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Last Updated On: February 12th, 2026
This page consolidates a segment called Underrated Sports Cards from our weekly email newsletter.
The goal of the underrated segment is to bring awareness to cards that may be flying under the radar, and that appear to be undervalued. Often, it will include cards with limited print runs, low grading population counts, serial numbering, and of course good value (cheap relative to similar cards).
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Table of Contents
PSA 10 Auto 10 Junk Wax Cards
Date featured in Newsletter : Feb. 12 2026
When buying sports cards, scarcity should always be top of mind. Particularly if you’d like your cards to retain and gain value. It’s what turns a decent pickup into something truly valuable over time. Plenty of cards aren’t short printed or low pop by design, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find ways to make them rarer through smart choices. Let’s look at a key example from the Junk Wax Era.
Cards of the late 80s and early 90s were printed in the tens and hundreds of thousands of copies. This mass production destroyed their rarity and eventual valuations. Even so, some still survived the supply glut and appreciated in value, including Griffey’s Upper Deck Star Rookie. Griffey’s collectibility has staying power that even thousands of printed cards wasn’t enough to fully depress values (but it makes you wonder how much more valuable his Star Rookie would be with far less production)!
So what did the card market do with all this junk? Naturally it gravitated towards cards in the very best condition, with PSA and BGS 10 Pristine graded cards commanding the most value given their perfect scores (perceived or otherwise). Collectors of course buy the cards in raw condition for their PCs thousands of times a month, but real value creation is found in the very best graded cards. It’s like the market searches for scarcity.
Sticking with the Griffey UD Star Rookie example, there are 123,000 PSA graded copies, but only 4,200 PSA 10s by comparison (representing ~3% of the total). A raw Griffey sells for around $80, but a PSA 10 Gem Mint goes for over $4,000.
But what about an autographed PSA 10 with an Auto grade of 10? The Griffey sells for a whopping $24,000 with a total pop count of just 118 copies!
The combination of an Auto 10 grade on a PSA 10 really boosts scarcity and collectibility for the Junk Wax Era especially. With the Griffey commanding such a high premium in PSA 10 Auto 10 grade, we think there are many opportunities to buy other rookie cards of 80s and 90s stars that can appreciate in value over time alongside the Griffey. And they don’t have to be just PSA 10s either. Low pop counts for cards graded with an Auto 10 grade and PSA 9, or even PSA 8 condition are fine — just make sure they’re low pop counts (see Jerry Rice example below)!
We’re chasing scarcity in names like:
- Bo Jackson
- Randy Johnson
- Ken Griffey Jr.
- Frank Thomas
- Deion Sanders
- Chipper Jones
- Derek Jeter
- Tony Gwynn
- Roger Clemens
- Greg Maddux
- Barry Sanders
- Emmitt Smith
- Dan Marino
- Jerry Rice
- John Elway
- John Stockton
- Shaquille O’Neal
- Hakeem Olajuwon
- Patrick Ewing
- Dennis Rodman
- Reggie Miller
- And more!
1980s & 90s PSA 10 Auto 10 cards (click to search)
- Important era ✅
- Limited pop counts ✅
- Many household names ✅
1986 Fleer Basketball Autos
Date featured in Newsletter : May. 17 2025
Every so often I’ll come across a card that makes me stop and think. This time, it happens to be of Hall of Famer Joe Dumars — his 1986 Fleer Rookie Card in PSA 9 Mint condition, with an Auto 10 grade (pop 39, just 2 higher).
While I’m not a Dumars collector, it made me wonder how Dumars’ RC auto is only going for $176 (Isiah does $550 for comparison, also fair) with such a low PSA population. Obviously he doesn’t have a large fan base, but this led me down the rabbit hole looking for other players in the same set.
After some research, it’s clear to me that many ‘86 Fleer basketball autos appear to be reasonably cheap (keep in mind we’re still talking hundreds of dollars here); including base cards like the Dumars, but also the Fleer Sticker inserts as well (see examples below).
With some patience, these could look like absolute steals down the road. If you’re a fan of any of the legends in this set, it could be a great time to pick up a HOF player or RC auto and hang onto it.
The best pickups are in PSA 7 or better grade, with 10 Auto grade especially. Also, centered cards are ideal for eye appeal and resale.
Be sure NOT to buy graded stickers where the card description isn’t listed (e.g. if the PSA slab says ‘Trading card’ instead of 1986 Fleer Sticker xxxxx). These could be reprints or fakes but with an authentic autograph. PSA only authenticates the auto in this case when the card name is not shown, so it’s better safe than sorry!
1986 Fleer Basketball Autos (click to search)
- Important set ✅
- Limited pop counts ✅
- Reasonable prices graded ✅
- Many HOF players ✅
Some examples of recent sales:
- Joe Dumars Base RC
- PSA 9 w/ 10 Auto did $176 (pop 39, 2 higher)
- PSA 8 w/ 10 Auto did $110 (pop 34)
- Dominique Wilkins Base RC
- PSA 8 w/ 10 Auto did $475 (pop 42, 11 higher)
- Patrick Ewing Base RC
- PSA 8 w/ 10 Auto did $785 (pop 53, 17 higher)
- Hakeem Olajuwon RC Sticker
- PSA 9 w/10 Auto did $458 (pop 12, 0 higher))
- PSA 8 w/ 10 Auto did $233 (pop 31)
- PSA 7 w/ 10 Auto did $172 (pop 16)
- Patrick Ewing RC Sticker
- PSA 9 w/ 10 Auto did $710 (pop 11, 0 higher)
- PSA 8 w/ 10 Auto did $400 (pop 13)
- Isiah Thomas RC Sticker
- PSA 8 w/ 10 Auto did $550 (pop 3, 4 higher)
- Dominique Wilkins RC Sticker
- PSA 8 w/ 10 Auto did $264 (pop 24, 2 higher)
- Julius Erving Sticker
- PSA 8 w/ 10 Auto did $350 (pop 18, 2 higher)
2012 Prizm & Select Silver Prizms
Date featured in Newsletter : Dec. 27 2024
Back in 2012, Panini KNEW it had a massive hit on its hands when they rolled out the Prizm and Select brands (particularly the former). Panini created a basketball checklist with 300 base cards with the foresight to bundle heavyweight HOF players incl. Bird, Magic, Wilt, and Pippen along with stars like Kobe, LeBron, and Curry.
Today, the Prizm and Select brands are core products collectors look forward to with each annual release. We feel the first O.G. release in 2012 still has plenty of upside given its importance, and especially because the values seem under-appreciated, and population counts tiny across all 4 major sports.
2012 Prizm & Select (Silver) Prizms (click to search)
- 1st release of an important product ✅
- Limited pop counts ✅
- LeBron 101 PSA graded Prizm Silvers; Kobe 89; Kyrie RC 66; Kawhi RC 95; Curry 76
- Panini Select PSA counts: LeBron 135; Kobe 158; Curry 131
- When the most graded players barely reach triple digits, you know you have a limited print run.
- Reasonable prices graded & ungraded ✅
Fairly priced examples:
- LeBron 2012 Select Prizm
- Wade 2012 Select Prizm
- Durant 2012 Select Prizm
- Dirk 2012 Select Prizm
- Westbrook 2012 Prizm
- Jeter 2012 Prizm
1997 Fleer Traditions “Tiffany” Kobe Bryant #50
Date featured in Newsletter : Nov. 15 2024
The 1997 Fleer Basketball set included a “Tiffany” parallel which had a pull rate of 1 in 20 packs.
This set — and especially the Kobe being a 2nd year card — appears to be vastly overlooked by collectors in my opinion.
Quick breakdown of the 1997 Fleer Basketball set:
- Series 1 & 2: 345 total cards.
- 1:20 packs to pull a Tiffany, so Kobe in series 1 was a 200-card set — it would take 4,000 packs to find a Kobe (200 cards x 20 packs)
1997 Fleer Traditions “Tiffany” Kobe Bryant #50 (click to search)
- Important 2nd year card ✅
- Very tough pull odds ✅
- Reasonable price graded & ungraded ✅
- Raw: $85 – $225
- Graded: PSA 7 $128; PSA 9 $550
- Low Pop: ✅
- PSA 10: 6 copies; PSA 9: 36 copies
Note: If you’re buying this card raw or graded, keep in mind there are “Crystal” parallels as well which are only 1 in 2 packs; while still pretty low pop in high grade, they are not the same thing. Notice the blue foil stamping, and the word Tiffany underneath the Fleer Traditions logo.
Also, there are many important other players in this set at reasonable prices. Even the Jordan card isn’t absurdly priced, and Iverson, Ray Allen, Marbury, and other 2nd year players are in this set!
1996 Topps Chrome Refractors (Various Sports)
Date featured in Newsletter : Nov. 1 2024
This week’s underrated segment features 1st year Topps Chrome Refractors which debuted in 1996 for Basketball, Baseball, & Football.
We think they’re super affordable right now, providing a solid entry point for collectors.
As Topps will soon have licensing for NBA and NFL in the next year or two (to use team names and logos), the ‘96 release may get some extra exposure as the O.G. refractors.
1996 Topps Chrome Refractors (various sports, click to search)
- 1st year release ✅
- Affordable graded & ungraded ✅
- Tony Gwynn sold $65 raw; Terrell Davis $40 raw
- Low Pop: ✅
- PSA reports: Basketball, Baseball, Football
Note: Early chrome refractors can be prone to ‘greening’; be sure to look for cards without any greening surface effect.
1999 Donruss Elite Passing the Torch Walter Payton / Barry Sanders #4
Date featured in Newsletter : Oct. 25 2024
For the inaugural Underrated Card segment, we’re kicking things off with the Walter Payton / Barry Sanders Passing the Torch card.
1999 Donruss Elite Passing the Torch Walter Payton / Barry Sanders #4 (click to search)
- Hall of Fame Player(s) ✅
- Serial Numbered ✅
- Affordable graded & ungraded ✅
- Low Pop: ✅
- PSA 10: 18 copies; PSA 9: 19 copies
- PSA 10: 18 copies; PSA 9: 19 copies
Note: there are also individual versions of this card for Payton (#5) and Sanders (#6) on their own, along with Autographed versions of the cards which are extremely tough to find.
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