Okay, so I was digging through my old boxes of stuff – you know, the ones filled with stuff you totally forgot you owned? – and I came across a bunch of old baseball cards. I used to collect them like crazy when I was a kid. I found a Dave Justice card, and I remembered him being a pretty big deal back in the day, so I thought, “Hmm, I wonder if this thing is worth anything?”
First, I looked closely at the card. It was a 1990 Topps card, which, honestly, isn’t usually the most valuable set, but you never know. I flipped it over, checked the corners for any bends or creases, and made sure the surface wasn’t all scratched up. The condition is super important for card value, like, the biggest thing.
Then, I hit up the internet. My first stop was a popular online auction site. I typed in “1990 Topps Dave Justice” and saw a bunch of listings. Prices were all over the place! Some were going for like a dollar, others a bit * was not looking like an expensive card. It was hard to tell what mine was worth because, you know, condition varies so much.
Next, I checked out some dedicated card pricing websites. I found a few that listed price guides for various cards, including the 1990 Topps set. They gave a range of values based on condition, from “poor” to “mint.” My card was in pretty good shape, but definitely not “mint” – probably more like “very good” or “excellent.” These sites were a bit more helpful than the auction site, giving me a narrower price range.
After that, I looked into professional grading. Apparently, there are companies that will officially grade your card’s condition and seal it in a protective case. This can really boost the value, especially for older, rarer cards. But, for my Dave Justice card, it probably wasn’t worth the cost of grading. It’s more for, like, super rare, super valuable cards.
- Check the card’s physical condition.
- Search the card on the largest online auction site.
- Explore card pricing specific websites.
- Consider if card grading is necessary.
My Conclusion
Honestly, after all that digging? My 1990 Topps Dave Justice card isn’t going to make me rich. It’s probably worth a couple of bucks, maybe a little more to the right collector. But, you know, it was fun to go down memory lane and learn a bit about how card values work. I ended up putting it back in the box with the others – maybe one day I’ll stumble upon a real treasure!
