1952 Mantle VS PSA 10 Munson

[Donscards]

I have a SGC 35 1952 Topps Mantle up for sale on ebay (11K) I have been offered a psa 10 1970 Thurman Munson Rookie for the Mantle (Only 2 in Population report) this card is from The Dimitri Young auction---it sold for $13k 5/20/12----I feel I will refuse the offer---it is hard to give up a Mantle for Munson (and I know it is a 10)----just wondering what other guys would do. thanks, Don

[Econteachert205]

The mantle has a wider audience of interest and greater investment potential.

[MikeGarcia]

The fear is that more of these will turn up and the pop will be eventually 4 or 5 instead of 2....if the right people consign enough PSA 9's to the right consignors and ...well , remember that Art Shell thread......great reading for a rainy Saturday...you're wise to decline the offer...IMHO

[SMPEP]

I assume this is a joke.

No one in their right mind should trade a 52 Mantle in ANY condition for a Munson RC in ANY condition (I don't care if it's a PSA 11). You can pick up a nice Munson RC for under $25 (not pristine, but nice enough for 99% of America's population). You can't pick up a rag of a 52 Mantle for less than $1,500.

The fact that some even think this is a serious question ... just shows how silly this hobby is about condition. (And "silly" is as generous as I can get.)

Got to give PSA credit though. They created a serious delusion by convincing collectors that they need PSA 7, 8, 9, 10 cards ... when if there had never been any grading company at all ... no collector would have EVER paid over $200 for a Munson rookie in any condition.

But the speculators out there always figure there is a greater fool out there to take the PSA 10 card off their hands. And the PSA cards are the only way card dealers can make a profit. So both groups pimp this delusion. Sadly, when that market busts (and it will), it will bust HUGE. And the collectors (not dealers or speculators) will be out 90% or more.

[MattyC]

Originally Posted by SMPEP

I assume this is a joke.

No one in their right mind should trade a 52 Mantle in ANY condition for a Munson RC in ANY condition (I don't care if it's a PSA 11). You can pick up a nice Munson RC for under $25 (not pristine, but nice enough for 99% of America's population). You can't pick up a rag of a 52 Mantle for less than $1,500.

The fact that some even think this is a serious question ... just shows how silly this hobby is about condition. (And "silly" is as generous as I can get.)

Got to give PSA credit though. They created a serious delusion by convincing collectors that they need PSA 7, 8, 9, 10 cards ... when if there had never been any grading company at all ... no collector would have EVER paid over $200 for a Munson rookie in any condition.

But the speculators out there always figure there is a greater fool out there to take the PSA 10 card off their hands. And the PSA cards are the only way card dealers can make a profit. So both groups pimp this delusion. Sadly, when that market busts (and it will), it will bust HUGE. And the collectors (not dealers or speculators) will be out 90% or more.

This post up here is dropping science. That post is worth emblazoning on shirts and mugs.

The Munson 10 is just a condition rarity. Take that 10 off the sticker and what's the card worth? Take your 1952 Mantle out of its holder and what's it still worth? That tells you a ton about the intrinsic value of the two cards.

The 1952 Mickey Mantle is still a 5-7k card in "1" condition. What's the Munson worth in that same condition? Maybe a dollar or five.

I would take your Mantle all day. The demand for it is much broader. It's perhaps the most widely pursued card in the entire hobby. Just having one distinguishes a collection. The same simply cannot be said for a Munson RC, even in 10 grade-- assuming the card truly merits the 10 distinction.

[ALR-bishop]

But,what about a 1959 Topps PSA 10 Curt Raydon

[1963Topps Set]

I have to agree. If I gave you a choice between the two which one would you pick? I know which one I would pick.....Mantle.....

[the 'stache]

Wow, there's just a lot of bad voodoo going on. Warning, danger, Will Robinson!

First of all, the guy trying to acquire the Mantle sounds desperate, and that sends off all kinds of red flags.

"PSA 10 Munson rookie!"
Ok, add in
"PSA 10 Rice rookie!"
"PSA 10 Montana rookie!"

Soon to be followed by

"PSA 10 Walter Payton rookie!"

Before I proceed at all with a guy like this, I'm telling him "I need a day or two to think about it."

Then, I'm running as fast as my 43 year old, crippled white ass can move me to my desktop computer. I'm firing that baby up, and subscribing to VCP. If there are only 2 PSA 10 Munson rookies, the complete history of those card sales, unless one has been buried in a private collection for quite some time, should be easy enough to find.

Ok, card #1 has PSA cert # ______. Card #2 has PSA cert # _______.

Where does VCP show these two last being sold? #1 was sold at an auction? #2 on EBay? Ok, so, depending on which one the seller claims to have, ask them for some provenance. If they bought a $10,000 card at auction, they're going to be able to show a bank statement with a $10,000 wire, or bank draft, payable to the auction house. They can make a copy of the receipt, and black out portions of the bank account #s, but they should be able to offer you some sort of solid provenance that they are the actual owner of said card.

Short of that, Mr. Mantle would be safely residing in my safe deposit box with my other valuable cards.

You can protect yourself if you are proactive.