gem probability
Chance it gems	Expected sale	Expected net (standard fee)
25%	$147	+$85.12
50%	$151	+$88.74
75%	$154	+$92.37

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 →

Lou Gehrig [Red Border] #8 graded prices by company and grade
Grade	Graded
9.5	$158
9	$144

Run your own numbers

Should I pay this?

Asking priceGrading fee

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