1991 Topps Desert Shield Baseball Set

Triple SSS Sports Cards is an established dealer of cards that feature many of the iconic names in sports, from Mickey Mantle to Mike Trout. Offering a wide inventory, Triple SSS Sports Cards stocks collectable cards from every era of sports.

One of the most iconic baseball sets from the early 1990s is the 1991 Topps Desert Shield issue. With several thousand of each card produced, this product exactly mirrors the regular Topps set, which came at the height of the “junk wax era” and had production approaching the millions. The only difference is a gold foil stamp printed on the front, which features the design of a shield with a palm tree. These were originally distributed in packs to US soldiers stationed in the Middle East, in support of Operation Desert Shield.

As noted in a 30th anniversary Sports Collectors Daily article, one aspect adding to the scarcity of these cards is the fact that a substantial number of soldiers who received them were not card collectors and simply threw them in the trash. In addition, no complete factory sets were issued.

Today, the most widely sought-after Desert Shield card is a rookie of Chipper Jones. Graded copies of the Atlanta Braves’ Hall of Famer’s card fetch prices of more than $1,000. Other cards that often bring in more than $100 include Mark McGwire, Ken Griffey, Jr., Cal Ripken, and Nolan Ryan. A nearly full set of Topps Desert Shield cards, graded PSA 10, sold for more than $100,000 in 2018.