Is Cal Ripken Jr. #30 worth grading?
Baseball · Baseball Cards 1985 Topps · full price guide →
Strong grading candidate — 265× premium in PSA 10
A PSA 10 Cal Ripken Jr. #30 sells for $600 against $2.26 raw: a $597 spread, 265× the ungraded price. A PSA 9 ($25.90) only about breaks even after fees, so the case rests on gemming. Centering is the usual reason a clean copy misses the 10 — measure it before you submit.
- Raw (NM)
- $2.26
- PSA 10
- $600
- PSA 9
- $25.90
- Gem premium
- 265×
- As of
- Sep 4, 2026
Break-even by outcome and fee
| If it comes back… | Sells for | Economy / bulk (~$25.00) | Standard (~$50.00) | Express (~$150) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gem — PSA 10 | $600 | +$572 | +$547 | +$447 |
| PSA 9 | $25.90 | −$1.36 | −$26.36 | −$126 |
| PSA 8 | $12.95 | −$14.31 | −$39.31 | −$139 |
Net = sale price − $2.26 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?
| Chance it gems | Expected sale | Expected net (standard fee) |
|---|---|---|
| 25% | $169 | +$117 |
| 50% | $313 | +$261 |
| 75% | $456 | +$404 |
Break-even gem rate at the standard fee: about 5%. Centering is the usual reason a clean copy misses — measure it before you decide.
Which grader pays the most — and what a 10 takes
All centering standards →| Grader | 10 sells for | vs best | Front centering for a 10 | Back |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BGS 10 | $780 | best | 55/45 | 70/30 |
| PSA 10 | $600 | −$180 | 55/45 | 75/25 |
| CGC 10 | $360 | −$420 | 55/45 | 75/25 |
| SGC 10 | $360 | −$420 | 55/45 | 75/25 |
Tolerances are each company's published centering standard for its top grade; surface, corners and edges must also be clean. Centering is the one you can measure yourself before you pay.
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Grading Cal Ripken Jr. #30 — FAQ
Is Cal Ripken Jr. #30 worth grading?
A PSA 10 Cal Ripken Jr. #30 sells for $600 against $2.26 raw: a $597 spread, 265× the ungraded price. A PSA 9 ($25.90) only about breaks even after fees, so the case rests on gemming. Centering is the usual reason a clean copy misses the 10 — measure it before you submit.
How much is a PSA 10 Cal Ripken Jr. #30 worth compared with raw?
A PSA 10 Cal Ripken Jr. #30 (Baseball Cards 1985 Topps) sells for about $600 versus $2.26 for a raw near-mint copy — a 265× premium as of Sep 4, 2026.
Which grading company is best for Cal Ripken Jr. #30?
By resale value, BGS 10 leads at $780, ahead of PSA 10 at $600. Fees and turnaround differ, so the best-paying label is not always the best net.
What centering does Cal Ripken Jr. #30 need for a BGS 10?
BGS publishes 55/45 front and 70/30 back centering as the tolerance for a 10 (Gem Mint). Off-center copies are capped below the top grade regardless of surface — measure yours before paying the fee.
What gem rate makes grading Cal Ripken Jr. #30 break even?
At a standard ~$50 fee, submitting Cal Ripken Jr. #30 breaks even when it gems about 5% of the time (a miss assumed to sell at the PSA 9 price of $25.90).
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