Is Allen Iverson [Rubies] #85 worth grading?

Basketball · Basketball Cards 1996 Skybox Premium · full price guide →

Worth grading — even a PSA 9 beats raw

A Grade 9.5 Allen Iverson [Rubies] #85 sells for $1,377 against $449 raw: a $928 spread, 3.1× the ungraded price. Even a PSA 9 ($1,236) 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): $449
Grade 9.5: $1,377
PSA 9: $1,236
Gem premium: 3.1×
As of: Sep 4, 2026

Break-even by outcome and fee

Allen Iverson [Rubies] #85: 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	$1,377	+$903	+$878	+$778
PSA 9	$1,236	+$762	+$737	+$637
PSA 8	$492	+$18.36	−$6.64	−$107

Net = sale price − $449 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?

Allen Iverson [Rubies] #85: expected value of submitting by gem probability
Chance it gems	Expected sale	Expected net (standard fee)
25%	$1,271	+$772
50%	$1,307	+$808
75%	$1,342	+$843

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 →

Allen Iverson [Rubies] #85 graded prices by company and grade
Grade	Graded
9.5	$1,377
9	$1,236
8	$492
7	$435

Run your own numbers

Should I pay this?

Asking priceGrading fee

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