Is Cal Ripken Jr. #157 worth grading?
Baseball · Baseball Cards 1999 Fleer Mystique · full price guide →
Strong grading candidate — 22× premium in PSA 10
A PSA 10 Cal Ripken Jr. #157 sells for $247 against $11.13 raw: a $236 spread, 22× the ungraded price. A PSA 9 ($27.00) only about breaks even after fees, so the case rests on gemming. Centering is the usual reason a clean copy misses the 10 — measure it before you submit.
- Raw (NM)
- $11.13
- PSA 10
- $247
- PSA 9
- $27.00
- Gem premium
- 22×
- As of
- Sep 4, 2026
Break-even by outcome and fee
| If it comes back… | Sells for | Economy / bulk (~$25.00) | Standard (~$50.00) | Express (~$150) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gem — PSA 10 | $247 | +$211 | +$186 | +$86.11 |
| PSA 9 | $27.00 | −$9.13 | −$34.13 | −$134 |
| PSA 8 | $24.74 | −$11.39 | −$36.39 | −$136 |
Net = sale price − $11.13 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?
| Chance it gems | Expected sale | Expected net (standard fee) |
|---|---|---|
| 25% | $82.06 | +$20.93 |
| 50% | $137 | +$75.99 |
| 75% | $192 | +$131 |
Break-even gem rate at the standard fee: about 15%. Centering is the usual reason a clean copy misses — measure it before you decide.
Which grader pays the most — and what a 10 takes
All centering standards →| Grader | 10 sells for | vs best | Front centering for a 10 | Back |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BGS 10 | $321 | best | 55/45 | 70/30 |
| PSA 10 | $247 | −$73.76 | 55/45 | 75/25 |
| CGC 10 | $148 | −$173 | 55/45 | 75/25 |
| SGC 10 | $148 | −$173 | 55/45 | 75/25 |
Tolerances are each company's published centering standard for its top grade; surface, corners and edges must also be clean. Centering is the one you can measure yourself before you pay.
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Grading Cal Ripken Jr. #157 — FAQ
Is Cal Ripken Jr. #157 worth grading?
A PSA 10 Cal Ripken Jr. #157 sells for $247 against $11.13 raw: a $236 spread, 22× the ungraded price. A PSA 9 ($27.00) only about breaks even after fees, so the case rests on gemming. Centering is the usual reason a clean copy misses the 10 — measure it before you submit.
How much is a PSA 10 Cal Ripken Jr. #157 worth compared with raw?
A PSA 10 Cal Ripken Jr. #157 (Baseball Cards 1999 Fleer Mystique) sells for about $247 versus $11.13 for a raw near-mint copy — a 22× premium as of Sep 4, 2026.
Which grading company is best for Cal Ripken Jr. #157?
By resale value, BGS 10 leads at $321, ahead of PSA 10 at $247. Fees and turnaround differ, so the best-paying label is not always the best net.
What centering does Cal Ripken Jr. #157 need for a BGS 10?
BGS publishes 55/45 front and 70/30 back centering as the tolerance for a 10 (Gem Mint). Off-center copies are capped below the top grade regardless of surface — measure yours before paying the fee.
What gem rate makes grading Cal Ripken Jr. #157 break even?
At a standard ~$50 fee, submitting Cal Ripken Jr. #157 breaks even when it gems about 15% of the time (a miss assumed to sell at the PSA 9 price of $27.00).
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