What Is My Derek Jeter Rookie Card Worth?

Derek Jeter is one of those household names in sports cards. He has a few different rookie cards you should know.

Derek Jeter is presented with his plaque during the 2021 National Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Wednesday, Sept. 8 in Cooperstown. The ceremony honored the members of the Class of 2020: Derek Jeter, Marvin Miller, Ted Simmons and Larry Walker. Nyuti P 090821 Baseball Hof Induction 45 / ALEX COOPER / OBSERVER-DISPATCH via Imagn Content Services, LLC

Do you own a $300,000 Derek Jeter rookie card or a $250 version?

It was announced that “The Captain” Derek Jeter will be back on the infield for the Yankees—not as a player, but to throw out the first pitch for Game 3 of the World Series.

Derek Jeter will throw out the first pitch before Game 3 of the World Series tonight 🔥

The Captain is back at Yankee Stadium. pic.twitter.com/RmZfRXxeIr

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 28, 2024

If you collected cards in the '90s, there's a good chance you have a Derek Jeter rookie card. However, it's essential to know which version you own, as the values differ significantly.

There are over 23,000 graded versions of Jeter's SP Foil rookie card, but only 22 of them are PSA 10s. While this isn’t the rarest PSA 10 in sports cards, the era and low gem rate have made this card worth as much as $600,000 at its peak.

The most coveted of Mr. November's rookie cards! ⚾

This 1993 Upper Deck SP Foil Derek Jeter Rookie Card - PSA GEM MT 10 is available in our historic #Goldin100 Auction.

Bid now: https://t.co/d6d5LKAbTF pic.twitter.com/wWWaY23IG8

— Goldin (@GoldinCo) July 23, 2024

Even PSA has noted, “This is one of the toughest modern-era rookie cards to find in Mint condition.” For perspective, Jeter’s Topps rookie card has over 50,000 graded versions, with more than 3,600 PSA 10s. The SP Foil has a gem rate of roughly 0.09%, while the Topps is 7.2%—with twice as many versions graded.

The SP Foil card's value has fluctuated in the past few years, but one of its highest recent sales was in August of this year, selling for $317,507 through Goldin Auctions.

Collectors may also not realize which version of the Topps rookie they have, as there are two similar-looking versions with significant value differences.

Both are Topps rookies with the same design, except for one detail.

1993 Topps - [Base] #98 - Derek Jeter / Images Courtesy of COMC.com

The base Topps rookie, mentioned earlier, sells for around $250 as a PSA 10. However, the Topps Gold rookie, which features a gold nameplate and a "Topps Gold" stamp, has 10,777 total graded versions, with only 440 PSA 10s. This scarcity boosts its value to approximately five times that of the base version.

1993 Topps - [Base] - Gold #98 - Derek Jeter / Images Courtesy of COMC.com

The takeaway? It's always worth taking a closer look at your collection—you never know which valuable card you might own.