Is Marty Cordova #38 worth grading?

Baseball · Baseball Cards 1996 Spx · full price guide →

Grading rarely pays for this card

Grade 9.5 copies of Marty Cordova #38 sell for $4.00, only $2.45 above the $1.55 raw price — less than an economy-tier grading fee. A PSA 9 ($3.25) only about breaks even after fees, so the case rests on gemming. Keep it raw unless you are grading for the slab itself.

Raw (NM): $1.55
Grade 9.5: $4.00
PSA 9: $3.25
Gem premium: 2.6×
As of: Sep 4, 2026

Break-even by outcome and fee

Marty Cordova #38: 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	$4.00	−$22.55	−$47.55	−$148
PSA 9	$3.25	−$23.30	−$48.30	−$148
PSA 8	$2.76	−$23.79	−$48.79	−$149

Net = sale price − $1.55 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?

Marty Cordova #38: expected value of submitting by gem probability
Chance it gems	Expected sale	Expected net (standard fee)
25%	$3.44	−$48.11
50%	$3.63	−$47.92
75%	$3.81	−$47.74

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 →

Marty Cordova #38 graded prices by company and grade
Grade	Graded
9.5	$4.00
9	$3.25
8	$2.76

Run your own numbers

Should I pay this?

Asking priceGrading fee

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