$Mark McGwire [Refractor] #21 (Baseball Cards 1997 Topps Chrome) — is it worth grading?$

Is Mark McGwire [Refractor] #21 worth grading?

Baseball · Baseball Cards 1997 Topps Chrome · full price guide →

Worth grading — even a PSA 9 beats raw

A Grade 9.5 Mark McGwire [Refractor] #21 sells for $140 against $73.00 raw: a $67.00 spread, 1.9× the ungraded price. Even a PSA 9 ($127) 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): $73.00
Grade 9.5: $140
PSA 9: $127
Gem premium: 1.9×
As of: Sep 4, 2026

Break-even by outcome and fee

Mark McGwire [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	$140	+$42.00	+$17.00	−$83.00
PSA 9	$127	+$28.83	+$3.83	−$96.17
PSA 8	$43.50	−$54.50	−$79.50	−$180

Net = sale price − $73.00 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 [Refractor] #21: expected value of submitting by gem probability
Chance it gems	Expected sale	Expected net (standard fee)
25%	$130	+$7.12
50%	$133	+$10.41
75%	$137	+$13.71

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 →

Mark McGwire [Refractor] #21 graded prices by company and grade
Grade	Graded
9.5	$140
9	$127
8	$43.50
7	$37.69

Run your own numbers

Should I pay this?

Asking priceGrading fee

Enter the seller’s asking price to see your net outcome per grade.

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