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Jose Canseco is a man of extremes, and his baseball cards occupied a spot in every kid’s collection who came to age in the late 80s and early 90s.
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Whether he’s mashing homers with his former Bash Brother Mark McGwire or cementing his status as the most notorious snitch in baseball history, Jose does things to the max.
Though he’s a pariah in baseball circles, no rule says pariahs can’t appeal to card collectors. Even if it were, Jose knows something about breaking unwritten rules.
Ultra-Rare and Valuable Jose Canseco Baseball Cards
The novelty factor is huge with Canseco. Any collector worth their salt needs a quirky player or ten in their collection. Jose ticks that box.
Consider these rare Jose Canseco cards for your collection.
1. 1986 Jose Canseco Topps Traded Tiffany RC #20T
The 1986 Jose Canseco Topps Traded Tiffany RC #20T captures Jose during his heyday. In Canseco’s 1986 season, he mashed 33 bombs and 117 RBIs.
The card explains the stats, showcasing Jose’s massive biceps, clad in a yellow undershirt and green 80s-era A’s jersey.
The card’s design is a harbinger of the impending Junk Wax Era, with bold “A’s” on the black top border and “Jose Canseco” written in black font on the white lower border.
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Canseco’s jaw, enlarged by rampant steroid use (we can only deduce), also features prominently. It’s a simple design, but you can certainly do worse when hunting for Canseco’s gems.
1A. 2020 Jose Canseco Stadium Club Bash & Burn Auto Orange /5 #BBAJC
This bad boy sold for $888 at a PSA 7. I would love to see what a PSA 10 or a BGS Black would go for.
Your odds of getting your grubby little hands on the 2020 Jose Canseco Stadium Club Bash & Burn card are slim, BUT if you have the chance make a run at it!
2. 1987 Jose Canseco Topps Tiffany RC #620
1987 is widely acknowledged as the first year of the Junk Wax Era, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at the 1987 Jose Canseco Topps Tiffany RC #620.
The card’s wood grain border says “I’m a baseball card, but I’m also classy”. Topps embraced a green theme, with a nameplate and Oakland A’s logo to match Canseco’s uniform color.
A black Topps logo and gold “Topps All-Star Rookie” trophy graphic complete the front design.
A svelte (by Canseco standards) Canseco stands in the dugout, gazing upward with the smirk that has since become synonymous with arrogance.
It’s not the rarest or most valuable of the Jose Canseco cards. However, it’s got a woodgrain border. So it’s got that going for it, which is nice.
3. 1987 Jose Canseco O-Pee-Chee RC #247
O-Pee-Chee is most recognized as a hockey-centric card manufacturer. So it makes sense that Canseco, who skated on thin ice throughout his career, is featured on this card.
The 1987 O-Pee-Chee RC #247 shows Canseco…well, it’s the exact same design as the 1987 Topps Tiffany RC #620.
Only, where it says “Topps” on #620, the O-Pee-Chee versions says “O-Pee-Chee”. Topps or O-Pee-Chee, take your pick.
4. 1986 Jose Canseco Donruss RC #39
It really doesn’t get more Junk Wax than this one. The design is one thing, but that mustache? That’s truly junk.
About that design. It feels very Saved by the Bell, with a horizontally striped blue background that probably felt dated about five seconds after it left the printing press.
A sky blue “Rated Rookies” graphic encroaches upon a red-and-blue nameplate, which reads “Jose Canseco OF” in white font. A red-and-white Donruss ’86 banner sits atop Jose’s image.
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About that image. Jose sits in front of a slate grey background, high school portrait style. He wears a yellow Oakland A’s jersey, wispy mustache, and his trademark arrogant smirk.
If anything, buy this card because of how outlandishly bad it is. It won’t cost you too much.
5. 1991 Jose Canseco Topps Desert Shield #390
Few cards shine a light on Jose Canseco’s athletic splendor like the 1991 Topps Desert Shield #390.
Canseco wears Oakland’s Away Greys along with neon green Mizuno gloves and vibrant gold socks. His lumber-like biceps and sprinter-long legs are front and center.
This isn’t a bad card (especially by Junk Wax standards), with the palm tree “Operation Desert Shield” logo and fans in the background giving it a tropical feel.
A starry-night nameplate up top designates Canseco’s “All-Star” status. A Topps 40th Anniversary logo adds another eye-catching touch.
This is one of our personal favorites of all the Jose Canseco cards.
6. 1991 Jose Canseco Topps Desert Shield #700
Sticking with the Desert Shield theme, we have the 1991 Jose Canseco Topps Desert Shield #700. The 1991 Topps brain trust should pat themselves on the back for this one.
The image of Canseco captures his bat-bending strength and shockingly compact swing for a man of his size. The photograph dominates the card, but the surrounding design is just right.
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Green and gold sub borders compliment Cansecos’ A’s uniform. A large “Athletics” logo is in the bottom-right corner, above a green nameplate that runs the entire length of the bottom border.
The Topps 40th Anniversary logo wraps up this subtle, tasteful card’s design.
7. 1991 Jose Canseco Donruss Elite #3
The 1991 Jose Canseco Donruss Elite #3 has a unique look and is also notable because of its 10,000-count print run.
Though 10,000 seems like a lot of copies, it is a conservative number considering the mass printing of the Junk Wax era.
The card itself combines the school portrait style with an air of 70s-style artwork. The swirled, the green-brown border would fit in perfectly in Ron Burgundy’s living room.
Canseco stares longingly at the camera, which captures his Oakland greys from the chest-up. The top plate reads “The Elite Series” while the bottom reads “Jose Canseco”.
This is a wonky and comparatively rare Canseco card, making it among the most valuable on this list.
8. 1988 Jose Canseco/Mark McGwire Topps Tiffany A’s Leaders #759
The Bash Brothers were in their purest form in 1988, and the 1988 Topps Tiffany A’s Leaders #759 is a physical testament to the Bash.
The card features Mark and Jose in green A’s uniforms, bash-able forearms exposed as each grip the lumber in Franklin batting gloves.
The 1988 Topps Tiffany Bash Brothers card is one of our favorite cards in the entire hobby.
The image has a fading effect on the border, which leads to a white border. The bottom of the card reads “Athletics Leaders” in two-font text. A Topps logo completes the design.
Topps also produced this card for other epic teammate duos like Barry Bonds and Bobby Bonilla of the Pirates.
9. 2021 Jose Canseco Topps Project70 Online Exclusive Artist Proof #292 (/51)
Those with a hankering for cards that are different will love this Canseco-Tony Montana crossover.
Topps commissioned a team of artists to give modern takes on baseball cards.
Canseco’s Topps Project70 card is the 1986 Jose Canseco Topps Traded Tiffany RC #20T image (translated to black and white) superimposed on the Scarface movie poster.
The bold red text reads “Canseco” rather than “Scarface”, and below reads “The World Is Yours” in smaller, grey Scarface-style font.
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Surprisingly, the card carries a “G” rating in the bottom-right corner. Various Foil parallels may fetch higher prices than the base card of this online exclusive release.
10. 1993 Jose Canseco Finest Refractor All-Star #99
Topps’ Finest set has released some memorable cards over the years, and the 1993 Canseco Finest Refractor All-Star #99 fits the bill.
It shows a muscle-bound Jose in his white Texas Rangers #33 uniform. He stares upward (either at a dinger or pop-up) with red wrist bands around each arm.
Behind him is a rainbow color gradient, a green background, and a “Baseball’s Finest All-Stars” banner that is partially obscured by his massive dome.
The refractor version is particularly eye-catching. If you’re looking for a Texas-era Canseco card, this one will do just fine.
11. 1989 Jose Canseco Upper Deck Black Eagle Logo #659
The Black Eagle Logo differentiates this 1989 Upper Deck Jose Canseco card from other Upper Deck Cansecos printed in 1989.
It refers to the black American League logo in the card’s bottom-right corner. The rest of the card feels serious, with a dark brown and green border providing insufficient eye candy.
Black Arial “Jose Canseco” font upon a white bottom border is not particularly exciting, while the image of Canseco tracking a fly ball with his tongue exposed doesn’t accurately portray the Bash Bro, well, Bashing.
With all this said, this has proven to be one of the higher-priced Canseco cards. The iconic Ken Griffey, Jr. rookie card from this set may help buoy other cards in the set, like Canseco’s.
12. 1986 Jose Canseco Donruss Highlights #55
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The 1986 Jose Canseco Donruss Highlights #55 is excruciatingly Junk Wax.
It features a design scheme similar to Canseco’s other Donruss rookie card, with a diagonal image and horizontally striped backdrop (in this case, brown rather than blue).
A red nameplate with white font commemorates Canseco’s Rookie of the Year status. Canseco holds a bundle of bats as he grins at the camera in a highlighter-yellow A’s uni.
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Per PSA, auction prices for this card tend to remain fairly tempered. As the younger brother in the baseball card family to brands like Topps and Upper Deck, Donruss cards like this tend to be highly accessible.
13. 1986 Jose Canseco Fleer Baseball’s Best RC #5
With many Canseco cards being comparable in price, you should consider this.
The design bests many of the Junk Wax era Canseco cards, with a campy, comic-strip-style upper yellow banner that reads “Baseball’s Best” in red font.
The bottom border contains a “Sluggers” emblem, a red nameplate with Canseco’s name, and a “.302 Average” designation.
The image of Canseco is classic photoshoot chic. He poses in a clean uniform, his right hand resting on a bat knob, his left arm on his thigh, and his facing screaming, “I’d rather not be here.”
14. 1987 Jose Canseco Toys “R” Us RC
Do you want novelty? This is a novelty.
The 1987 Jose Canseco RC from now-defunct Toys “R” Us features a retired player sponsored by a retired retailer.
It shows Canseco in headshot format (there’s that damn smirk again) donning a green perforated A’s uniform with gold trim.
A small, rounded green-and-gold nameplate sits at his neckline. Up top, a pink plate and wavy white banner read “Collectors Edition Rookies”. The multi-colored Toys “R” Us logo is also conspicuously present.
A Hall of Fame card it is not, but a quirky one it certainly is.
15. 1986 Jose Canseco Star Minor League Stats #2
When you think baseball card titans, Star probably doesn’t come to mind. And for good reason.
The 1986 Jose Canseco Star Minor League Stats #2 is the epitome of mailing it in design-wise. It features a mustard-yellow border with “Star ’86” in the upper-right corner and “Minor League Stats” at the bottom.
A circular accent reads, simply, “Jose”. The card’s image is a pre-steroid Canseco in a cutoff yellow undershirt and green A’s uni about to make contact with an incoming pitch.
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With a relatively limited population, collectors have proven to pay good money for this card.
16. 1984 Jose Canseco Chong Modesto A’s RC #5
This card features a black-and-white image of Canseco staring intently above the plane of the camera’s lens. The white “M” on his hat lets you know he’s still playing in the minors.
A prominent A’s logo on his shirt informs you that he is, in fact, in the Athletics’ organization.
A circular Modesto Athletics logo sits bottom-left, accompanied by a simple nameplate to the right and “Athletics” written top-down on the lefthand border.
It’s a unique card among the color-splashed lot of Canseco cards, and it is in the middle of the pack price-wise.
17. 1983 Jose Canseco Fritsch Madison Muskies #43
This 1983 gem features Jose Canseco as a long-haired member of the Madison (Wisconsin) Musketeers, known as the Muskies.
A large but lean Canseco enacts a thousand-yard stare to the left of the camera, donning a yellow “Madison” jersey with green font. His “M” hat inverts the color scheme.
The card’s partial image of the state of Wisconsin is a defining feature, as is a large green lower nameplate that reads “Jose Canseco Madison Muskies”.
This is one of the truly rare Canseco cards, from his minor-league status to his flowing locks and lack of massive muscles.
Price-wise, this is another middle-of-the-pack Canseco card.
18. 1986 Jose Canseco Donn Jennings #14
The 1986 Jose Canseco Donn Jennings #14 shows Canseco as a member of the A’s AA affiliate, the Huntsville Stars.
He wears a vibrant white Stars uniform with the Team USA-style color scheme. Canseco walks confidently as you can see his future muscle-bound physique taking its early form.
The card feels like something a mom would have made for her little leaguer, with “1985 MVP” in bold font up top and a nondescript blue nameplate down low.
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Unless you have an autographed copy, this one tends to sell on the lower-end of the Canseco card spectrum.
19. 1986 Jose Canseco/Eric Plunk Fleer Major League Prospects #649
If you want the Canseco, you get the Plunk. That is, at least, if you decide to purchase the 1986 Canseco-Plunk Fleer Major League Prospects #649.
The card features the two A’s prospects in side-by-side images, a rounded white border unifying each photo atop a dark blue backdrop.
Canseco grips a bat in a fresh-white Oakland uniform, while Plunk’s hat sits askew, glove tucked to his chest in a dark green A’s uni.
This card is neither visually appealing nor in high demand, as Eric Plunk’s career never kept pace with that of Canseco’s.
20. 1990 Jose Canseco Donruss #125
This one was not the worst of all the Donruss Junk Wax-era card designs. It’s still pretty bad, reeking of mass production.
It shows a mulleted Canseco at-bat in his gold A’s uniform with a hunter-green undershirt cut off at the elbows.
The card’s red border (again, mass-produced) clashes horrendously with the A’s color scheme, making it clear that Donruss (now owned by Panini) just picked a photo and slapped it on the standard red backdrop.
A cursive “Jose Canseco” nameplate would look far cooler on a more thoughtfully designed card. On this card, it simply falls by the wayside.
You can get this one for the low-low.
Jose Canseco Baseball Card Values
Let’s look at popular Jose Canseco baseball cards and how much they are worth.
- 1986 Jose Canseco Donruss Rookie Card Value #39: PSA 10 $380 to $420
- 2020 Jose Canseco Stadium Club Bash & Burn Auto Orange /5 #BBAJC:: PSA 7 $800 to $900
- 1989 Jose Canseco Baseball Card Upper Deck Value #659: PSA 10 $40 to $60
The most valuable Jose Canseco Baseball Card is the 2020 1A. 2020 Jose Canseco Stadium Club Bash & Burn Auto Orange /5 #BBAJC. Placing second and third are the 1986 Topps Traded Tiffany Jose Canseco rookie card which is numbered #20T followed by the 1986 Jose Canseco Donruss rookie card numbered #39.
Checklist
- 1986 Donruss Jose Canseco #39
- 1986 Donruss Highlights Jose Canseco #55
- 1986 Donruss Rookies Jose Canseco #22
- 1986 Fleer Baseball’s Best Jose Canseco #5
- 1986 Fleer League Leaders Jose Canseco #3
- 1986 Fleer Mini Jose Canseco #87
- 1986 Fleer Star Stickers Jose Canseco #19
- 1986 Fleer Update Jose Canseco #U-20
- 1986 Mother’s Cookies A’s Team Set Jose Canseco #9
- 1986 Sportflics Rookies Jose Canseco #11
- 1986 Star Canseco Jose Canseco Sticker-His Era Begins-Fielding
- 1986 Star Canseco Jose Canseco Sticker
- 1986-the Beginning Baseball Cards
- 1986 Star Canseco Jose Canseco Sticker-the Future
- 1986 Star Canseco Jose Canseco Sticker
- 1986 Star Canseco Jose Canseco Sticker-Minor League Stats
- 1986 Star Canseco Jose Canseco Sticker-Personal Data
- 1986 Star Canseco Jose Canseco Sticker-His Era Begins-Hand on Cage Baseball Cards 1
- 1986 Star Canseco Jose Canseco #3
- 1985 S.L. MVP Baseball Cards 1
- 1986 Star Canseco Jose Canseco #4 Major League Stats Baseball Cards 1
- 1986 Star Canseco Jose Canseco #5 1986-the Beginning Baseball Cards 2
- 1986 Topps Traded Jose Canseco #20T Baseball Cards 906
- 1986 Topps Traded Tiffany Jose Canseco #20T Baseball Cards 168 1987 Sportflics Jose Canseco #90
- 1986 Copyright Baseball Cards 9 1988 Star Canseco-Green Name Jose Canseco #7
- 1986 A.L. Top Rookie Baseball Cards 1
- 1987 Classic MLB Game Jose Canseco #46
- 1987 Classic Travel Update Yellow Jose Canseco #125 Green Back
- 1987 Classic Travel Update Yellow Jose Canseco #125 Yellow Back
- 1987 Donruss Jose Canseco #6 Diamond Kings
- 1987 Donruss Jose Canseco #97
- 1987 Donruss All-Stars Jose Canseco #21
- 1987 Donruss Box Panels-Hand Cut Dale Murphy/Jeff Reardon/Jose Canseco/Roberto Clemente
- 1987 Donruss Box Panels-Hand Cut Jose Canseco #PC-12
- 1987 Donruss Diamond Kings Jose Canseco #6
- 2001 Topps Chrome Traded Jose Canseco #T116
- 2001 Topps Chrome Traded Jose Canseco #T116
- 2001 Topps Traded Jose Canseco #T116 1986 Reprint Baseball Cards 6
- 2020 Panini Donruss Optic Retro 1986 Jose Canseco #R865
- 2000 Topps Tek Jose Canseco #11
- 1988 Star Gold Edition Jose Canseco #100
- 1990 Leaf Jose Canseco #108
- 1991 Studio Jose Canseco #101
- 1992 Baseball Buttons Jose Canseco #109
- 1992 O-Pee-Chee Jose Canseco #100
- 1992 Topps Jose Canseco #100
- 1992 Topps Gold Jose Canseco #100
- 1992 Topps Gold Jose Canseco #100
- 1996 Bazooka Jose Canseco #108
- 1996 Leaf Signature Jose Canseco #105
- 1997 Finest Jose Canseco #101 Refractor w/Coating
- 2012 Leaf Memories Jose Canseco
- 1990 Buybacks Autographs Jose Canseco #108
- 2020 Jose Canseco Stadium Club Bash & Burn Auto Orange /5 #BBAJC
Summary
Jose Canseco is as polarizing as it gets. He had a good career, winning an MVP award, but will never sniff the Hall of Fame (primarily due to admitted steroid abuse).
His cards vary in price, though there is a defined ceiling on how valuable his cards can become.
- Buyers Rating: 4.13 out of 5 | We feel Jose Canseco will grow more and more popular as time goes by and so will the ROI of these 20 cards
- Ownership Disclosure: None
- Best Card: 1986 Jose Canseco Topps Traded Tiffany RC #20T
Many of those cards are the product of the Junk Wax era, meaning they’re mass-produced and poorly designed. However, you’ll find rare gems that stand out because they’re comparatively rare, have unique design features, or contain autographs.
Be discerning if you plan to invest in a Canseco card. While some have growth potential, many are bona fide penny cards.