Is Ken Griffey Jr. [First Day Issue] #176 worth grading?

Baseball · Baseball Cards 2022 Stadium Club · full price guide →

Worth grading — even a PSA 9 beats raw

A Grade 9.5 Ken Griffey Jr. [First Day Issue] #176 sells for $171 against $53.01 raw: a $118 spread, 3.2× the ungraded price. Even a PSA 9 ($156) 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): $53.01
Grade 9.5: $171
PSA 9: $156
Gem premium: 3.2×
As of: Sep 4, 2026

Break-even by outcome and fee

Ken Griffey Jr. [First Day Issue] #176: 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	$171	+$92.99	+$67.99	−$32.01
PSA 9	$156	+$77.49	+$52.49	−$47.51

Net = sale price − $53.01 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?

Ken Griffey Jr. [First Day Issue] #176: expected value of submitting by gem probability
Chance it gems	Expected sale	Expected net (standard fee)
25%	$159	+$56.37
50%	$163	+$60.24
75%	$167	+$64.12

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 →

Ken Griffey Jr. [First Day Issue] #176 graded prices by company and grade
Grade	Graded
9.5	$171
9	$156

Run your own numbers

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