What is a case hit?
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A case hit is a rare card that only appears, on average, once per case. A case is a sealed box from the card manufacturer containing multiple boxes of the same product. A case hit could potentially be the most valuable card in the case or the most sought after card in the set. Some of the most valuable case hits in the hobby are Downtowns, Color Blasts, and Kabooms. A rookie or numbered card can also significantly increase the value of the case hit.
Panini Gold Kaboom
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The color of the case hit signifies the print run and differs by manufacturer. Panini's gold cards are numbered to ten and Topps' gold cards are numbered to 50.
A case is considered "dead" once the case hit has been pulled but there are still boxes left from the original case of cards. Those remaining boxes can still be sold but are significantly less valuable. Pro Tip: there may be collectors who still try to sell boxes from a dead case at the pre-case hit value.
Topps Finest Fiesta
When buying a single or trying to pull a case hit, make sure to research the manufacturer's checklist. Also, not all case hits areextremely valuable. Most of the case hits from Topps Finest — Fiesta cards — can be purchased for $20 to $40, depending on the player.
Donruss Optic Downtown
Over the years, cases may become more valuable because of the case hit that can come from them. For instance, a 2020 Donruss Optic case has increased in value due to the ongoing potential for a Joe Burrow Rookie Downtown. Since the case has one downtown in it, the search may be worth it versus shelling out for the single. The biggest question with a case hit is, what to do with it? To get the highest value, these are the cards that should be graded with PSA.
Craig Cormier lives in New York City with his wife, Stephanie, and dog, Ziggy. He is a passionate sports card collector, focusing primarily on baseball, basketball, and football. He proudly roots for the Yankees, Knicks, and Jets. One of his biggest sports goals is to visit every Major League Baseball stadium—and he is already halfway there! Outside of collecting, he enjoys playing softball, attending trade nights at local card shops, and exploring card shows.