• Mistakes in production cause rare baseball cards to increase in price
• Baseball cards were originally distributed with tobacco products
• A Honus Wagner baseball card was auctioned off for over $1 million

Collecting trading cards was once the domain of children; however, with the value of rare baseball cards rising in price serious collectors have taken up the hobby. A baseball fan in the 1800’s would get baseball cards from advertisers and they were even included in tobacco products. Others were manufactured as mementos and were known as “cabinet cards.” It is these old, rare baseball cards that have the most value. The following is a list of rare baseball cards and their approximate value.

Top Ten Baseball Cards

1909 Honus Wagner
Est. Value $250,000

This baseball card was distributed by the American Tobacco Company without Wagner’s consent. Due to the fact that kids would have to buy tobacco to get this card, Wagner had the company pull them from their products. There are approximately 55 baseball cards in existence and only ten that are in good condition. One of these cards was auctioned off on eBay in 2000 fetching $1.265 million.

1933 Nap Lajoie
Est. Value $25,000

The Nap Lajoie card was mistakenly left out of the 1933 Goudey baseball card set. The company only sent out replacement cards to those collectors who wrote in requesting it. Production mistakes like these make rare baseball cards like these all the more valuable.

1952 Mickey Mantle
Est. Value $15,000

This card was part of set of rare Topps baseball cards. This wasn’t even his rookie season. The price really took off in the 1980’s as boomers with money tried to recapture their youth. This was the first of many rare Topps baseball cards.

1914 Joe Jackson
Est. Value $7,500

“Shoeless” Joe Jackson was destined for the Hall of Fame before the infamous “Black Sox Scandal” came to light. One of the best all-round players in the game he became embroiled in the storm when it was discovered that there was a conspiracy to “throw” the 1919 World Series. He was banned from baseball for life. Who knows what the value of this card would be had he stayed in the game.

1914 Ty Cobb
Est. Value $4,500

Cobb still holds the record for having the highest career batting average. He set 90 records during the “dead ball” era and this Cracker Jack card displays him in his prime. The aggressive, surly “Georgia Peach” comes in at number 5 among the top 10 baseball cards.

1933 Babe Ruth
Est. Value $4,000

A list of rare baseball cards wouldn’t be complete without the appearance of the “Sultan of Swat.” His homerun records and off field antics made him a legend.

1949 Leroy “Satchel” Paige
Est. Value $4,000

Paige was a star in the Negro Leagues for 22 years before playing for the Cleveland Indians. This is his Major League Baseball rookie card.

1938 Joe DiMaggio
Est. Value $2,500

“Joltin Joe” DiMaggio was a prolific hitter for the New York Yankees. He holds a record for hitting in 56 straight games which may be a record that is never broken.

1951 Willie Mays
Est. Value $2,500

The “Say Hey Kid” was one of the best all-round baseball players to ever play the game. A baseball fan would give anything to have this rookie card.

1954 Ted Williams
Est. Value $2,500

Williams was signed for rare Topps baseball cards and when Bowman issued this card it was immediately pulled from production. Only a few cards made it into circulation becoming rare baseball cards.

As an electronic scoreboards continue to light up.