1993 SP Derek Jeter Rookie Card Sells for $180,000
A 1993 SP Derek Jeter Rookie Card set a record on Saturday, January 11, selling for $180,000 to lead Memory Lane Inc.’s Winter Classic 2019 auction. Graded a Gem Mint PSA 10, it’s the third time the card has crossed the six-figure threshold. The price includes the buyers premium.
The sale comes less than two weeks before Jeter is expected to be elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame.
1993 SP Derek Jeter Rookie Card: Explosive Growth
The 1993 SP Derek Jeter Rookie Card has been popular for decades. It has long been considered the Yankee legend’s top RC and prices have reflected this. However, the last several years have seen the already iconic card explode.
A PSA 10 topped $50,000 for the first time 2017. In 2018, a pair of PSA 10 copies of the card flirted with six figures but never quite crossed the mark.
However, a pair of copies toppled the mark in December, 2019. On that day two different 1993 SP Derek Jeter PSA 10s sold surged well past $100,000. One closed at $138,000 in a Heritage Auctions sale. On December 8, Robert Edward Auctions sold another one for $168,000.
This time, record price lasted a little more than a month.
A Gem Mint Rarity
1993 SP Baseball raised the bar for premium cards at the time, taking the hobby further into the premium realm. The Premier Prospects subset, which is where the Derek Jeter is from, uses all-foil fronts. The look is distinct and elevated, however, it also made the cards extremely condition sensitive.
Corner dings are easy to see. Edge chipping is common.
Finding Gem Mint copies are extremely rare. To date, just 22 copies of the Jeter card have Gem Mint 10 grades. That’s out of more than 14,000 times the card has been graded by the company.
BGS has graded the card more than 15,000 times with 259 Gem Mint 9.5 copies and zero Pristine 10s.
The 1993 SP Derek Jeter Rookie Card isn’t exactly a rare card. It’s the grade that’s scarce and driving these record prices.
Who do we contact if we have the card?
I have that card. Sorry I have 3 of them.
I have this card and it is graded as a 10/Pristine. It’s only .5 point away from being flawless. Scored 10,10,10,9.5! I just haven’t been able to list it on eBay because I’ve never sold anything before and I refuse to let an auction house do it and charge me 10% or more.
I have a Derek Jeter SP RC with all squared corner’s no scratches and put it in plastic since I pulled it out of a pack in 1993 and was wondering how to go about getting it graded
@Frankie – Details on Beckett Grading can be found here: https://www.beckett.com/grading
Hi, where in the Becket guide 42nd edition with Jrter on the front cover can I find the 1993 Jeter SP foil card # 279?
Thank you,
Tom
I think I have a 10, I bought whole box set 300? Cards from a professional and he put them chronologically and in same position, they were in a clear /long box with a yellow (1.5 inch) sponge looking thing that kept cards upright, bought in 2000 and just opened a week ago, foil is still there , in absolutely gem gem my condition, I’m almost certain it’s 10!
I don’t want to sell 50k for a card that could hit 1 million especially wither jeters rc being 30 years old 2022
What’s up with the 1993 Topps No. 98 Jeter rookie error cards value? Seeing hows there is multiple error cards with yellow dots in different locations?
@Shane – Sounds like those are printing defects.
If I have this card, should I worry about it.. Ryan cracknell
I have a jeter rc that I pulled in 1993 and put straight into a case, its flawless, never had anything graded, would it be expensive to have this card graded now.
Info on Beckett Grading can be found at beckett.com/grading.