Top 6 Mantle cards

[brian1961]

Originally Posted by geosluggo

I vividly remember acquiring my first Mantle in 1972, when I was not quite 8 years old, from a fellow second grader who didn't care much about cards but had his older brother's collection. He traded me a bunch of 1966s, including Mantle and Koufax (I knew who they were even at that tender age), as well as some cards from that '66 Batman set.

I finally completed the 598-card 1966 set in 2008. The Mantle is the lowest-grade card in my set because it's the same one I've had since 1972. I never was a huge Mantle fan (I'm a Clemente-Aaron-Mays guy, plus I have a soft spot for Frank Howard) and cards of The Mick are always so expensive that I never upgraded. The same is true of my 1968 and 1969 sets, which I completed way back in the 1980s with Mantles I had acquired in elementary school.

George, thanks for sharing your childhood memories. Very interesting. While I have pursued Mickey Mantle for a long time, Roberto, Henry, and Willie were all fabulous players, with a strong variety of cards and coins to collect. I also have a soft spot for Hondo Frank Howard. He did some amusing TV commercials that emphasized his towering size back in around 1970. I have a vague memory of Hondo doing one for Nestle's Quick. I should see if perchance it is on YOUTUBE. They left a very positive impression on me. Maybe he won't get in the MLB HOF, but he's in our personal HOF, which means just as much to an individual collector.

Having been in the adult hobby as a late teen since 1972, when prices were minuscule, the money sellers got for Mr. Mantle just seemed to zoom with each year. Much as I might have wanted to gripe as the fox, "Eh, those grapes were probably just sour!!!!!", I couldn't. Meaning, I waited way too long to get some badly-wanted Mickey Mantle cards. They say, "Ya snooze, ya lose". Well, when you realize you're out of the game for getting some Mantle you might have really wanted, it is a tough loss to accept, believe me.

I genuinely wish you the very best in pursuing Roberto, Henry, and Willie. Have a great day, George.

Best regards, bro. ---Brian Powell

[Puckettfan]

1953 Topps
1951 Bowman
1954 Red Heart
1954 Bowman
1952 Bowman
1952 Topps

Wow, I guess I never realized how much I prefer his Bowman issues

[Shoebox]

Going a different route and this is my list of underappreciated Mantle cards.

64 Topps Giants
53 Dormand Postcard - Bat on Shoulder
61 Jay Publishing - Portrait
67 Dexter Press
67 Topps Pin ups
Every one of his Bazooka cards

All realitively easy to find but all great images and imo superior aesthetically to many of his more mainstream cards. Though it seems I like the bigger format premiums more than most.

[Bestdj777]

Originally Posted by Shoebox

Going a different route and this is my list of underappreciated Mantle cards.

64 Topps Giants
53 Dormand Postcard - Bat on Shoulder
61 Jay Publishing - Portrait
67 Dexter Press
67 Topps Pin ups
Every one of his Bazooka cards

All realitively easy to find but all great images and imo superior aesthetically to many of his more mainstream cards. Though it seems I like the bigger format premiums more than most.

Try finding the OPC Pin Up if you want a challenge And, I completely agree regarding the larger format premiums. I love the giant Dorman postcard for instance.

[brian1961]

TOP 6 MAINSTREAM MICKEY MANTLE CARDS (FOR BEAUTY, DESIRABILITY TO ME, AND MOST VALUABLE)

1. 1952 TOPPS

2. 1951 BOWMAN

3. 1953 TOPPS

4. 1956 TOPPS

5. 1953 BOWMAN

6. 1960 TOPPS (I know the '57 is much more valuable, but I honestly like the looks of the '60 more)



TOP 6 REGIONAL / FOOD MICKEY MANTLE ITEMS (FOR BEAUTY, DESIRABILITY TO ME, AND MOST VALUABLE)

1. ANY OF THE 3 STAHL-MEYER FRANKS

2. 1960 POST CEREAL

3. 1959 BAZOOKA

4. 1960 HOME RUN DERBY

4 1/2. 1959 Yoo-Hoo Chocolate Drink (So wish we knew the story behind this mysterious Mantle card - a decent beauty)

5. 1966 - 1967 COCA-COLA premium, as produced by Dexter Press (TODAY, 3/16/17, I SAW KEITH OLBERMANN'S NICE WRITE-UP ON THESE CARDS IN THE SABR BASEBALL CARD COMMITTEE SITE. KEITH STATES THAT HE REMEMBERS SEEING THE 1966 DEXTER PRESS YANKEE CARDS SOLD INDIVIDUALLY AT THE YANKEE STADIUM SOUVENIR STANDS THAT YEAR. THUS, THESE CARDS, SOMEWHAT SMALLER THAN THE COCA-COLA PREMIUMS OF 1967, ARE A REGIONAL ONLY SOLD AT YANKEE STADIUM. FOR MANY YEARS I WONDERED HOW THEY WERE DISTRIBUTED, AND KEITH'S FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE PRESENTS VALUABLE INFORMATION TO US. SINCE THEY WERE ONLY SOLD AT THE BALLPARK, THE CARDS ARE MUCH MORE SIGNIFICANT IN MY ESTIMATION. AS BEAUTIFUL AS THEY ARE, I'M SURE THE CARDS DIDN'T SELL THAT WELL, BEING THE YANKS WERE FALLING TO LAST PLACE FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE BEFORE THE BABE CAME. REGARDLESS, TODAY THEY ARE UNQUESTIONABLY SOME OF THE MOST EYE-APPEALING CARDS TO BE HAD.)

6. 1962 JELL-O

(Why no Briggs? Why no Dan-Dee? These are both very, very special. Truly. The rarity of the Briggs far exceeds the Stahl-Meyer, but its claustrophobic cropping destroys its attractiveness. It is what it is. Furthermore, no one, young or old, seemed to know just how to cut the Briggs cards off their product package. Generations later, PSA and SGC both give the grade of "AUTHENTIC" to submitted specimens. A shame.

The Dan-Dee is gorgeous, with enough cropping of the great Mantle portrait to suffice. I well remember when I first saw the Dan-Dee in the mid-70s. I was extremely taken with it. Several years later I saw the Stahl-Meyer, with by-far the best use of the perfect Mickey Mantle portrait, taken by official Yankee photographer Bob Olen when Mick was a rookie. With just one glimpse of the Stahl-Meyer Franks Mantle, my feelings for the Dan-Dee were blown out of the water. The 1953 Stahl-Meyer is the most plentiful of the three years, but I think kids preferred the 1953's bone china white borders over the nice, stain-subduing neon yellow borders. I too prefer the bone china white background shade. Most 1953 PSA graded specimens (as of 3/14/2017, 32 of 46 submitted to PSA) came out PSA 1 POOR, which underscores how precious those cards were to the kids back then who saved their Mantles, creases, stains, and stamp marks notwithstanding. The very, very few that have graded PSA EX-MT or better trace to a find which I covered in my book.

Must get ready for work. Bye.



A LIST OF 6 VERY UNDERRATED MICKEY MANTLE ITEMS, IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER

1. 1969 TOPPS SUPER BASEBALL

2. EXHIBIT (STANDING BATTING IN HOME UNIFORM AS A ROOKIE)

3. DORMAND PC (STANDING BATTING) I really like the subdued background of the sky in the rarer "bat on shoulder" version. The pose is not bad, either. For me, it took me years to figure out what bugged me about the card. It's the expression on Mickey's face, in particular his eyes. The photo traces to 1952, with the Yanks' 50th Anniversary patch on the shoulder. Mr. Louis Dormand began to market his cards in about August of '52, so the first player photos were probably taken in early to late spring of that year. Something extremely significant happened in Mickey's life during the time when the first photo was snapped, and I sense some genuine pain in his eyes. Maybe I'm barmy, and I wish one of you would convince me otherwise. It's not that big a deal, and if you don't know what I'm referring to, please just go on with this lengthy thread response.

4. SALADA COIN (1962 / 1963)

5. 1964 TOPPS STAND-UP

6. ALL OF MICK'S BAZOOKAS''


Though it really is a "pipe dream" and never actually issued, I want to make special mention of his 1961 Topps Dice Game card. Let's call it a "prototype".

When the U. S. Mint was accepting prototypes to replace its $20 gold piece, one of those it rejected was a beautiful coin with lady Liberty wearing a Native American head dress. While they chose the more beautiful design by Augustus St. Gaudens, the rejected design was used for the face of the $10 Gold piece the Mint was also upgrading. When the aforementioned prototype Lady Liberty $20 gold piece was last auctioned it went for over $1 million dollars. The exact figure escapes me.

My point, just because the beautiful 1961 Topps Dice Game Mantle was never actually issued does not mean genuine examples of this prototype should languish in price. I don't own one, but it is worth boo coo, I believe; particularly so if one would grade out at least a PSA Near Mint 7, as have a very few specimens that were numerically grade-worthy. At this point, I am beginning to doubt if there are any. Most were stapled to a paper with Woody Gelman's figurative question, "What do you think of this idea for a dice game, with picture game cards of players and dice number actions on the backside? Think it would sell?"


A LIST OF 6 MODERN POST-CAREER MICKEY MANTLE CARDS THAT I FEEL ARE WORTH OWNING AND ENJOYING IF YOU CANNOT AFFORD ORIGINALS, OR WISH TO COMPLEMENT YOUR OWN PERIOD CARD COLLECTION, AND THAT MAY APPRECIATE A BIT BECAUSE OF THEIR ATTRACTIVENESS. THESE CONSTITUTE MORE THAN 6, BUT WHO REALLY CARES ANYWAY?

1. 1987 PEREZ-STEELE GREAT MOMENTS

2. 1988 PACIFIC LEGENDS

3. 2010 TOPPS HERITAGE #56B super short print

4. ALL TOPPS ALLEN & GINTER

5. 2012 TOPPS ARCHIVES 3-D (PRODUCED AND STYLED PRECISELY AS THE RARE 1968 TOPPS 3-D TEST ISSUE, THIS CARD LOOKS EXACTLY AS A '68 TOPPS 3-D SHOULD HAVE LOOKED. WEARING A BATTING HELMET, MICKEY HAS JUST BLASTED A SPACE SHOT HOME RUN. WATCHING THE BALL'S FLIGHT, HE BEGINS TO DROP THE BAT, AND BEGIN HIS BY-NOW HOBBLE AROUND THE BASES. PERFECT FOR IMAGINING A '68 TOPPS 3-D MICK!)

6. MOST OF THE TOPPS GYPSY QUEENS. THESE JUST LOOK SO COOL--VERY AVANT GARDE!


Well, that's a lot of lists, requiring some time to think through. Given enough time, I'm sure I'd change my mind a tiny bit, or lengthen the lists to "Top 10 Mantles"! No doubt my list will differ from yours, but I am sure we all have some cards and items we'd all agree on. Nice topic for a question. I feel an interesting category would be for fantasy Mantles. I'd list the two Bob Lemke creations I am very fortunate to own, as well as the pair I made. I did purchase for the first time a fantasy from Mr. Oddball on eBay. The scan on the eBay listing was sensational. It was a 1955 Topps. The price was cheap, and the postage 70 cents. What I got was a flimsy, index card-thick non-glossy card. Maybe it did not cost much, but I was not amused, nor impressed in the least. The extremely poor execution of what portended to be a beautiful fantasy left a bad taste in my mouth. A good fantasy, as Bob Lemke's creations were, and I feel my two Micks were, complements a period collection, rather than detracts. It's not always about how valuable the items are in your display, but how attractive and compelling the total arrangement becomes to your eyes. Now I realize I'm getting verbose and off the subject. Gotta make my supper for work, anyway.

Cheers. Happy collecting, guys and gals! ---Brian Powell

[mickey7mantle7]

Originally Posted by brian1961

TOP 6 MAINSTREAM MICKEY MANTLE CARDS (FOR BEAUTY, DESIRABILITY TO ME, AND MOST VALUABLE)

1. 1952 TOPPS

2. 1951 BOWMAN

3. 1953 TOPPS

4. 1956 TOPPS

5. 1953 BOWMAN

6. 1960 TOPPS (I know the '57 is much more valuable, but I honestly like the looks of the '60 more)



TOP 6 REGIONAL / FOOD MICKEY MANTLE ITEMS (FOR BEAUTY, DESIRABILITY TO ME, AND MOST VALUABLE)

1. ANY OF THE 3 STAHL-MEYER FRANKS

2. 1960 POST CEREAL

3. 1959 BAZOOKA

4. 1960 HOME RUN DERBY

4 1/2. 1959 Yoo-Hoo Chocolate Drink (So wish we knew the story behind this mysterious Mantle card - a real beauty)

5. 1966 - 1967 COCA-COLA premium, as produced by Dexter Press (TODAY, 3/16/17, I SAW KEITH OLBERMANN'S NICE WRITE-UP ON THESE CARDS IN THE SABR BASEBALL CARD COMMITTEE SITE. KEITH STATES THAT HE REMEMBERS SEEING THE 1966 DEXTER PRESS YANKEE CARDS SOLD INDIVIDUALLY AT THE STADIUM SOUVENIR STANDS THAT YEAR. THUS, THESE CARDS, SOMEWHAT SMALLER THAN THE COCA-COLA PREMIUMS OF 1967, ARE A REGIONAL ONLY SOLD AT THE STADIUM. FOR MANY YEARS I WONDERED HOW THEY WERE DISTRIBUTED, AND KEITH'S FIRST-HAND KNOWLEDGE PRESENTS VALUABLE INFORMATION TO US. SINCE THEY WERE ONLY SOLD AT THE STADIUM, THE CARDS ARE MUCH MORE SIGNIFICANT IN MY ESTIMATION. AS BEAUTIFUL AS THEY ARE, I'M SURE THE CARDS DIDN'T SELL THAT WELL, BEING THE YANKS WERE FALLING TO LAST PLACE FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE BEFORE THE BABE CAME. REGARDLESS, TODAY THEY ARE UNQUESTIONABLY SOME OF THE MOST EYE-APPEALING CARDS TO BE HAD.)

6. 1962 JELL-O

(Why no Briggs? Why no Dan-Dee? These are both very, very special. Truly. The rarity of the Briggs far exceeds the Stahl-Meyer, but its claustrophobic cropping destroys its attractiveness. It is what it is. Furthermore, no one, young or old, seemed to know just how to cut the Briggs cards off their product package. Generations later, PSA and SGC both give the grade of "AUTHENTIC" to submitted specimens. A shame.

The Dan-Dee is gorgeous, with enough cropping of the great Mantle portrait to suffice. I well remember when I first saw the Dan-Dee in the mid-70s. I was extremely taken with it. Several years later I saw the Stahl-Meyer, with by-far the best use of the perfect Mickey Mantle portrait, taken by official Yankee photographer Bob Olen when Mick was a rookie. With just one glimpse of the Stahl-Meyer Franks Mantle, my feelings for the Dan-Dee were blown out of the water. The 1953 Stahl-Meyer is the most plentiful of the three years, but I think kids preferred the 1953's bone china white borders over the nice, stain-subduing neon yellow borders. Most 1953 PSA graded specimens (as of 3/14/2017, 32 of 46 submitted to PSA) came out PSA 1 POOR, which underscores how precious those cards were to the kids back then who saved their Mantles, creases, stains, and stamp marks notwithstanding. The very, very few that have graded PSA EX-MT or better trace to a find which I covered in my book.

Must get ready for work. Bye.



A LIST OF 6 VERY UNDERRATED MICKEY MANTLE ITEMS, IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER

1. 1969 TOPPS SUPER BASEBALL

2. EXHIBIT (STANDING BATTING IN HOME UNIFORM AS A ROOKIE)

3. DORMAND PC (STANDING BATTING)

4. SALADA COIN (1962 / 1963)

5. 1964 TOPPS STAND-UP

6. ALL OF MICK'S BAZOOKAS''


Though it really is a "pipe dream" and never actually issued, I want to make special mention of his 1961 Topps Dice Game card. Let's call it a "prototype".

When the U. S. Mint was accepting prototypes to replace its $20 gold piece, one of those it rejected was a beautiful coin with lady Liberty wearing a Native American head dress. While they chose the more beautiful design by Augustus St. Gaudens, the rejected design was used for the face of the $10 Gold piece the Mint was also upgrading. When the aforementioned prototype Lady Liberty $20 gold piece was last auctioned it went for over $1 million dollars. The exact figure escapes me.

My point, just because the beautiful 1961 Topps Dice Game Mantle was never actually issued does not mean genuine examples of this prototype should languish in price. I don't own one, but it is worth boo coo, I believe; particularly so if one would grade out at least a PSA Near Mint 7, as have a very few specimens that were numerically grade-worthy. At this point, I am beginning to doubt if there are any. Most were stapled to a paper with Woody Gelman's figurative question, "What do you think of this idea for a dice game, with picture game cards of players and dice number actions on the backside? Think it would sell?


A LIST OF 6 MODERN POST-CAREER MICKEY MANTLE CARDS THAT I FEEL ARE WORTH OWNING AND ENJOYING IF YOU CANNOT AFFORD ORIGINALS, OR WISH TO COMPLEMENT YOUR OWN PERIOD CARD COLLECTION, AND THAT MAY APPRECIATE A BIT BECAUSE OF THEIR ATTRACTIVENESS. THESE CONSTITUTE MORE THAN 6, BUT WHO REALLY CARES ANYWAY?

1. 1987 PEREZ-STEELE GREAT MOMENTS

2. 1988 PACIFIC LEGENDS

3. 2010 TOPPS HERITAGE #56B super short print

4. ALL TOPPS ALLEN & GINTER

5. 2012 TOPPS ARCHIVES 3-D (PRODUCED AND STYLED PRECISELY AS THE RARE 1968 TOPPS 3-D TEST ISSUE, THIS CARD LOOKS EXACTLY AS A '68 TOPPS 3-D SHOULD HAVE LOOKED. WEARING A BATTING HELMET, MICKEY HAS JUST BLASTED A SPACE SHOT HOME RUN. WATCHING THE BALL'S FLIGHT, HE BEGINS TO DROP THE BAT, AND BEGIN HIS BY-NOW HOBBLE AROUND THE BASES. PERFECT FOR IMAGINING A '68 TOPPS 3-D MICK!)

6. MOST OF THE TOPPS GYPSY QUEENS. THESE JUST LOOK SO COOL.


Well, that's a lot of lists, that took some time to think out. Given enough time, I'm sure I'd change my mind a tiny bit, or lengthen the lists to "Top 10 Mantles"! No doubt my list will differ from yours, but I am sure we all have some cards and items we'd all agree on. Nice topic for a question. I feel an interesting category would be for fantasy Mantles. I'd list the two Bob Lemke creations I am very fortunate to own, as well as the pair I made. I did purchase for the first time a fantasy from Mr. Oddball on eBay. The scan on the eBay listing was sensational. It was a 1955 Topps. The price was cheap, and the postage 70 cents. What I got was a flimsy, index card-thick non-glossy card. Maybe it did not cost much, but I was not amused, nor impressed in the least. The extremely poor execution of what portended to be a beautiful fantasy left a bad taste in my mouth. A good fantasy, as Bob Lemke's creations were, and I feel my two Micks were, complement a period collection, rather than detract. Now I realize I'm getting verbose and off the subject. Gotta make finish my supper for work, anyway.

Cheers. Happy collecting, guys and gals. ---Brian Powell

Picture of the 1960 Post Mic and the 2010 Heritage? Just curious as I didn't see any on the bay...

[CW]

1952 Topps
1951 Bowman
1952 Bowman
1953 Bowman Color
1953 Topps
1954 Dan Dee

[jmb]

Originally Posted by CW

1952 Topps
1951 Bowman
1952 Bowman
1953 Bowman Color
1953 Topps
1954 Dan Dee

CW, our lists are identical except for the 52T.

51 Bowman
52 Bowman
53 Bowman
53 Topps
54 Dan-Dee
56 Topps

Nice group of Mantles.

[CW]

Thanks, Joe! Nice list -- you have good taste.

[CW]

Guess I'm a fan of the early years. Here's a visual aide to go with the above post.

[irv]

Originally Posted by CW

Guess I'm a fan of the early years. Here's a visual aide to go with the above post.

Very nice, CW!!

[Rookiemonster]

CW The 1951 mantle is a amazing psa 2! Also great centering in the 1952 topps .


Side note: the Mick was not a fan of smiling in his early cards.

[CW]

Muchas gracias, fellas!

[mickey7mantle7]

Originally Posted by CW

Guess I'm a fan of the early years. Here's a visual aide to go with the above post.

Simply stunning😳

[bswhiten]

Not the most iconic...or actual baseball cards but 6 of my favorites in my PC.

[brian1961]

Mickey7Mantle7---

David, The two Mantles you referenced are not that frequently found on eBay.

I am not that adroit at uploading images. It seems when I do, with my son's help (read "I watch while he loads the photos!") the image is always more bits than what Net54baseball can handle. I have given up.

However, I just did a Google search on both of the Mickeys, and images came right up. So, Google search, and type:


1960 Post Cereal Mickey Mantle images

(Note, the background color is usually lightened by a scanner. In real life it is a very rich salmon)

2010 Topps Heritage 56b Mickey Mantle images

(When I did this, David, a lot of images came up. However, look for the card on the top row of images designed as a 1961 Topps. Mickey is shown in a very pleasing rookie photo, batting, and you will see the "TOPPS HERITAGE" logo near the top left of the sky background. In all the write-ups I have encountered, Mickey (#56B), Roger Maris (#61B), and Babe Ruth (#60B) are considered super short prints. Sometimes when they are mentioned, the initials SSP are used, indicating "Super Short Print")

I trust this gives you enough directions to find the images you seek.

Happy collecting, bro. ---Brian Powell

[irv]

Originally Posted by brian1961

Mickey7Mantle7---

David, The two Mantles you referenced are not that frequently found on eBay.

I am not that adroit at uploading images. It seems when I do, with my son's help (read "I watch while he loads the photos!") the image is always more bits than what Net54baseball can handle. I have given up.

However, I just did a Google search on both of the Mickeys, and images came right up. So, Google search, and type:


1960 Post Cereal Mickey Mantle images

(Note, the background color is usually lightened by a scanner. In real life it is a very rich salmon)

2010 Topps Heritage 56b Mickey Mantle images

(When I did this, David, a lot of images came up. However, look for the card on the top row of images designed as a 1961 Topps. Mickey is portrayed as a rookie, batting, and you will see the "TOPPS HERITAGE" logo near the top left of the sky background. In all of the write-ups I have encountered, Mickey (#56B), Roger Maris (#61B), and Babe Ruth (#60) are considered super short prints. Sometimes when they are mentioned, the initials SSP are used, indicating "Super Short Print")

I trust this gives you enough directions to find the images you seek.

Happy collecting, bro. ---Brian Powell

If I am understanding this post correctly, Brian, you need to resize your pics.
There are many free picture resizers on the internet and once downloaded, will always be in/part of your editing software.

Are these the pics you're referring too?
https://www.google.ca/search?q=1960+...hrome&ie=UTF-8

[mickey7mantle7]

Originally Posted by brian1961

Mickey7Mantle7---

David, The two Mantles you referenced are not that frequently found on eBay.

I am not that adroit at uploading images. It seems when I do, with my son's help (read "I watch while he loads the photos!") the image is always more bits than what Net54baseball can handle. I have given up.

However, I just did a Google search on both of the Mickeys, and images came right up. So, Google search, and type:


1960 Post Cereal Mickey Mantle images

(Note, the background color is usually lightened by a scanner. In real life it is a very rich salmon)

2010 Topps Heritage 56b Mickey Mantle images

(When I did this, David, a lot of images came up. However, look for the card on the top row of images designed as a 1961 Topps. Mickey is portrayed as a rookie, batting, and you will see the "TOPPS HERITAGE" logo near the top left of the sky background. In all of the write-ups I have encountered, Mickey (#56B), Roger Maris (#61B), and Babe Ruth (#60) are considered super short prints. Sometimes when they are mentioned, the initials SSP are used, indicating "Super Short Print")

I trust this gives you enough directions to find the images you seek.

Happy collecting, bro. ---Brian Powell

Thanks Brian! Great help!!