Is Joe Montana [Gold] #1 worth grading?

Football · Football Cards 2024 Panini Donruss Optic Downtown Legends · full price guide →

Grading rarely pays for this card

Grade 9.5 copies of Joe Montana [Gold] #1 sell for $2,350, only $0.00 above the $2,350 raw price — less than an economy-tier grading fee. A PSA 9 ($2,136) 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): $2,350
Grade 9.5: $2,350
PSA 9: $2,136
Gem premium: 1.0×
As of: Sep 4, 2026

Break-even by outcome and fee

Joe Montana [Gold] #1: 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	$2,350	−$25.00	−$50.00	−$150
PSA 9	$2,136	−$239	−$264	−$364

Net = sale price − $2,350 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?

Joe Montana [Gold] #1: expected value of submitting by gem probability
Chance it gems	Expected sale	Expected net (standard fee)
25%	$2,190	−$211
50%	$2,243	−$157
75%	$2,297	−$104

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 →

Joe Montana [Gold] #1 graded prices by company and grade
Grade	Graded
9.5	$2,350
9	$2,136

Run your own numbers

Should I pay this?

Asking priceGrading fee

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

Other 2024 Panini Donruss Optic Downtown Legends cards worth checking

Full set checklist →

Deion Sanders [Black Pandora] #5

Raw $1,943PSA 10 $6,600

Lawrence Taylor [Gold] #10

Raw $1,926PSA 10 $4,719

Christian Okoye [Gold] #6

Raw $1,120PSA 10 $2,732

Joe Montana [Black Pandora] #1

Raw $1,486PSA 10 $2,700

Lawrence Taylor [Black Pandora] #10

Raw $1,700PSA 10 $3,082

Adrian Peterson [Gold] #8