Most Expensive Rare Baseball Cards

America's favorite pastime, baseball, is a favorite talking point for many. Questions about who was the greatest of all time arise often. Names like Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle, and Ty Cobb get thrown around, as do their career stats. Since 1886, professional players have had collectible cards produced that story their statistics, and the public has been collecting them faithfully. The value of some of these cards can run into thousands of dollars, and, in some cases, hundreds of thousands of dollars.

  1. Honus Wagner

    • In the world of baseball card collecting, the Honus Wagner T206 edition (1909-11) holds several records for value, including being the highest valued card in existence, with an estimated worth of $2.8 million. In 1930, the card's value was already $50, far greater than that of any other card in the T206 series. Its value may come from the card's rarity with only an estimated 50 to 60 left in the world. Hailed as one of the greatest shortstops in baseball, Wagner, who played his career almost entirely with the Pittsburgh Pirates, retired in 1917. Wagner was an eight-time National League batting champ, tied for the most in NL history with Tony Gwynn. He also led the league in slugging six times, and in stolen bases five times.

    Babe Ruth

    • Babe Ruth is one of baseball's most iconic names, so it should come as no surprise that collectors will pay huge amounts to own one of his cards. In a 2008 on-line auction, a 1914 Babe Ruth rookie card, which had been produced by the Baltimore Sun, was sold for $517,000. The card had been in the same family for three generations before it was sold.

    Joe Doyle

    • In the world of baseball card collecting sometimes misprints can equal value and rarity. This is the case with the Joe Doyle T206 error cards. A small number of cards were printed with the team listing reading "Doyle, NY Nat'l." However, Joe played for the N.Y. Americans at the time of printing (1909-11). The company that printed the cards only produced a few before the mistake was spotted, making this card very rare. Recorded sales have been known to reach over $100,000, even for a low-grade card.

    Mickey Mantle

    • Mickey Mantle is hailed as one of the game's legends, and his cards are favorites of collectors. In an auction held at Christie's, $100,000 was paid for a single rookie card from 1952. Mantle played for one of baseball's most renowned teams, the Yankees, which only adds to the popularity of his cards. Yankees fans young and old will know the name Mickey Mantle--aka "The Mick"--and would likely love to have him in their card collections.