BY MIKE PAYNE
No. 1 2011 Topps Update Mike Trout RC #US175
In the April 2018 issue of Beckett Baseball, we wrote about this card and how it has surpassed all other early Trout cards in appeal. No autograph, no shiny colors, no serial numbering. Just a paper card pulled from packs.
Here we are a year and a half after that piece ran and this card has shown no signs of slowing down. The staying power is unlike anything we’ve seen in a long, long time… if ever. “There are 300-400 sales per month for this card,” says Beckett Senior Price Guide Analyst Brian Fleischer. “Every single month there are so many sales that it’s clearly No. 1 for volume and price.”
As Trout has become known as a generational talent, so too, has this card developed in a generational release and become the most impactful of the last half-century. It’s been on every Beckett Baseball Hot List for the last 4½ years, and has reigned at No. 1 for 23 months, including a current run of 16 months counting this issue.
“It’s not a rare card,” Fleischer said, “but people are still willing to pay for it.”
As Trout himself continues to climb the mountain of history, this card actually has room to grow. Could this be a $1,000 card raw when he ultimately calls it a career? Might seem crazy, but who expected this card could reach $600 for raw NrMt copies, which it currently stands at?