The one troublesome selection collectors might have when including a Ryne Sandberg rookie card to their assortment is…
which one?
By the point Sandberg made his MLB debut, competitors within the passion was heating up and a number of firms had been combating for a bit of the pie.
Gone had been the times when Topps was the one recreation on the town and most guys had just one rookie card.
For instance, a few of the guys Sandberg competed towards, like George Brett and Rickey Henderson, began in that period and had just one rookie card.
However Sandberg has 4 mainstream rookies.
The passion was increasing, and so had been collector choices.
And on this information, we’ll take an in depth take a look at all of them.
Let’s bounce proper in!
1983 Donruss #277 Ryne Sandberg Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Worth: $500
In 1981, Topps’ stranglehold on the baseball card market lastly ended.
Due to a authorized ruling, Donruss and Fleer may now compete within the profitable and rising passion.
Donruss’s first couple of units in 1981 and 1982 are first rate.
Nevertheless, their third set up was arguably their greatest but as a result of it contained rookie playing cards from Tony Gwynn, Wade Boggs, and Ryne Sandberg.
The designs of the Donruss units of the early Nineteen Eighties are all pretty easy, however their 1983 set design is one among my favorites.
The nameplate on the backside, within the type of a baseball bat, complemented by the staff title cradled inside a mitt, provides a pleasant artistic contact general.
From 1983 till he retired, Sandberg served because the Chicago Cubs’ full-time second basemen.
Nevertheless, he spent nearly all of his rookie 1982 marketing campaign on the scorching nook.
Therefore, you will word the “3B” place listed alongside the underside of his Donruss and different rookies on this listing.
This is not Sandberg’s costliest rookie, however it is not his least expensive both.
1983 Fleer #507 Ryne Sandberg Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Worth: $300
Some might discover this stunning, however there are extra PSA 10 examples of Sandberg’s Fleer rookie than the opposite mainstream card producers.
I all the time thought that Topps’ high quality management was a bit higher than that of Donruss and Fleer on the time.
However Fleer’s wasn’t that unhealthy in spite of everything.
PSA has graded simply over 7,000 copies of this card, awarding simply over 900 with a PSA 10 grade.
Meaning round 13% of them have discovered themselves in a PSA 10 holder.
By comparability, round 5% of his Donruss rookies have earned a PSA 10 grade, whereas his Topps and O-Pee-Chee rookies grade a PSA 10 roughly 3.5% and a pair of% of the time, respectively.
Subsequently, since his Fleer rookie is comparatively simpler to search out in PSA 10 situation, it is smart that it’s his “least expensive.”
$300 for a PSA 10 instance is not peanuts, however it’s far lower than his others.
Pricing apart, I must say that is his least enticing rookie card, too.
Perhaps different hobbyists agree and that might additionally play into the decrease worth.
1983 O-Pee-Chee #83 Ryne Sandberg Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Worth: $4,500
Most producers in 1983 featured rookie playing cards of future Corridor-of-Famers Tony Gwynn, Wade Boggs, and Ryne Sandberg.
O-Pee-Chee was an exception.
Since they had been produced for the Canadian market, O-Pee-Chee checklists usually contained smaller checklists than their Topps counterpart.
In order that meant a given participant who appeared within the Topps set did not all the time seem within the O-Pee-Chee set.
Fortuitously for the passion, Gwynn and Sandberg made the ’83 O-Pee-Chee guidelines.
Boggs did not.
In Gwynn and Sandberg’s circumstances, their O-Pee-Chee rookies are simply their costliest.
Not solely are they extra scarce to start with in comparison with their Donruss, Fleer and Topps counterparts, they’re comparatively harder to search out in PSA 10 situation.
O-Pee-Chee cardstock was infamous for being decrease high quality and plagued with print points.
That makes PSA 10 grades practically unattainable.
Of the 1,155 submitted to PSA as of this writing, simply 25 have come again in a PSA 10 holder.
That is why this card can value hundreds of {dollars}.
Aesthetically, the cardboard options practically the identical design as his Topps rookie.
Nevertheless, the O-Pee-Chee emblem is clearly marked on the entrance, whereas the reverse facet options the O-Pee-Chee branding and French textual content.
1983 Topps #83 Ryne Sandberg Rookie Card
Estimated PSA 10 Worth: $1,250
Ryne Sandberg’s most well known rookie card is his 1983 Topps #83.
The design is iconic, with a little bit of a nod to Topps’ 1963 set, the place smaller, encircled participant headshots accompany bigger important photos.
And the motion shot of Sandberg in his stance carrying the Chicago Cubs pinstriped house jerseys is arguably one of the best of his quartet of mainstream rookies.
I bear in mind when you could possibly decide up a PSA 10 instance of this card for underneath $400 a number of years in the past.
However, these days are lengthy gone.
Now, you will simply pay over $1,000.
PSA has graded round 22,000 examples of this card and awarded slightly below 800 of them with a PSA 10 grade.
That is a few 3.5% price.
Although Donruss and Fleer had been within the combine and competing with Topps all through the Nineteen Eighties, a given participant’s Topps rookie is normally his most favorable.
And that is definitely the case for Sandberg.
That ought to assist his Topps rookie maintain up effectively for years to come back.
The Ryne Sandberg Rookie Card Assessment
Now that we have gone by means of the listing, listed below are a few of my ideas on Ryne Sandberg’s rookie playing cards:
Most Precious: Sandberg’s most beneficial rookie card is his 1983 O-Pee-Chee #83, which could be price over $4,500 in PSA 10 situation.
Least Precious: The 1983 Fleer #507 is his least helpful rookie card and, as I discussed, it possible is generally due to how a lot simpler it’s to search out in a PSA 10 holder.
My Favourite: I must say it is a tie between the O-Pee-Chee and Topps rookies. The design is mainly the identical, minus the logos and French textual content. Clearly, they’re the most costly, too, making them extra fascinating from a financial standpoint. As collectors, I feel we’re simply fortunate that Sandberg (and Gwynn) made the ’83 O-Pee-Chee guidelines to start with.
My Least Favourite: I like all of Sandberg’s rookies as a result of he was one among my favourite gamers to observe rising up. But when I had to decide on a least favourite, I assume I’d go along with his Fleer rookie. I simply do not just like the design as a lot because the others. That is the one motive.
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