GemRate released their 2025 overview and reported that 26.8 million cards were graded, a whopping 32% jump from 2024, when 20 million cards were graded. Of course, that jump comes with a big ol’ caveat, at least from a sports cards perspective.
That’s because TCG/non-sports cards were graded 16.8 million times, a number that jumped 95% (!!) from last year, while sports cards were graded 10 million times, and that’s down 12% from 2024.
Admittedly, this isn’t surprising, at least anecdotally. since card shows I’ve attended have been noticeably more populated with TCG/non-sports cards throughout the year. This does make it easier for me to know which tables to focus on at those shows, but has also made me wonder what that means for sports cards going forward.
If anything, I think it’s modern sports cards that will be most affected if the appeal of TCG/non-sports cards continues to increase, but I also think both of them may suffer from too much supply, unless demand is somehow able to keep up.
Meanwhile, from a vintage perspective (where too much supply isn’t an issue), here are the percentages of pre-1980s sports cards graded, by grading company, from both 2025 and 2024:
Grading Company | 2025 Percentage | 2024 Percentage |
|---|---|---|
PSA | 7.2 | 9.7 |
Beckett | 4.3 | 5.3 |
SGC | 27.7 | 23 |
CGC | 6.4 | 10.1 |
So SGC is the only company showing a percentage increase in vintage grading, but its actual sports (and miscellaneous) grading numbers dropped from 1.72 million in 2024 to 1.34 million in 2025.
With SGC having transitioned to being a “boutique” brand, I assume two things will continue in 2026 - the percentage of vintage sports cards they grade will increase (because I think people like the “tuxedo” slab, especially for vintage, and because SGC has a perception as the place for vintage collectors), while their sports card grading market share (which went from 15% in 2024 to 13% in 2025) will continue to slip a bit.
With Collectors having taken over both SGC and Beckett within the last two years, we’re in an especially volatile period of time in the grading space, but I think the trading card market continues to show strength, and I maintain my faith in the vintage card market.
In this issue you'll find:
Auction highlights
News in the hobby
Mike Schmidt’s rookie card and player profile
Exploring 1950s baseball collector grade cards
Recent Vintage Card Voyage videos
Let’s get into it.
Auction Highlights
In order of closing date (prices as of Sunday evening PT):
Hunt Auctions (closing January 7)
⚾1968 Topps #177 Nolan Ryan Rookie Card SGC 5 - $1,026
🏒1979-80 Topps Hockey Wax Pack PSA 6 - $333
🏈1970 Topps Complete Set With O.J. Simpson Rookie Card VG-NM - $332
Goldin Weekly Auction (closing January 8)
⚾1955 Topps #164 Roberto Clemente Rookie Card PSA 5 - $3,500
🏈1981 Topps #216 Joe Montana Rookie Card Auto PSA 5 / PSA-DNA 10 - $475
🏀1972-73 Topps #195 Julius Erving Rookie Card PSA 6 - $300
Brockelman Auctions (closing January 10)
⚾1928 Star Player Candy Babe Ruth SGC 1 - $28,204 (Editor’s Note: This is only the fifth time the Star Player Ruth has been sold since 2005, per Card Ladder)
⚾1910 Orange Borders Ty Cobb SGC 1 - $8,983 (Editor’s Note: This is one of 23 of the Orange Borders cards being sold in this auction, hand-cut cards that have a very low population)
🏈1972 Topps Complete 3rd Series - $477
News Briefs
Vintage HOF Rookie Card: Mike Schmidt
The best third baseman of the 1970s and 1980s (you can see my friend Ken and I debate him vs. George Brett), Schmidt was a (deserved) first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Mike Schmidt - 3B/1B
HOF Induction in 1995 - Named on 444 out of 460 ballots (96.5%)
12-time All-Star and three-time MVP
10-time Gold Glove winner (tied for second-most as a third baseman)
From 1974 to 1984, averaged 7.8 WAR per season
515 career home runs as a third baseman (per StatMuse, that’s the most all-time)
Career WAR - 106.9
1973 Topps #615
Grade | PSA Pop Count | SGC Pop Count | BVG Pop Count |
|---|---|---|---|
10 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
9 | 252 | 45 | 18 |
8 | 1,636 | 206 | 120 |
7 | 2,212 | 393 | 204 |
The average price of Schmidt’s rookie card came out to be $588.41.
Hobby Thoughts: 1950s Baseball Collector Grade
Continuing through the vintage decades, this week’s focus is on baseball Hall of Fame rookie cards from the 1950s. My definition of “affordable” moves up to $250 or less, with each price based on the average of the last three sales.
Before tabulating, my guess is that about 25% of the cards fall into the “affordable” category.
Here are the results (data via Vintage Card Prices), with T standing for Topps and B for Bowman:
My prediction was close with six of the 22 cards (or 27%) at $250 or less. Meanwhile, the trend continues with the top cards convincingly outpacing the others, and when you have Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays rookies in the mix, this is certainly not a surprise. In fact, the average price of those two cards was more than all the others combined. And the average price for all the cards came in at $3,510.48, even though only five of the cards were actually more than that.
What did you think about the results?
Vintage Card Voyage: Recent Videos
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Thanks for reading.
Marc