Chipper Jones Rookie Cards: The Ultimate Collector’s Guide

The Most Valuable Chipper Jones Rookie Cards

If you ever saw him play, there should be no surprise as to why Chipper Jones rookie cards are in such high demand.

One of the greatest switch hitters the game has ever seen, he remains a favorite for many collectors.

Like many players of his era, he has several rookie cards across different brands, some rarer than others.

And some can sell for thousands of dollars...

Regardless of value, each of his rookie cards has its own unique story.

And in this guide, we'll discuss everything you need to know about collecting them.

More...

Ross Uitts

Ross Uitts - Owner

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1991 Bowman #569

Estimated PSA 10 Value: $40

Along with Jim Thome, Edgar Martinez, Mike Mussina, and Ivan Rodriguez, Jones was one of five Hall of Famers to have a rookie in this set.

This card is not nearly as expensive as some of the others on this list but in terms of eye appeal, I think it sits atop them all.

The design and image that Bowman used gives the card a classic look and feel that you might expect from a vintage card from the 1960s.

In fact, when I see this card, I instantly think of the 1965 Topps Mickey Mantle.

Speaking of Mantle, Jones' father was such a huge fan of the Yankee legend that he taught Jones how to switch hit like his idol from a very early age. 

1991 Bowman #569 Chipper Jones Rookie Card
1965 Topps #350 Mickey Mantle Baseball Card

1991 O-Pee-Chee #333

Estimated PSA 10 Value: $175

On the surface, this might look like the regular 1991 Topps Jones rookie card.

However, if you turn it over and look at the back along the bottom, you'll find that this version was printed by Topps' Canadian counterpart, O-Pee-Chee.

Also, you'll find a French translation of the blurb about Jones' achievements and promising career ahead.

And because these cards were printed and distributed in the smaller Canadian baseball card market, there aren't as many high grade examples of them around.

Hence, the large price premium versus their more prevalent Topps counterparts.

1991 O-Pee-Chee #333 Chipper Jones Rookie Card
1991 O-Pee-Chee #333 Chipper Jones Baseball Card Reverse Side in French

1991 Score #671

Estimated PSA 10 Value: $15

You can tell from a mile away that this is a Score baseball card based on the design alone.

The color scheme, the layout, the fonts, the background...this is pure Score through and through.

These cards were so heavily-produced that the market remains flooded with them and that puts a big drag on their value.

You could expect to pay around $15 or so for one of these graded in PSA 10 condition.

1991 Score #671 Chipper Jones Baseball Card

1991 Topps #333

Estimated PSA 10 Value: $20

Almost as cheap as his Score rookie card, the 1991 Topps suffered from the same amount of over-production.

Regardless, the design is much better than its Score counterpart, and is one of the most iconic baseball cards from the 1990's.

And if you collect Jones rookie cards then get used to this design because it's everywhere.

The same design is used on the O-Pee-Chee (you saw that earlier), Topps Desert Shield, Topps Micro and Topps Tiffany.

Need a reminder of why the baseball card bubble burst in the late 80s and early 90s?

It was because of this type of market saturation with heavy print volumes of base cards along with the release of countless parallels and variants.

1991 Topps #333 Chipper Jones Rookie Card

1991 Topps Desert Shield #333

Estimated PSA 10 Value: $13,500

How can this card be worth so much?

It all comes down to  simple supply and demand...

Topps released an extremely low print run of these special cards (noted by the foil emblem in the upper right corner on the front of the card) to give to troops who were serving during Operation Desert Storm.

Combined with the low print volume to begin with, not many of these survived military combat conditions to make it home in pristine condition.

To land one of these in a PSA 10 holder, expect to pay five figures while lower grade examples will still set you back hundreds of dollars.

1991 Topps Desert Shield #333 Chipper Jones Baseball Card

1991 Topps Micro #333

Estimated PSA 10 Value: $375

The 1991 Topps Micro card is nothing more than a downsized, 1" x 1-3/8" version of the regular 1991 Topps card.

These did come as part of a factory set so there weren't as many issued as the regular Topps base card.

That makes them relatively more rare but these are still fairly easy to find.

Below, you can get an idea of the scale of the micro version compared to the regular version.

1991 Topps Micro #333 Chipper Jones Rookie Card
1991 Topps Chipper Jones Baseball Card Graded PSA 10

1991 Topps Tiffany #333

Estimated PSA 10 Value: $1800

During the 1980's, Topps began issuing "Tiffany" cards as complements to their regular base issues.

These limited factory sets offered collectors premium quality cards that contained glossy fronts and bright white card stock.

If you hold any Topps card alongside a Tiffany version, you'll immediately be able to tell the difference.

Topps ceased issuing its Tiffany product line after the 1991 Topps and 1991 Topps Traded releases so this card gets a bump in significance in that regard.

These are much more hard to find in high grade than the regular Topps cards and the value reflects that scarcity.

1991 Topps Tiffany #333 Chipper Jones Rookie Card

1991 Upper Deck #55

Estimated PSA 10 Value: $20

Although the quality of the 1991 Upper Deck Jones rookie card is above that of the Bowman, Score and Topps issues, the value isn't all that much different.

Again, like many cards of this era, there were just far too many of them produced for their value to remain very high.

I've always liked the straightforward look and feel of this card and nice, bright image of a young Jones ready in the field.

1991 Upper Deck #55 Chipper Jones Rookie Card

Chipper Jones' Legacy

I am not a Braves fan but I absolutely loved watching Chipper Jones play as a kid.

He was an incredible force at the plate and played the game as hard as anyone.

After 19 seasons in the Majors, all with the Braves, Jones would post a career .303 batting average with 2,726 hits, 468 home runs and 1,623 RBI.

Stats like those are definitely Hall of Fame worthy and he was easily inducted into Cooperstown in 2018.

Some of his notable accomplishments include:

  • 8x All-Star
  • 1995 World Series Champion
  • NL MVP (1999)
  • 2x Silver Slugger
  • MLB Batting Title (2008)

Jones was an amazing talent and his rookie cards will remain some of the most sought after rookie cards in the baseball card hobby for a long time.

Ross Uitts
 

Ross is the founder of Old Sports Cards and has been collecting sports cards for over 30 years. He also loves to write about the hobby and has written for Beckett, Topps, SABR and of course, this website. Need help buying or selling cards or have a general question about the hobby? Contact him at [email protected]

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