Most vintage baseball gloves sell for $10-50 as of November 2026. That covers the store-model gloves of the 1950s to the 1980s from Rawlings, Wilson, Spalding and the department store brands, including most of those with a player's signature stamped in the palm. Rawlings Mickey Mantle store models sell for about $25-170, 1930s to 1950s Nokona gloves for about $40-125, and a game-used glove worn by a star, with an authenticator's letter, is an auction lot of a different order.
The signature in the palm is the most misunderstood part of an old glove. It is a factory stamp on a mass-produced store glove, not an autograph. What moves the price is the model line, the age, the leather, and whether the endorsing player is one collectors chase.
Quick answer
- 1960s-1980s store gloves with a stamped player name (Rickey Henderson, Ron Cey, George Brett and similar): about $10-50.
- Rawlings Mickey Mantle store models (MM6, MM-9, GJ99, XPG6, XPG26 and others): about $25-170 for most; top-line Heart of the Hide models and boxed 1950s gloves bring hundreds to a few thousand.
- Nokona gloves of the 1930s to 1950s: about $40-125; a few scarce models more.
- Used Wilson A2000 gloves sell as player gloves, about $100-200.
- Game-used gloves of star players: auction lots with PSA/DNA or similar letters, often photo-matched.
How to identify and date a vintage baseball glove, step by step
- Read the palm stamp. Note the maker, the model name or number, and any stamped player signature. Write down every letter, even if the stamp is half worn; collectors identify gloves from partial stamps.
- Check the fingers. Gloves without lacing between the fingers ("split finger" gloves) are typical before the late 1940s. Laced fingers became normal in the postwar years, according to glove researcher Keyman Collectibles.
- Look at the web. Early gloves have single, double or triple tunnel webs and simple T or H webs. Full modern tunnel webs appear by the end of the 1940s, and trapper-style webs follow. The web is one of the fastest ways to place a glove in a decade.
- Find stamps on the back of the thumb. On many Rawlings gloves, patent numbers and feature names such as "Edge-U-Cated Heel" are stamped on the back of the thumb stall. Patent numbers can only date a glove to after the patent year, not to the exact year.
- Look for a Rawlings date code. Top-of-the-line Rawlings gloves from 1971 to 1983, and again from 1998 to 2002, carry dots on the back of the thumb; from 1984 to 1997 they carry a five-character BLACKHORSE code. See the table below.
- Check the country of manufacture. Many store-model gloves from the 1960s onward were made in Japan, later Korea and the Philippines. "Made in USA" on a pro-line glove usually means more value than an import store model of the same era.
- Flex the leather. Cracking or flaking leather and broken lacing are what pull a glove to the bottom of its range. Relaced gloves are fine for players; collectors pay less for them.
How do you read a Rawlings date code?
Rawlings stamped internal inventory codes on its top-of-the-line gloves, and collectors use them for dating. The dot code was stamped on the back of the thumb:
| Code | Years it can mean |
|---|---|
| 1 dot | 1971, 1976, 1981, or 2001 |
| 2 dots | 1972, 1977, or 2002 |
| 3 dots | 1973, 1978, 1983, or 1998 |
| 4 dots | 1974, 1979, or 1999 |
| 5 dots | 1975, 1980, or 2000 |
| BLACKHORSE, 3 letters plus 2 numbers | 1984 to 1997 |
| BLACKHORSE, 4 letters plus 2 numbers | 2003 onward |
To read BLACKHORSE, give each letter a digit: B=1, L=2, A=3, C=4, K=5, H=6, O=7, R=8, S=9, E=0. In the 1984-1997 code, the first letter is the last digit of the year and the next two are the month; the two numbers name the tannery, with 01 for Horween and 29 for gloves made in the Philippines. So "EEA 01" reads March 1990, Horween leather. Use the style of the glove to choose between the possible dot years.
What are vintage baseball gloves worth?
Sold prices on Mercari, Poshmark and eBay (read through the 130point sold-price search) as of November 2026, for gloves with readable stamps and leather that is dry but intact. eBay matched Mercari for Nokonas, at a median of about $60, while plain MM9 and GJ99 Mantle gloves sold there for $25-30, the bottom of the Mantle range. Poshmark store gloves from Rawlings, Spalding, MacGregor, Hutch and Sears sold for about $8-48, most $15-35. Vintage Wilson player models sell low: a George Brett A2144 at $13, a Jim Rice A2250 at $11 and a Ron Guidry A2234 at $21-26 on Mercari, a Catfish Hunter A2005 at $24-35 and a Harvey Kuenn A2234 at $48 on Poshmark. Used A2000s sold for about $65-240 on Mercari and $70-255 on Poshmark, most between $100 and $200.
| Glove | Era and tells | Typical sold price |
|---|---|---|
| Youth and store gloves with a stamped player name | 1960s-1980s, often made in Japan, Korea or the Philippines | $10-50 (Mercari and Poshmark) |
| Wilson store and pro-style models (Luis Aparicio A2914, Ron Cey, George Brett) | 1960s-1980s, model number in the palm | $10-50 |
| Rawlings Mickey Mantle models | MM6 "The Comet", MM-9, GJ99, XPG6, XPG26, 6350 and others | $25-170 for most; boxed 1950s gloves and Heart of the Hide models far more |
| Nokona fielder's gloves, 1930s-1950s | Tunnel webs, Nocona, Texas stamp, player models such as G34 Chico Carrasquel | $40-125 |
| Scarce Nokona models | Some 1950s G24 and similar pro models | About $90-600; sales are thin, mostly Mercari |
| Used Wilson A2000 | Playable, any recent decade | $100-200 |
| Game-used gloves of stars | Player-issued, authenticator letter, ideally photo-matched | Major auction lots |
Mantle is the one name that lifts a store glove, because collectors chase anything with his name. Most Mantle store gloves still sell under $200, but a top-line XPG6 Heart of the Hide has sold for about $500 on eBay, and 1950s Mantle gloves in their original boxes have brought about $2,700 to $6,200 at auction (Collectrea 2013, SCP Auctions 2012). The original box accounts for much of that jump, so look for it before you list.
Store model or game-used?
A store model is any glove sold to the public, even one marked "Pro Model" or "Professional Model" with a player's stamped signature. A game-used glove was issued to and worn by the player. Heritage Auctions has sold game-used fielder's gloves of Mickey Mantle (1965), Roberto Clemente (1966), Willie Mays (circa 1955) and Hank Aaron (1973), each with a PSA/DNA letter, and the Aaron glove was photo-matched to the 1973 season. That is the standard: a letter from PSA/DNA, JSA or a similar firm, a documented chain of ownership, and ideally photographs of the player using that exact glove. A family story that "grandpa got it from the clubhouse" is not provenance, and buyers price it as a store glove.
A hand-written number or name on the thumb or strap, heavy personal wear and a model line never sold at retail all point toward a pro glove. None of them proves game use on its own.
The makers
- Rawlings was founded in St. Louis in 1887. In 1920 Cardinals pitcher Bill Doak proposed a web between the thumb and first finger, Rawlings built the glove, and the web became standard. Keyman Collectibles dates the original Doak model to about 1922-1930, the "Improved" Doak to 1931-1938, and the Doak H model to about 1942-1952. Rawlings created the Gold Glove Award in 1957.
- Wilson introduced its A2000 in 1957, and it is still sold today. Used A2000s sell to players, not collectors, which keeps their prices steady.
- Spalding made gloves from the earliest decades of the sport. Prewar Spalding gloves with readable stamps are worth researching; postwar store models sell like other store gloves.
- Nokona began as the Nocona Leather Goods Company in Nocona, Texas, in 1926 and made its first ball glove in 1934. It made gloves for military personnel under a government contract during World War II and describes itself as the only major glove maker still producing in the United States.
A worked example
Say you find a brown Rawlings glove in a closet with a stamped Mickey Mantle signature in the palm, "MM6" and "The Comet" stamped near it, and "Made in Japan" stamped on the leather. The fingers are laced and the web is a modern style, so it is a postwar store model, probably 1960s. There is no dot code, which fits a store glove rather than a top-line one. The leather is dry but flexes without cracking and the lacing is original. An MM6 in that state sold for about $125 on Mercari; with cracked leather or broken lacing, expect $25-60. It is a pleasant Mantle collectible, not a game-used glove, and it should be described that way when sold.
How to sell a vintage baseball glove
Store gloves sell on eBay or Mercari, where fees run about 10-15 percent, and most of them one at a time: a stamped Rickey Henderson or George Brett glove is a $10-50 item, and a Wilson player model sells to someone who wants to play catch with it. A box of worn youth gloves without readable stamps goes as a lot. List singly any Rawlings Mickey Mantle model, any Nokona with the Nocona, Texas stamp, any Wilson A2000, and any glove with its original box, since the box is most of the jump on a 1950s Mantle. A glove that may be game-used, one with an ink signature, or a pre-1940 glove in strong condition goes first to PSA/DNA or JSA, then to a sports auction house such as Heritage; without a letter it is priced as a store glove.
The listing needs:
- The palm stamp typed out in full: maker, model name or number, stamped player name.
- The back of the thumb, close up, with any dots, BLACKHORSE code or patent stamp.
- Laced or unlaced fingers and the web style.
- Country of manufacture from the strap or heel.
- Cracked leather, broken or replaced lacing, torn binding, and any handwriting.
A glove ships in a box, not stuffed into a mailer, so the pocket keeps its shape. Describe the signature as a factory stamp, not an autograph. Do not call a glove prewar when the fingers are laced, and do not write game-used without a letter and a photo-match.
Common mistakes
- Reading a stamped signature as an autograph. Store gloves carry printed facsimile signatures. If you think a glove is signed in ink, see our guide to how to tell if an autograph is real.
- Soaking an old glove in oil. Heavy oiling darkens the leather and can blur the palm stamp that identifies the glove. A light conditioner on the outside is enough.
- Relacing a collectible glove before selling it. New laces help a player but remove originality. Sell it as found and say what is broken.
- Calling every old glove "pre-war". Laced fingers and a full tunnel or trapper web mean postwar.
- Paying for "game-used" without paperwork. No letter, no photo-match, no premium.
How WorthPic reads baseball glove photos
WorthPic runs on the newest and most capable AI model available, tuned for exactly this kind of identification. From your photos it reads the maker, the model name or number and the stamped player name in the palm, the web style, the finger lacing and the stamps on the back of the thumb, including a Rawlings dot or BLACKHORSE code, and it judges the leather, the lacing and the wear. It then gives an honest value range with a most likely figure. What it cannot know: whether a glove was ever worn by the player whose name it carries, whether ink on a glove is a real signature, or how supple the leather is to the touch. It identifies and estimates. It does not authenticate, grade or appraise.
What to photograph
- The palm, straight on, with every stamp readable.
- The back of the thumb, close up, for dots, codes and patent stamps.
- The web from both sides and the fingers showing lacing or no lacing.
- The strap and the heel, front and back, for model numbers and country of manufacture.
- Any handwriting on the glove, close up.
- Damage: cracks, broken laces, torn binding.
When to get it looked at in person
A glove that may be game-used, one with an ink signature, or a pre-1940 glove in strong condition should go to a sports memorabilia authenticator such as PSA/DNA or JSA, then to a sports auction house such as Heritage. Store-model gloves sell well enough on eBay or Mercari, where fees run about 10-15 percent; a local sports memorabilia shop will usually offer well under those prices, since it has to resell. For signed balls and other items from the same box, see our guide to autographed baseballs, our Mickey Mantle card guide and what old baseball cards are worth. For other sports memorabilia and the rest of the market, our guide to what collectibles are worth explains how provenance and condition drive price.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Rawlings (company): founding in 1887, the Bill Doak web of 1920 and the Gold Glove Award of 1957.
- Wikipedia: Nocona Athletic Goods Company: founding in 1926, the first glove in 1934 and the wartime contract.
- Keyman Collectibles on Rawlings dot and BLACKHORSE dating and dating 1940s gloves: the dot years, the letter code, the tannery numbers, and unlaced fingers before the late 1940s.
- SCP Auctions: 1950s Mickey Mantle Rawlings glove in original box: a boxed 1950s Mantle store glove at about $6,200.
- Heritage Auctions: game-used fielder's glove archive: the Mantle, Clemente, Mays and Aaron gloves with PSA/DNA letters.
- Mercari sold listings: Rawlings Mickey Mantle gloves and vintage Nokona gloves: the store-model price ranges.
- Poshmark sold listings: vintage baseball gloves and Wilson A2000: store gloves at $8-48 and A2000s at $70-255, checked November 2, 2026.
- Mercari sold listings: vintage Wilson gloves and Wilson A2000: Wilson player models at $9-50 and A2000s at $65-240.
- 130point sold-price search (eBay sold listings): eBay sales of Rawlings Mickey Mantle and vintage Nokona gloves, checked November 2, 2026.