Ken Griffey Jr. is responsible for some of the most prized pieces of modern cardboard in the hobby. It looks like we’ve got another big one on our hands, too.
A rare 1998 Ken Griffey Jr. card is currently available at Heritage Auctions, and the numbers attached to it are hard to ignore. If you’re a Griffey collector — or even just a fan of watching the high-end card market do its thing — you’ve probably got your eye on what’s happening.
Editor’s Note: Looking to Sell Sports Cards? Here’s How to Do It Quickly & Easily
Where the Bidding Stands on This 1998 Ken Griffey Jr. Card
The card in question is a 1998 SkyBox Metal Universe Precious Metal Gems #161, serial-numbered 31 out of 50, graded PSA NM-MT 8. It’s up for grabs through Heritage Auctions as part of their 2026 April 3–4 Spring Sports Card Catalog Auction. As of this writing, bidding has reached $46,000, which translates to $56,120 with the buyer’s premium factored in.
Proxy bidding wraps up Friday, April 3 at 10:00 PM CDT, giving those interested plenty of opportunity to keep competing for ownership. Heritage has the guide value listed at $60,000 and up, so there’s a case to be made that we haven’t even seen this card’s ceiling yet. Twenty-one bidders have already placed bids, and lot tracking activity has hit 107. There are plenty of invested eyeballs on this item, so it feels like at least getting past $50,000 before the hammer falls is all but a certainty.
What Makes the 1998 Precious Metal Gems So Special
Not all late-’90s cards are created equal, and the Precious Metal Gems insert set is proof of that. Released as part of the 1998 SkyBox Metal Universe product, the PMG cards feature a bold, futuristic design, layered with foil treatment. It’s one of those cards where the era’s over-the-top aesthetic actually works. While the look of this card helps, the scarcity is really driving the value here.
Each PMG is serial-numbered to 50 copies, which feels outrageous compared to other junk wax era cards that had print runs in the millions. The PMG set was a groundbreaking insert at the time and helped reshape how collectors thought about parallels and chase cards, too.
How This Card Compares to the Most Expensive Griffey Cards Ever Sold
Here’s where things get really interesting. The same card currently available at Heritage has a comparable sale on the books. A PSA 8 copy of the 1998 Metal Universe Precious Metal Gems sold for $72,500 in September 2023. That’s an encouraging reference point for where this auction could go.
The most expensive Griffey card — a 1998 SkyBox E-X 2001 Essential Credentials Now numbered to 10 — sold for $280,000 in 2025. This PMG isn’t in that tier of scarcity, but it’s also not far off. Fifty copies is still elite territory, and a PSA 8 grade on a card this old is nothing to scoff at.
If the prior $72,500 comp holds any weight (and I think it should), there’s an argument that this auction ends well north of where bidding currently stands.
Why Now Is a Great Time to Watch the Griffey Market
If you’ve been paying any attention to the card market lately, you’ve probably noticed that vintage 1990s inserts have been quietly climbing. Part of that is nostalgia catching up with millennial collectors who are now old enough to afford some of the cards they dreamed about as kids. Part of it is that the premium inserts from this era (PMGs, Essential Credentials, Mirror Golds) were always scarce. They just weren’t fully appreciated until recently.
Griffey specifically benefits from having a pristine reputation. He retired with 630 home runs, 10 Gold Gloves, 13 All-Star Game selections, and is a first-ballot Hall of Famer. The Kid also accomplished this all without a whiff of PED controversy despite playing in the steroid era.
When you buy a Griffey, you’re buying a genuine legend with no asterisk attached. That kind of clean legacy keeps demand healthy for a long time, and it goes a long way toward explaining why a 28-year-old insert card can still command five figures at auction. It’ll be interesting to see where bidding eventually finishes for this one.
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