Roberto Clemente 1955 Topps
Top 9 in Top 9 Most Expensive Baseball Cards
Now let's return to a standard collectable. Roberto Clemente's Hall of Fame career was cut short by a horrific aircraft accident, but he still managed 15 All-Star selections, 12 Gold Gloves, and 3,000 hits.
Roberto Clemente 1955 Topps card (#164) is without a doubt the Clemente card that attracts the most collector interest. While both the Koufax and Clemente rookie cards have great aesthetic appeal and are quite popular, the Clemente rookie has one benefit over the Koufax: it is more difficult to locate in high grade. The card is certainly more difficult to find in PSA NM-MT 8 or better than the Koufax, and the market price for cards of that caliber reflects that. There are other Clemente cards with more rarity than others, but none can match the desire for his official rookie.
The card sold for $478,000 at a Heritage auction in February 2016. This object has no bizarre background. Chris Ivy, Heritage Director of Sports Collectibles Auctions, provided Beckett's Ryan Cracknell a plain reason for the strong demand.
Cost: $478,000
