Barry Bonds is one of the most polarizing and fascinating figures in the history of baseball. Correspondingly, Barry Bonds cards have a special place in the hobby. Though not a Hall of Famer, Barry is certainly the best hitter excluded from Cooperstown (sorry Pete Rose and “Shoeless” Joe Jackson). Bonds holds the all-time records for most Home Runs over a career with 762, the most home runs hit in a single season with 73, and most career walks with 2,558.
Indeed, at his peak, Barry Bonds may have been the best hitter who ever lived. According to the best overall advanced hitting statistic, the On-base Plus Slugging Plus (OPS+), Barry’s 2002 and 2004 seasons were the most effective offensive seasons in baseball history. Indeed, 3 of the 5 most lethal hitting seasons belong to Bonds, with the other three representing the best years of Herman “Babe” Ruth.
But of course, Bonds is not in the Hall of Fame because of the (quite well founded) belief that he used performance enhancing drugs extensively at his peak, and in order to extend his career. Those of us who followed his entire career have mixed feelings about Barry. We know that his records are tarnished. But we also remember how phenomenally good he was before the alleged “juicing” began. And of course, steroids won’t make you a great hitter. They turned a superb offensive player into an almost unfathomably good one.
The upshot of all this controversy and attention is that Barry Bonds cards have higher values than many of the top Hall of Famers. He is simply better known than most other stars, and with this kind of legacy and profile, the fact that he was not enshrined almost adds to the mystique and therefore the value. It is a small club of players with this particular status. But Barry Bonds is the most notable amongst them. And with his records unlikely to be broken in this era of extra testing and scrutiny, Barry Bonds cards values are going to remain high.
#16. 1987 Topps Glossy Send-Ins Barry Bonds RC #30
A PSA 10 sold for $120.
This Barry Bonds card is worth very little, and that is a real shame. The 1987 Topps Glossy Send-Ins Barry Bonds #30 was part of a unique set you had to send away for. If you bought enough packs, you could send in a coupon and receive 10 cards. The Bonds was easily the most sought after of the 60 card set. And the picture is wonderful, though the design is clearly an afterthought.
#15. 1987 Toys "R" Us Rookies Barry Bonds Rookie Card #4
A PSA 10 sold for $550.
No one took the 1987 Toys "R" Us Rookies Barry Bonds #4 rookie cards seriously at the time, for obvious reasons. To a certain extent that is still true. You can get a PSA 10 of this card for far less than most of its equivalents. But there are a few things to say in favor of this kiddie card. First, it is so quintessentially 1980s pop culture, that people may start to appreciate it more over time. Second, it's one of the few rookies showing Barry smiling. Maybe Toys "R" Us figured his trademark scowl would terrify the children. And we can’t have little Timmy sobbing, can we? Finally, the pop numbers are low.
#14. 1987 O-Pee-Chee Stickers Barry Bonds/Neil Allen #131
A PSA 10 sold for $599.
Stickers are some of the most fun mid-1980s items to collect. And the 1987 O-Pee-Chee Stickers Barry Bonds/Neil Allen #131 has the distinction of being the only Barry Bonds rookie card featuring another player. Although, poor ## Neil Allen is certainly out of his weight class here. There are only 39 graded copies of this card, so it's amazing how low the price is. But the card is incredibly under the radar. But ask yourself, will it stay that way? Either way, you won’t lose money on this relatively affordable item.
#13. 1986 Fleer Update Barry Bonds #14
A PSA 10 sold for $660.
Though the 1986 Fleer Update Barry Bonds #14 is one of the lesser known of his rookie cards, it is by no means one of the less attractive ones. The design is one of Fleer’s best and the picture is killer. Despite these facts, the card is one of the least desired among the early Barry Bonds cards.
#12. 1986 Donruss Key Rookies Barry Bonds #11
A PSA 10 sold for $660.
Most of the Barry Bonds rookie cards are quite attractive, even if they are from the dreaded “junk wax” baseball card era. But the 1986 Donruss Key Rookies Barry Bonds #11 card is the exception that proves the rule. The picture is terrible, and doesn’t get the young star fully in focus. The color scheme is deplorable. There are just redeeming features for this card. It isn’t too surprising that it fetches one of the lowest values of any of his first-year cards.
#11. 1986 Topps Traded Barry Bonds RC #320
A PSA 10 sold for $936.
There are three major varieties of the Barry Bonds Topps rookie card. The base flagship is the most common, and therefore, has a lower value than its O-Pee-Chee and Tiffany counterparts. And because of the existence of those less common alternatives, the 1986 Topps Traded Barry Bonds #320 may not increase much in value. Nonetheless, it is one of his most recognizable cards. The picture reminds us of what the young spry Barry looked like before the possible “juicing.”
#10. 1986 Sportflics Rookies Barry Bonds #13
A PSA sold for $900.
One of the least known Barry Bonds rookies, has a cool psychedelic twist. The 1986 Sportflics Rookies Barry Bonds #13 has that lenticular effect where you can flip between two pictures. A favorite for kids products back in the day. Sportflics thought that by using this technology, they would revolutionize the hobby. But after a couple of years they went out of business. Nonetheless, this Barry Bonds rookie card really stands out from the crowd.
#9. 1987 Donruss Barry Bonds #361 Rookie Card
A PSA 10 sold for $1,050.
The Donruss Barry Bonds error card is more valuable and better known. But 99% of the Donruss cards are this plain old 1987 Donruss Barry Bonds #361. And an honest Bonds rookie card is nothing to sneeze at. Even though those baseballs on the side borders should look positively cheesy, they work nicely. Of course, the problem is that the picture looks so much like the better known Topps Traded card.
#8. 1987 Fleer Hottest Stars Barry Bonds Rookie Card #5
A PSA 10 sold for $1,700.
Among all the Barry Bonds rookie cards that look more or less the same, it's nice to see one that really stands out. The 1987 Fleer Hottest Stars Barry Bonds #5 certainly Natürlich. It has that classic 1980s sensibility. I particularly like the flaming product logo, which typifies what every kid thought was awesome at the time. And the picture is superb, featuring the epic Barry Bonds “game face.” I am surprised that the value is so low considering that this is a relatively rare release. So, there is room for growth in value.
#7. 1987 Classic Update Yellow Barry Bonds (Green Back) #113
A PSA 10 sold for $2,886.
For my money, the 1987 Classic Update Yellow Barry Bonds (Green Back) #113 has a far better action shot than the more famous Topps Traded card. That one appears to have Barry popping up, fouling back, or at least getting a bad cut at the ball. Here you can tell the slugger made some serious contact and is feeling it. The Barry Bonds rookie card sells for a good price despite being quite obscure. The secret is the low population. There are 391 of these, far fewer than the more common Yellow Back version.
#6. 1987 Fleer Glossy Barry Bonds RC #604
A PSA 10 sold for $3,500.
The Fleer Glossy release was an unsuccessful attempt to compete with the Topps Tiffany release. Well, the truth is, neither of those products lasted very long. But I gotta say, the color scheme on the 1987 Fleer Glossy barry Bonds #604 is phenomenal. But the value isn’t massive by Barry Bonds rookie cards standards, because there are over 8,000 graded copies of this card. It's still a beauty.
#5. 1987 Donruss Opening Day Barry Bonds/Johnny Ray Error Card #163
A PSA 10 sold for $4,136.
Donruss Opening Day doesn’t usually feature among the most valuable rookie cards. Even when you do an expansive profile like this one. But the 1987 Donruss Opening Day Barry Bonds/Johnny Ray Error Card #163 is a unique and rare error, of a rookie for one of the greatest baseball players ever. It included a picture of fellow Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Johnny Ray, instead of Bonds. There are also very few of these, since the mistake was picked up by Donruss quickly. So, only 1% of the sets (more or less) had this card. But the original card has some decent value as well. A PSA 10 can sell for over $500.
#4. 1987 Leaf Barry Bonds #219 Rookie Card
A PSA 10 sold for $4,500.
The 1987 Leaf Barry Bonds #219 flew under the radar at the time. Leaf wasn’t the most popular release, and the picture looked very similar to the beloved Topps Traded Barry Bonds rookie card. But as we know, very often lack of popularity works in favor of card value. Indeed, the Leaf card has a surprising amount of value for a relatively obscure Bonds rookie card. That is because the number of graded cards is under 2,000, pretty similar to the Tiffany and O-Pee-Chee versions of his rookie cards.
#3. 1987 Topps Tiffany Barry Bonds Rookie Card #320
A PSA 10 sold for $5,700.
Many of the best cards of the decade are Tiffany releases. Not because they look remarkably different from their flagship counterparts. They most certainly don’t. The paper is slightly higher quality, and the color is light. The Tiffany version is also missing the “PRTD. IN U.S.A." mark next to the Topps copyright on the back of the card. But because of their lower population count. And the 1987 Topps Tiffany Barry Bonds #320 is no exception. The numbers aren’t miniscule or anything. But more manageable. There are 3,792 of these cards on the PSA books, of which 261 are PSA 10s. That is not a small number. But the Topps Traded equivalent has a whopping 22,304, of which 1,577 are PSA 10s.
#2. 1986 Topps Traded Tiffany #11T Barry Bonds Rookie Card
A PSA 10 sold for $16,000.
The best known, though not necessarily most popular, of all the Barry Bonds cards. Maybe it's the ridiculous hat (sorry Pirates fans), or that expression of pure determination on the sluggers face. And of course, the 1986 Topps Traded Tiffany #11T has lower pop numbers and was printed on higher quality paper. Therefore, it has a higher market value.
#1. 1987 O-Pee-Chee Barry Bonds RC #320
A PSA 10 sold for $23,500.
The 1987 O-Pee-Chee Barry Bonds #320 card, looks like the Topps Traded card aside from that cute O-Pee-Chee logo in the bottom left corner. Like its Tiffany equivalent, the secret of the O-Pee-Chee card's value is its rarity. Why is it worth so much more than Tiffany? It's not the overall population numbers, which are quite similar. But rather, because of the lower quality of the card, and because it was considered a lower value product (so people didn’t take great care of it), there are few PSA 10s. Only 38 of these, hence the high price.
Final Word Of The 16 Most Valuable Barry Bonds Rookie Cards
As you can see, there is a wonderful and robust selection of Barry Bonds rookie cards to choose from. When picking which to invest in, look at a combination of iconic status and population count. Both will lead you to prefer Tiffany or O-Pee-Chee versions of the big Topps cards. But there are other good options too.
The truth is, you can’t go too far wrong with a Barry Bonds rookie card. He will never be forgotten and it may just be a matter of time until he is introduced to the Hall of Fame. The## Bonds records certainly don’t look like they will be broken any time soon.
