Is Tim Salmon [Platinum Red] #23 worth grading?

Baseball · Baseball Cards 1997 Pinnacle Totally Certified · full price guide →

Grading rarely pays for this card

Grade 9.5 copies of Tim Salmon [Platinum Red] #23 sell for $5.00, only $2.68 above the $2.32 raw price — less than an economy-tier grading fee. A PSA 9 ($4.25) 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): $2.32
Grade 9.5: $5.00
PSA 9: $4.25
Gem premium: 2.2×
As of: Sep 4, 2026

Break-even by outcome and fee

Tim Salmon [Platinum Red] #23: 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	$5.00	−$22.32	−$47.32	−$147
PSA 9	$4.25	−$23.07	−$48.07	−$148

Net = sale price − $2.32 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?

Tim Salmon [Platinum Red] #23: expected value of submitting by gem probability
Chance it gems	Expected sale	Expected net (standard fee)
25%	$4.44	−$47.88
50%	$4.63	−$47.70
75%	$4.81	−$47.51

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 →

Tim Salmon [Platinum Red] #23 graded prices by company and grade
Grade	Graded
9.5	$5.00
9	$4.25

Run your own numbers

Should I pay this?

Asking priceGrading fee

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