$J.T. Snow [Refractor] #21 (Baseball Cards 1996 Topps Chrome) — is it worth grading?$

Is J.T. Snow [Refractor] #21 worth grading?

Baseball · Baseball Cards 1996 Topps Chrome · full price guide →

Worth grading — even a PSA 9 beats raw

A Grade 9.5 J.T. Snow [Refractor] #21 sells for $63.00 against $5.50 raw: a $57.50 spread, 11× the ungraded price. Even a PSA 9 ($57.48) 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): $5.50
Grade 9.5: $63.00
PSA 9: $57.48
Gem premium: 11×
As of: Sep 4, 2026

Break-even by outcome and fee

J.T. Snow [Refractor] #21: 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	$63.00	+$32.50	+$7.50	−$92.50
PSA 9	$57.48	+$26.98	+$1.98	−$98.02
PSA 8	$25.00	−$5.50	−$30.50	−$131

Net = sale price − $5.50 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?

J.T. Snow [Refractor] #21: expected value of submitting by gem probability
Chance it gems	Expected sale	Expected net (standard fee)
25%	$58.86	+$3.36
50%	$60.24	+$4.74
75%	$61.62	+$6.12

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 →

J.T. Snow [Refractor] #21 graded prices by company and grade
Grade	Graded
9.5	$63.00
9	$57.48
8	$25.00
7	$12.50

Run your own numbers

Should I pay this?

Asking priceGrading fee

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