The start of the NFL season has brought more exposure to football cards and a bit of a spike in prices for the legendary quarterback Joe Montana.
Montana is considered one of the most clutch quarterbacks in NFL history. He led either the 49ers or Chiefs to 32 4th-Quarter come-back wins. Montana also made the playoffs in 11 of his 16 seasons, winning four Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers, being the MVP in 3 of them. Additionally, he was an 8x Pro Bowler, 3x First-team All-Pro, and 2x MVP.
Statistically, Joe Montana retired with a passer rating of 92.3. He threw for over 40k yards and 273 touchdowns. In his 4 Super Bowl wins, he threw 11 touchdowns and no interceptions with a rating of 127.8.
It’s no wonder his football cards are some of the most popular and in-demand of the 1980s and early 1990s eras.
In this post, I will run down the six highest weighted cards in Montana’s Basic PSA Set Registry. With his iconic performances, the start of the NFL season, and an increasing number of collectors returning to the hobby, there is a naturally high demand for his cards.
1981 Topps #216 Joe Montana
The Montana rookie card isn’t super rare, but demand is through the roof. 16833 have been graded with 108 PSA 10s, 1895 9s, and 783 8s.
Recent sales: PSA 10 >$10k, PSA 9 ~$2800, PSA 8 ~$450
1982 Topps #488 Joe Montana
Joe’s second-year card is his next most in demand. 3194 have been graded with 244 PSA 10s, 808 9s, and 1402 8s.
Recent sales: PSA 10 >$500, PSA 9 $80, PSA 8 $30
1983 Topps #169 Joe Montana
It’s no surprise that the 3rd highest weighted card in the set registry is his 3rd Topps card. 2664 have been graded with 62 PSA 10s, 838 9s, and 1337 8s.
Recent sales: PSA 10 $500, PSA 9 $65, PSA 8 $20
1985 Topps #157 Joe Montana
Alas, the 1984 Topps Montana is not the next highest weighted card, that’s reserved for his 1985 Topps variant with it’s difficult back background limiting high grade samples. 2017 have been graded with 56 PSA 10s, 566 9s, and 1070 8s.
Recent sales: PSA 10 $500 ($1500 Sale in September 2020), PSA 9 $150, PSA 8 $20
1992 Stadium Club #650 Joe Montana
One of the early “premium” sets. The first two series of the 700 card set had 300 cards each, and the high numbers contained the remaining 100 cards (including the more iconic Brett Favre #683). Only 300 cases of high numbers were thought to be produced. 73 Montana cards have been graded with 27 PSA 10s, 31 9s, and 12 8s.
Recent sales: PSA 10s sell for about $30.
1994 Finest #172 Joe Montana
The introduction of refractors in the 1994 Finest set likely led to the weighting of the non-refractor version too (The first Finest variants were in the 1992 factory set). 115 have been graded with 57 PSA 10s, 50 9s, and 7 8s.
Recent sales: PSA 10s sell for between $50 and $100.
Demand for Joe Montana cards will likely continue to grow as kids from the 80s return to the hobby. Do you collect “Joe Cool” cards? Let me know in the comments or over on Twitter.