Is Franz Wagner [Gold] #185 worth grading?

Basketball · Basketball Cards 2021 Panini Donruss Optic · full price guide →

Grading rarely pays for this card

Grade 9.5 copies of Franz Wagner [Gold] #185 sell for $2,475, only $0.00 above the $3,850 raw price — less than an economy-tier grading fee. A PSA 9 ($2,250) 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): $3,850
Grade 9.5: $2,475
PSA 9: $2,250
Gem premium: 0.6×
As of: Sep 3, 2026

Break-even by outcome and fee

Franz Wagner [Gold] #185: 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	$2,475	−$1,400	−$1,425	−$1,525
PSA 9	$2,250	−$1,625	−$1,650	−$1,750
PSA 8	$900	−$2,975	−$3,000	−$3,100

Net = sale price − $3,850 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?

Franz Wagner [Gold] #185: expected value of submitting by gem probability
Chance it gems	Expected sale	Expected net (standard fee)
25%	$2,306	−$1,594
50%	$2,363	−$1,538
75%	$2,419	−$1,481

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 →

Franz Wagner [Gold] #185 graded prices by company and grade
Grade	Graded
9.5	$2,475
9	$2,250
8	$900

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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