Is Mark McGwire [Die Cut Refractor] #155 worth grading?

Baseball · Baseball Cards 1997 Finest Embossed · full price guide →

Grading rarely pays for this card

Grade 9.5 copies of Mark McGwire [Die Cut Refractor] #155 sell for $165, only $0.00 above the $1,567 raw price — less than an economy-tier grading fee. A PSA 9 ($150) 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): $1,567
Grade 9.5: $165
PSA 9: $150
Gem premium: 0.1×
As of: Sep 4, 2026

Break-even by outcome and fee

Mark McGwire [Die Cut Refractor] #155: 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	$165	−$1,427	−$1,452	−$1,552
PSA 9	$150	−$1,442	−$1,467	−$1,567

Net = sale price − $1,567 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?

Mark McGwire [Die Cut Refractor] #155: expected value of submitting by gem probability
Chance it gems	Expected sale	Expected net (standard fee)
25%	$154	−$1,463
50%	$158	−$1,460
75%	$161	−$1,456

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 →

Mark McGwire [Die Cut Refractor] #155 graded prices by company and grade
Grade	Graded
9.5	$165
9	$150

Run your own numbers

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