Ken Griffey Card Surpasses $5,000 at Auction

LOS ANGELES, CA — A 1989 Upper Deck Ken Griffey Jr. rookie card has officially entered the $5,000 mark after selling for $5,300 on eBay on October 26, 2025. This is a significant milestone in the collectibles market for sports cards.

Third-party grading company PSA designated this particular card as gem mint, a distinction highly valued among collectors. However, PSA has awarded the coveted grade of 10 to over 4,000 Griffey cards, indicating that while the card is special, it is not as rare as one might think.

Griffey cards often face strict grading standards. For every PSA 10, there are about eight cards graded 9 (“Mint”) and another ten graded 8 (“Near Mint to Mint”). The intricate grading process typically requires detailed inspection under magnification.

The question now is whether the $5,000 mark will hold. Recent sales are a mixed bag. Just a day before this auction, a PSA 10 Griffey card sold for $4,535. In contrast, the $5,300 price was more than $700 above that recent sale, indicating a sudden surge in value.

Currently, only two PSA 10 Griffey cards are actively auctioning, with bids standing at $4,000 and $4,500. Collectors are keenly watching these auctions for signs of the $5K card’s stability.

The availability of Griffey cards priced below $5,000 also raises questions about the recent sale. There are cards listed at prices lower than the auction price, which might suggest that $5,300 is an anomaly, at least short term. Two PSA 10 Griffey rookies are currently on the market for under $5,000.

With the sport’s popularity only rising, and after a recent quick incrementation from $4,000 to $5,300, the ultimate holding power of the card remains uncertain. Collectors are eager to see if the surge was a temporary spike or the beginning of a more sustained value increase.