Is Mahlon Duckett #40 worth grading?

Baseball · Baseball Cards 1986 Fritsch Negro League Baseball Stars · full price guide →

Grading rarely pays for this card

Grade 9.5 copies of Mahlon Duckett #40 sell for $8.00, only $0.36 above the $7.64 raw price — less than an economy-tier grading fee. A PSA 9 ($7.05) sells for less than raw, so anything short of a 10 loses money. Keep it raw unless you are grading for the slab itself.

Raw (NM): $7.64
Grade 9.5: $8.00
PSA 9: $7.05
Gem premium: 1.0×
As of: Sep 4, 2026

Break-even by outcome and fee

Mahlon Duckett #40: 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	$8.00	−$24.64	−$49.64	−$150
PSA 9	$7.05	−$25.59	−$50.59	−$151

Net = sale price − $7.64 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?

Mahlon Duckett #40: expected value of submitting by gem probability
Chance it gems	Expected sale	Expected net (standard fee)
25%	$7.29	−$50.35
50%	$7.53	−$50.12
75%	$7.76	−$49.88

At the standard fee this submission does not break even at any realistic gem rate unless the miss lands above the 9 price.

Full grade ladder

Raw conditions & history →

Mahlon Duckett #40 graded prices by company and grade
Grade	Graded
9.5	$8.00
9	$7.05

Run your own numbers

Should I pay this?

Asking priceGrading fee

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