One of the most powerful players in NBA history, and a man who even managed to steal away an MVP trophy from the G.O.A.T Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley terrorized defenses with his incredible mix of speed, strength, and finesse, all while being packed into only a 6″5′ body—with many believing that his listed height is actually a lie, with Charles only being 6″4′.
Despite his shorter-than-average stature, he is among the top 20 rebounders in the history of the NBA. Unfortunately, he never managed to bring home an NBA championship, something he is constantly reminded of on the set of Inside the NBA.
The Highest-Priced Charles Barkley Cards in the World
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His best year was 1993 with Phoenix, where he picked up his MVP award and took his team to the finals to play against Michael Jordan and the Bulls. The Suns lost the series in six games.
While compiling this list of the most expensive Charles Barkley cards in the world, it's important to note that each specific card will only have it's highest listed price ever.
For example, the 1986 Fleer Charles Barkley Base you are about to see has multiple copies sold for over $10,000, but only the highest-priced one will be listed in order.
Research on prices of cards for this list is from Cardladder.com, PWCC Marketplace, and numerous other outlets. Hopefully, this will help give you a great idea of what Charles Barkley cards are worth money.
1. 1997 Metal Universe Precious Metal Gems Charles Barkley PMG RED /100 BGS 7.5
Price: $34,800
The most expensive Charles Barkley basketball card is the 1997 Metal Precious Gems collection. This card is extremely well-known among collectors and fetches a high price both for Sir Charles and Michael Jordan, for example.
With a 7.5 rating, you can see that even with minor manufacturing issues that lead to some corner and edge damage, the price is still the highest known among Charles Barkley cards at $34,800.
2. 1984-85 Star Basketball Charles Barkley ROOKIE #202 BGS 9.5 GEM MINT (PWCC-A)
Price: $31,200
One of the first rookie cards of Sir Charles to be released; this card was so early into his NBA career that his college stats are seen written o the card. Many of these cards were released, but many suffered from flaws that kept the card from receiving a high-graded rating. Not this one, as it comes in at an amazing 9.5, one of only a population of nine total. If you see this one lying around, get to an authenticator quick, it might be worth some money!
3. 1986 Fleer Charles Barkley Base PSA 10
Price: $28,000
The quintessential and most widely known Charles Barkley Rookie card comes in at number three, with a copy scoring $28,000 in an eBay auction on April 23rd, 2021.
Many of these cards are in circulation; the PSA card facts website currently says there are 236 GEM MT 10 cards. The PSA price is a #10,475 average, so you have to wonder what made this card jump so high over that average.
This card is featured many times on CardLadders list of Barkley cards, being sold for:
4. 2018-19 Immaculate Acetate Charles Barkley HOF NBA Logoman Patch
Price: $22,101
Another card that secured a high price via an eBay auction, this popular set of 15 cards features Charles Barkley hoisting up a jump shot for the Phoenix Suns. With Barkley being one of the worst shooters in basketball history, we're pretty certain the shot would have missed, but it didn't deter an investor from dropping $22,101 to own the card.
This unique 1/1 probably features a better jersey patch than the card pictured above, but we could not source a picture as of this publishing. The one shown above is not the one that sold for the record price, but one in the same set.
5. 1987 FLEER STICKER CHARLES BARKLEY #6 PSA 10 GEM MINT
Price: $17,769
A highly graded mint 10 makes this card extremely valuable, with the PWCC marketplace noting it's one of only three cards of this pristine grading.
This card is interesting if you note the date it was sold. With the hobby yet to fully see the insane prices card collectors are paying nowadays, a card of this caliber going for over $17,000 in 2016 is almost unheard.
6. 2018 Immaculate Collection Kobe Bryant Charles Barkley PSA/DNA-10 AUTO-10 PSA-9
Price: $15,200
This card encapsulates one of my favorite things about this crazy hobby. Charles Barkley and Kobe Bryant played a total of eleven games against each other, and are barely connected in terms of NBA-lore. But that doesn't mean we can't throw em' both on a card!
The value of this card comes from the 10 rating on the autograph, the PSA/DNA rating of 10, and a mint rating of 9. Overall a very highly rated card featuring two legends of the NBA.
7. 1998 Metal Universe Gem Masters Charles Barkley 1/1 #85 PSA 8 NM-MT
Price: $15,099
This unique 1/1 hit the market to a popular crowd of potential buyers. It achieved a high buying price despite the PSA rating of only 8. Another card in the esteemed metal universe collection, it's amazing that both the #1 card on this list and this card both achieved such a high selling price, despite being far from mint status.
8. CHARLES BARKLEY CSG 9 MINT 1999-00 SkyBox Apex X-TREME
Price: $15,000
The title of the listing itself explains it. Only 1 exists! The 1999-00 Skybox features Barkley backing down a defender, with Barkley posing in a white Rockets jersey on the back. On the card text, you can read, “The Only 1 of 1 Xtreme,” with very few of these cards ever being officially graded. Another card that aims to be different from the more classic aspect and aims to bring a background that provides more of a funkadelic vibe.
Final Thoughts
Charles Barkley is one of the most dominant players in NBA history and one of the greatest 20 players to ever play. Likewise, his cards dominate high prices.
Barkleys cards fall into a category where the highest-priced ones are from the same set, so if you checked out the list on cardladder.com, you'd see that the 1986 Fleer Base Rookie has sold other copies for above $20,000. We've decided to list only the highest sold copy and not to double up on cards, which makes this list only eight long.
