College student interested in investing in a Hank Aaron Rookie card
 

Hi all,

I am interested in investing in a 1954 Topps rookie card of Hank Aaron. I have a small collection of cards featuring my favorite players but am a very novice collector when it comes to sports cards. From what I’ve seen Aaron’s ‘54 Topps not only holds its value but is often a good card to own at any time. I’ve seen the prices it commands Andy’s a college student this is a project that would take time to save up for even with the cheapest option. I’d just like to get a feel for what I should expect to spend and if there is anyone on the forum who can share what I should look for and what I should avoid.

Thanks so much!

I'm not sure if it shows a complete picture, but based on the psa website most recent auction results page, it looks like for a low grade example (A,1,1.5,2) you are probably looking at a price of between 750$ and 2000$ depending on the grade.

Assuming you're looking for a graded card, you will likely get a better card for your money with an SGC or BVG than a PSA.

Prices are rising across the board, but according to Vintage Card Prices (an invaluable resource), PSA 2s have been selling for a little over $2k on average (range between $1500 and $2950), whereas SGC 2s range from $890 to $1540, average of $1290.

Of course that only speaks to a nicer card for you to have. In terms of resale value, the market currently puts a premium on PSA graded cards over others (as shown above) because...??? As far as I can tell, there is no factual basis for why the market does that (and a lot of reasons not to), just "that's what the market does." Will it continue to be that way in the future? Who knows - I would like to think not, but a lot of irrational beliefs are proving to be pretty durable these days.

2 words - set registry
 

My belief as to the primary reason why PSA cards sell for more has everything to do with the PSA set registry - a forum where people compete for the best cards and sets - all in PSA holders. While an easy argument could be made to support that SGC and BVG are as competent (or incompetent) at actual grading - neither has competition for the PSA set registry.

Fair point - that is indeed a stroke of marketing genius on PSA's part. Whether it constitutes a "real," factual basis for that much of a premium is in the eye of the beholder, I suppose.

Totally agree. That's PSA's competitive advantage.