1993 SP Foil Derek Jeter ROOKIE #279 BGS 9.5 GEM MINT

In the early ‘90s, the baseball card market began to pivot towards premium cards as collectors desired something new after enduring the junk wax era. Upper Deck decided to feed that desire and released the 1993 SP set. It consisted of 290 cards, with the first 18 containing All-Stars and the remaining cards featuring many of the top players at the time. However, the final 20 cards were reserved for “Premier Prospects”. That section of the checklist included players such as Chipper Jones, Johnny Damon, Manny Ramirez, Carlos Delgado, Javy Lopez, Cliff Floyd, and, slotting in at #279, Derek Jeter. As marquee printings of fellow Yankees Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle did in the past, Jeter’s iconic 1993 SP Foil rookie defined a generation of baseball cards. The card, which features No. 2 turning two in the traditional Yankee pinstripes, contains a gold foil “Premier Prospect” emblem in the bottom right-hand corner and the words “Upper Deck” above Jeter’s head. The premier aspect of this eye-popping card is its fragile full-foil coverage. The layer has proven to be the reason for such intense, sustained interest in this card. Similar to late-’90s Precious Metal Gems, the foil on this Jeter had the potential to become wrinkled, creased, or chipped with even the slightest of contact. That's what makes this copy so special. Not only is it graded a Gem Mint BGS 9.5, but it achieves true gem status for having 9.5 subgrades in all four areas: Centering, Corners, Edges and Surface. Of the more than 19,150 times BGS has assessed the card, this is one of 291 to get a 9.5 grade. However, it is one of just 23 true gem copies with subgrades of 9.5 or higher all around. There are no Pristine BGS 10 copies. PSA has awarded just 22 Gem Mint 10 graded for the card. Simply put, this is one of the single greatest copies of one of the most iconic modern baseball cards. The certification number on this card has been checked against the third-party grader's online database and is active as of 06/25/2026.