Ken Griffey Jr. played 22 years in MLB, playing mostly for the Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds. With 630 career home runs, he ranks 7th in the history of the MLB. He won 10 Gold Glove Awards playing center field. He also tied the MLB record for the most consecutive home run games with 8, tying with Dale Long and Don Mattingly.
Cards featuring Ken Griffey Jr. have been valuable collectibles since 1989. Continue reading to learn about the 9 most expensive Ken Griffey Jr. baseball cards that have ever sold.
9. 1989 Bowman Tiffany Ken Griffey Jr.
Year: 1989
Set#: 220
photo source: eBay
The 1989 Bowman Tiffany Ken Griffey Jr. card that sold on eBay in June 2022 was graded 10 by the PSA. This rookie card, #220, is already one of the most famous collectible Ken Griffey Jr. cards, with very few surviving in this condition.
In other conditions, this card is relatively common, with the PSA reporting those in NM-MT 8 condition selling for an average of $650 and those in condition MT 9 going for around $1,250. This Gem Mint 10 example by contrast sold for $12,311.
Did you know?
The Bowman Tiffany baseball card set from 1989 consisted of 484 cards in total. They have the Bowman white frame and logo as well as the Bowman card backs. The Tiffany variants, however, have a gloss covering and a white cardstock reverse side compared to normal Bowman cards.
8. Topps Desert Shield Ken Griffey Jr.
Year: 1991
Set#: 790
photo source: Goldin
The Topps Desert Shield Ken Griffey Jr. card from 1991 was rated Gem Mint or 10 by the PSA, which made its value soar at its Goldin auction. The final price for this card, #790, was $13,200.
According to the PSA, only 462 examples of this card were ever made and only 6% have this quality grading tier, which the PSA calls “unimprovable.”
The Desert Shield cards by Topps were part of the “junk wax” era of card-collecting, roughly the late-80s to early-90s. It was called that because cards had become so popular and plentiful that thousands were discarded after being bought, perceived as cheap and disposable. The name comes from the wax paper wrapping that sports trading cards used to come in.
Did you know?
Topps is the premier name in classic sports card collecting, being founded in Brooklyn back in 1938. Even in the 2010s, Topps was the sole manufacturer with an official license to sell trading cards for Major League baseball players.
7. Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. Star Rookie
Year: 1989
Set#: 1
photo source: eBay
This 1989 Ken Griffey Jr. Star Rookie card from Upper Deck is numbered the first in its set. It is a notoriously pricey Griffey card but usually doesn’t pull in this amount. However, this example was graded Gem Mint 10 by the PSA. It also features a signature by Griffey himself on the bottom, though it is partially obscured by his uniform.
The back of the card suggests that Ken Griffey would begin his ’89 season at Triple-A Calgary due to his 1988 season stopping short at Double-A Vermont due to a back injury. The card was listed on eBay for $13,950, eventually selling for an unlisted amount as a best offer.
Did you know?
Upper Deck was founded in 1988 in California, producing not only sports trading cards but also figurines, diecast collectibles, and lithograph prints. Over the years, they have secured exclusive memorabilia contracts for such famous athletes as Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Serena Williams, Wayne Gretzky, and Tiger Woods.
6. Skybox Premium Star Rubies Ken Griffey Jr.
Year: 1999
Set#: 137
photo source: Goldin
Card #137 in the Skybox Premium Star Rubies Set is this 1999 Ken Griffey Jr. card. It was made in a limited set of 50 and this card that sold at a Goldin auction was #50/50. It was graded NM 7 by the PSA, which is not as impressive as later cards on this list but still high.
The card sold for $16,800, featuring Skybox’s iconic layered foil grid backdrop behind Griffey as he’s about to transition to a slide.
Did you know?
Ken Griffey Jr. was a 13-time MLB All-Star. He was nicknamed “The Kid,” but still ran away with 630 home runs, ranking him 7th in the history of the MLB on its all-time home-run leaderboard.
5. Donruss Crusade Red Ken Griffey Jr.
Year: 1998
Set#: 39
photo source: Goldin
The #39 Donruss Crusade Red Ken Griffey Jr. card was graded 8 by BGS, with exemplary scores of 9.5+ in the centering, edges, and corners category, but only a 7 on the surface score. This means that either the image has visible printing flaws or a less than complete surface sheen.
This Donruss Crusade collectible card was sold at a Goldin auction for $18,000.
Did you know?
The Donruss Crusade 1998 set consisted of 130 cards that used a Medieval or “crusade” design theme printed on chromium stock. They had an instantly recognizable holographic foil finish. Crusade cards came in two types and three different color variants.
4. Skybox Molten Metal Fusion Titanium Ken Griffey Jr.
Year: 1999
Set#: 33F
photo source: Goldin
The Skybox Molten Metal Fusion Titanium Ken Griffey Jr. card that sold for this record amount was rated NM-MT 8 by the PSA. This 1999 card, #33F, has a gold background with Ken Griffey Jr.’s silhouette dotted out in a matrix of color points known as a “shadow illustration.” This card was released in a very limited edition, labeled #34/50.
This Molten Metal Fusion card sold for $22,800 at its Goldin auction.
Did you know?
Skybox is a trading card company started in 1989 in North Carolina. Their original spokesperson was Magic Johnson. In 1995, Marvel purchased Skybox and combined them with their Fleer brand of baseball and hockey cards.
3. Fleer Brilliants 24k Gold Ken Griffey Jr.
Year: 1999
Set#: 24TG
photo source: Goldin
The Fleer Brilliants 24k Gold Ken Griffey Jr. card received a grade of EX 5 by the PSA, making it only one of two examples of this card to get that high. This card was produced in a limited edition of only 24 examples, with this one being #14/24.
It’s the 24k gold foil overlay that really makes this card stand out. Beware of listings on eBay for hundreds of thousands of dollars on cards like these – they probably aren’t verified or even real foil. A real parallel foil or border foil card will sell more in the realm of $10,000-$20,000, depending on its condition.
The record for this card was set at a Goldin auction for $26,400.
Did you know?
The 1999 Fleer Brilliants set was a 175-card set originally sold as 5 cards per pack and 24 packs per box. Only 24 of these cards were in the 24k gold set, one of which was the Gold Ken Griffey Jr., #24TG.
2. Skybox Metal Universe “Precious Metal Gems” PMG
Year: 1998
Set#: 161
photo source: Goldin
The Skybox Metal Universe “Precious Metal Gems” PMG card was released in 1998 and graded NM-MT 8 by BGS. This 1998 card was the first in the Precious Metal Gems series, which released only 50 copies of each issue.
The card is a commemorative piece to celebrate the home run race of 1998 between Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, and of course, Ken Griffey Jr. Griffey’s 56 home runs were impressive, though he didn’t win the competition.
Numbered 13/50, this Skybox Metal Universe “Precious Metal Gems” PMG card sold at a Goldin auction for $46,800.
Did you know?
The home run chase of 1998 was a competition between the three players mentioned to beat the season home run record of Roger Maris, the right fielder for the Yankees and later the St. Louis Cardinals. His record was 61 home runs, which was beaten by Sosa with 66. However, McGwire beat it better, with 70 home runs in his 1998 season.
1. Mickey Mantle and Ken Griffey Jr. Dual Signed Upper Deck UDA Card
Year: 1994
Set#: N/a
photo source: Goldin
The most expensive Ken Griffey Jr. card is the Mickey Mantle and Ken Griffey Jr. Dual Signed Upper Deck UDA Card. An example that Beckett graded a 10 sold on Goldin for $57,600, giving it the top spot in this athlete’s card series. It includes both Griffey and Mickey Mantle’s profiles, accompanied by their Sharpie signatures.
This card is a 1994 insert card or “chase” card released by Upper Deck in limited editions of 1,000 cards. Very few of them exist with both athletes’ signatures and even fewer in this condition, making this card almost certainly a one-of-a-kind treasure.
Did you know?
The “gem mint” condition for the BGS means a flawless card, usually considered the most pristine example of the card available. This Dual Signed card’s gem mint status drove its auction prices at Goldin to these record-breaking levels.
