Is Lee May [Hand Cut] #142 worth grading?

Baseball · Baseball Cards 1975 Hostess · full price guide →

Worth grading — even a PSA 9 beats raw

A Grade 9.5 Lee May [Hand Cut] #142 sells for $82.00 against $3.71 raw: a $78.29 spread, 22× the ungraded price. Even a PSA 9 ($74.88) 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): $3.71
Grade 9.5: $82.00
PSA 9: $74.88
Gem premium: 22×
As of: Sep 3, 2026

Break-even by outcome and fee

Lee May [Hand Cut] #142: 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	$82.00	+$53.29	+$28.29	−$71.71
PSA 9	$74.88	+$46.17	+$21.17	−$78.83
PSA 8	$21.50	−$7.21	−$32.21	−$132

Net = sale price − $3.71 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?

Lee May [Hand Cut] #142: expected value of submitting by gem probability
Chance it gems	Expected sale	Expected net (standard fee)
25%	$76.66	+$22.95
50%	$78.44	+$24.73
75%	$80.22	+$26.51

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 →

Lee May [Hand Cut] #142 graded prices by company and grade
Grade	Graded
9.5	$82.00
9	$74.88
8	$21.50
7	$10.50

Run your own numbers

Should I pay this?

Asking priceGrading fee

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