1997 Fleer Baseball was a 761-baseball card set released in two Series: a 500-card Series 1 and a 261-card Series 2. In effect, Series 2 was an “Update/Traded” set as it featured rookies and players who changed teams that year.
The set features a borderless design with a matte finish:
Despite being a major release in the “Junk Wax Era”, there are definitely some chase cards in this set. 1997 Fleer has one parallel set, called “Tiffany”. You can find one of these in every 20 packs on average, making it one of the rarer parallels for a major release. There are also some difficult to pull insert sets – you can read more about them here.
Without further adieu, let’s look at the “Top Ten Most Valuable” cards in 1997 Fleer. *Note: This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a small payment from eBay should you purchase a card from their website.
#10: 1997 Fleer – Diamond Tribute #2 of 12 – Barry Bonds
PSA 10 Price: $170 est.
Rarity: 1 in 3,456 packs (Series 2)
Raw Prices: $65-90
The “Diamond Tribute” insert set that is part of Series 2 is not the rarest in the release (1:288 packs; 12 card set), but it is the prettiest. Collectors agree and are still paying $65-90 for the card of one of the best and most controversial players of all-time (Bonds).
You can usually find one or two of these listed on eBay at any given time:
Shop for 1997 Fleer – Diamond Tribute #2 of 12 – Barry Bonds on eBay
#9: 1997 Fleer #512 – David (Ortiz) Arias
PSA 10 Price: $170 (link)
Rarity: 1 in 26 packs (Series 2)
Raw Prices: $45-50
This card is considered the “one true” rookie card of David Ortiz. If you are an Ortiz collector, you need this card. Topps didn’t release a 1997 card of Ortiz and his Fleer Ultra card doesn’t label it as a rookie card, so collectors have naturally flocked to this card.
Despite being quite common (1 in 29 Series 2 packs), this card consistently sells for $45-50 raw:
If you want to try to hunt it in 1997 Fleer Series 2 hobby boxes, you’ll have better than 50% odds of hitting it (you’ll actually average 1.24 Ortiz rookies per box) but you may need to pay up to $300 for a box.
There are always lots of copies for sale with “Buy Now” or auction-bidding options:
Shop for 1997 Fleer #512 – David (Ortiz) Arias on eBay
#8: 1997 Fleer – Night and Day #4 of 10 – Ken Griffey Jr.
PSA 10 Price: $190
Rarity: 1 in 2,400 packs (Series 1)
Raw Prices: $30-50
Ken Griffey Jr. has the most enduring marketability of all 1990’s baseball stars. This “Night and Day” insert card is part of a 10-card set that averages 1:240 packs. This rarity makes them most desirable insert set in Series 1. The cards were printed with lenticular technology and slightly thicker than the average base card.
There are always multiple copies for sale on eBay:
Shop for 1997 Fleer – Night and Day #4 of 10 – Ken Griffey Jr. on eBay
#7 – 1997 Fleer #154 (Tiffany) – Kirby Puckett
PSA 10 Price: $237 (link)
Rarity: 1 in 10,000 packs (Series 1)
Raw Prices: $20-40
For some odd reason, Kirby Puckett had a base and checklist card in 1997 Fleer, despite retiring after the 1995 Season. This Puckett card is probably the last Puckett card that was part of a base set (and not a “former stars” card), which makes it more collectible for Puckett fans.
Additionally as part of Series 1, a 500-card release, you’d need to open 10,000 packs before hitting this card (on average). Tiffany parallels in Series 2, only a 261-card release, are about twice as common and thus less valuable.
This Puckett card doesn’t show many transactions or appear on eBay very often, so make sure you set an Alert for it on eBay if you want to add it to your collection:
Shop for 1997 Fleer #154 (Tiffany) – Kirby Puckett on eBay
#6 – 1997 Fleer #154 (Tiffany) – Ryne Sandberg
PSA 10 Price: $250 est.
Rarity: 1 in 10,000 packs (Series 1)
Raw Prices: $20-40
Perhaps due to his unfortunate death in the Summer of 2025, Sandberg’s Tiffany checklist card (PSA 9 – no cards rated higher with PSA) in this set sold for $275.
Like Puckett, Sandberg is a hall-of-famer and a “one-team player.” I suspect his market will cool down over time (this was written Sep. 2025), but a PSA 10 of his base Tiffany card is still probably going to cost $200-300 (if/when it exists lol).
You can find raw cards on eBay:
Shop for 1997 Fleer #154 (Tiffany) – Ryne Sandberg on eBay
#5 – 1997 Fleer #168 (Tiffany) – Derek Jeter
PSA 10 Price: $449 (link)
Rarity: 1 in 10,000 packs (Series 1)
Raw Prices: $75-100 est.
The Captain’s second-year Tiffany parallel card has a robust market when it comes up for sale. Jeter is another one-team hall-of-famer known for his postseason heroics for the Yankees.
The sale history on 130point.com shows how the value of sports cards has skyrocketed in just the last six years:
There are usually one or two available on eBay:
Shop for 1997 Fleer #168 (Tiffany) – Derek Jeter on eBay
#4 – 1997 Fleer #206 (Tiffany) – Ken Griffey Jr.
PSA 10 Price: >$1,000 est. (link)
Rarity: 1 in 10,000 packs (Series 1)
Raw Prices: $75-100
The second Griffey on this list (and certainly not the last) is his Tiffany #206 card from Series 1. A well-framed photo that gives you a look at both his face and the follow-through from his beautiful swing.
A PSA 10 sold on eBay for $1,025 in August 2025, but you can find lower-priced raw and graded cards on eBay:
Shop for 1997 Fleer #206 (Tiffany) – Ken Griffey Jr. on eBay
#3 – 1997 Fleer – Diamond Tribute #4 of 12 – Ken Griffey Jr.
PSA 10 Price: $1,000 est.
Rarity: 1 in 3,456 packs (Series 2)
Raw Prices: $175-300
“The Kid” was featured in pretty much every Fleer Insert series, so his Diamond Tribute card is highly sought after. There was a recent raw sale for $300:
There are some cards graded as 10s on eBay right now, listed for ridiculous prices. You will also find them up for auction fairly often:
Shop for 1997 Fleer – Diamond Tribute #4 of 12 – Ken Griffey Jr. on eBay
#2 – 1997 Fleer – Goudey Greats Gold Foil #2 of 15 – Ken Griffey Jr.
PSA 10 Price: $1,100 est.
Rarity: 1 in 12,000 packs (Series 2)
Raw Prices: $100-130 est.
This card is technically the hardest card to pull in the 1997 Fleer release. It is a “gold foil” parallel of another, much more common insert: Goudey Greats (1:8 packs). The gold foil parallel cards can be found in 1:800 packs (15-card set).
I included a version of both the gold and the base above so you can see the minor differences. It’s possible to find eBay listings that are actually gold foil but listed at a price more in-line with the more common insert.
The backs for both versions of the card look the same:
This card doesn’t change hands very often online, so all of my estimates above are based on extrapolations of less marketable stars in the set (Gwynn, Bonds, McGwire, etc…).
That said, it could pay to head to eBay and set up alerts for Griffey “Goudey Greats” to see if you can find an auction or a mislabeled gold foil insert:
Shop for 1997 Fleer – Goudey Greats Gold Foil #2 of 15 – Ken Griffey Jr. on eBay
#1 – 1997 Fleer #512 (Tiffany) – David (Ortiz) Arias
PSA 10 Price: >$5,000 est. (link)
Rarity: 1 in 5,220 packs (Series 2)
Raw Prices: $1,000 est.
This one should’ve been predictable. The David Ortiz (listed as Arias as that is part of his full last name) Tiffany prices have went for over $8,500:
There are usually several listed on eBay (usually for >$2,000), so head over there and send your offers if you need this card:
Shop for 1997 Fleer #512 (Tiffany) – David (Ortiz) Arias on eBay
Conclusion
For a mid-1990s major release, 1997 Fleer contains some pretty big cards for its time. Additionally, some of its lower-value inserts like Bleacher Blasters and Lumber Company are quite cool.