I don't know Jay, there seem to be enough guys with money who really care about the numerical grade that you may be wrong.

What does that mean?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_mania

He means it's a bubble.

Thanks, Sean.

Do you happen to know the most paid to date for a 52 Mantle? Was it the 8.5 that sold for $1,150,000? PSA shows SMR for a PSA 9 at $2.5 million. Does this reflect an actual sale? Thanks.

It means some dude is salty because whatever he likes isn’t getting the attention this card is getting.

Peter-Prices can't go up if there isn't demand. The question is how long this level of demand will persist. There was plenty of demand for tulips until February 1637. Then there wasn't.
And for those who don't know the story:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Zr3FcXeDZFc

Jay we aren't talking about a market-wide phenomenon, we are talking about a tiny little elite corner where all it takes are two guys going after a single card (or one guy and the house :) ) to sustain very high prices. And I believe there are enough of a certain profile of collector that I can see the demand persisting.

I tend to agree with Peter... FOR NOW at least.
It takes one person who absolutely has to have it and at least one to chase until they give up.

I think the $1.15M was highest recorded sale so far...the $2.5M estimate for a 9 is exactly that, an estimate. I think we’ll see this 9 sell for more, probably $3.5M+.

Wishing Evan all the best!

PS- maybe this sale might shake a “10” loose...we’ll see.

If I had the 10, this wouldn't be the time I'd sell it given that this should take at least one of the big players out of the market temporarily.

Gorgeous card Even. I showed this to my wife and she, at least temporarily, felt a little bad about making me sell one of mine to fund a house purchase--my card was a beater and so is my house though...

A 10 going to market would certainly be an interesting study in how much someone is willing to pay for the prestige of a 10 flip, because there is zero chance any 10 out there has better eye appeal and beauty than Evan's.

10s seem to command a huge premium across the board, and I doubt in many cases you could tell the difference from a 9. Indeed, many 10s are 9s that bumped. No reason to think it would be any different in the case of the Mantle, with the one caveat being that there are so few 9s that the gap might not be as substantial as is the norm.

How about we just pick the best looking Mantle. And no fair picking the PSA 9, it's just there for comparison.

Just scanned those examples wothout looking at flips...the 9 is by far the best...the 86 at the end was 2nd best to me!

Hard for me to tell because some of the scans are really overbright (the 9 is radioactive) so it's not a direct comparison. Not directed at Pete but I don't know why when it's so obvious that different scan settings yield different results, that people are always ready, willing and able to make comparisons from scans alone.

Pertinent point

I liked the 86 the best. I'm not a fan of the no line at the bottom of the logo variety.

I'm in the SGC 86 boat too

Man, SGC grades tough!

84 then 86 for me, aside from the 9.

PSA 9 for me, but that last SGC is close

I edited my post, but I read it as "the best, other than the 9"? :confused:

I'm with you Jay regarding the no line logo variety.

The two SGC cards are spectacular. As is the 9.

I'm not a huge fan of either variety because I don't think it looks like him all that much. Something got a bit lost in the translation.

VERY nice Peter!!

not mine

Still nice!:D

What do you think the odds are that PSA would cross that last SGC86 to an PSA8?

ZERO! Unless you have the balls to crack it out of the slab!!

I like the psa 8 ending in 511 the best because of it’s sharp corners and white clean borders.
Not counting the psa 9 which is obviously the best.

52 Mantle
 

I think it will likely come back as "trimmed".

Aside from the PSA 9, I agree that the PSA 8 ending in 511 is the best of the lot.

The fact that none of those high grade examples are centered except for Evan's 9 show how hard it is to find a centered 52 Mantle. And those are cards that have probably sold for 200-500k. I agree with the consensus that the sgc 7.5 has the best eye appeal, especially if you factored in the couple hundred grand you'd save vs what either of the psa 8s would cost.

Learn something new every day. I had no idea there were line and no line variations on this card. I agree with you that the line versions look better.

But Evan's 9 is still, by far, the best card in the batch posted.

That's the most obvious difference between the two variations but there are a few other subtle ones as well.

Didn't know this either. Had t look at mine which is certainly not in this group grade wise, but is missing the line under the logo.

To your centering point, this healthy sampling below is from Heritage past sales. The results on the 1951 Bowman Mantle and 1957 Topps Mantle and 1969 Topps Mantle are about as depressing for those who like centered cards. I see two with great centering.

https://www.collectorfocus.com/image...e/60107/jjoklj
https://www.collectorfocus.com/image...tle/60108/nu-2
https://www.collectorfocus.com/image...60109/sample-3
https://www.collectorfocus.com/image...60110/sample-4
https://www.collectorfocus.com/image...60111/sample-5
https://www.collectorfocus.com/image...60112/sample-6

You've got me in stitches now. Left or right, I'm not sure which one. :)

lol.

I am now convinced that a fetish for perfect centering is a manifestation of OCD. :D

Quite a few of the cards Matt posted look very nicely centered to me.

It may very well be, Peter :) I swear when I look at the borders of a card and see any sloping or one that is thinner than the other, I just cannot bid on the card. And it's gotten worse as I've gotten older!

In Orwellian terms, your Room 101 is going to be a room full of slightly off-center cards. :D

Superb reference! (And spot-on.)

I'm with you, I thought a lot of those cards looked really nicely centered. I guess that's just not my area of focus as much as corners.

I think I see color and registration first, corners second, and centering (unless quite off) last.

I've always noticed centering and it never really mattered much to me. But, the last few years, you've people have made me a neurotic:eek:

Interesting. I see centering first and it matters most to me, as long as the card has good aesthetics otherwise. Evan's card in auction is awesome in that respect. It's not bad with any of the others attributes, but that centering....

Count me in with the centering nuts. It's getting so bad, I'm starting to "see" centering issues that aren't even there. I recently did a transaction with a great dude, and he had to go to extra lengths to demonstrate that I was, in fact, not seeing a slight tilt. I know, it's bad.

They may need to name a disease/condition after Matt. Apparently it's contagious.

Still like bitcoin and ethereum? Since you said this bitcoin has dropped from 11K a coin (which itself was down from 17K a couple of months before) to 7K, losing a whopping 10 percent in a single day, today. I know people did real well who got in early, but getting in now seems risky as hell to me. Ethereum has been in free fall too. It's dropped from the mid 800s to the high 300s since your post, and is down 13 percent today alone.

I sent my bitcoins in to be graded and several came back Gem Uncirculated.

And did GAI also call them "first graded"?

Why not?:)

+1. I always preferred the version with the line at the bottom and the curled "e" at the end of the signature. They always seem richer in eye appeal.

Copy and Paste, not me.

The Two Types Of 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle Cards
I mentioned earlier how I love the subtle nuances about cards that make them special. Here is a prime example.

As if the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card wasn’t already great enough, there are actually two different types to keep things interesting.

While neither is more valuable than the other (given they’re in the exact same condition), it’s still fun to hunt down their differences.

Let’s take a look:

There is a pixel missing in the lower left border of the Type 1 giving it a rounded look.
The name badge on the Type 1 bleeds yellow along its bottom.
The ‘e’ in Mantle’s facsimile on the Type 1 curves upwards where on the Type 2 it ends sharply.
The overall color scheme of the Type 1 is darker and more rich. The background coloration is obviously different but even his cap, skin tones, and bat are as well.
There is a blue pixel missing in the upper left background on the Type 2.
The border around the Yankees logo on the Type 2 is not as prominent and bold.
The border around the nameplate on the Type 2 is not as sharp. Look at how jagged it appears all the way around.
The upper black horizontal border of the Type 2 slightly overlaps the vertical borders.
1952 Topps Mickey Mantle Card Type 1 and Type 2 Comparison

So those were some of the main differences on the front sides.

But there are still more on the reverse sides.

Article link, about a 1/3rd of the way down.
https://www.oldsportscards.com/micke...e-rookie-card/

+1. I've been converted

Attachment 310640

Heritage has added ESPN interview with current owner - EX Broncos Lineman Evan Mathis. 18 hours to go sitting at 2.1 M

https://vimeo.com/265431229

$2.5 million with buyer's premium

Great interview, Evan! Good luck!

Will be very interesting to watch the late night bidding on this one. When the dollar amount gets that high the number of bidders has to be quite small. Will it stay where it is or get a big last minute run-up? I know I am completely useless at predicting these things!

It's up to $2.6 million now.

2.88

Looks like all the action took place before extended bidding. Still an impressive result and good for the hobby overall.

Congrats, Evan -- I am guessing you already have a beautiful 7 or better to fill the void.

So what would the 10 go for?
 

6 mill?

Anyone buy a 52 Mantle for $ 1 back in the day ?

http://i1267.photobucket.com/albums/...539/img064.jpg

Just need to get that time machine perfected! No worries. Shouldn’t be that difficult.

Already taking offers. You have to come heavy at $3.7 minimum though.

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/m...psoohhagzm.png

I was interested in seeing how this card in "9" had appreciated in the last few years, so dug out some of my old Beckett Graded magazines, which gave actual auction prices for the examples in the much higher grades. Two "9's" sold in 2007; one for $225,000 and the other for $280,000. Average, obviously, = about $250K. That's a rate of appreciation (just doing the math in my head) of about 25% compounded annually. The cream rises to the top!

Highest regards,

Larry

1980 Topps Rickey Henderson
PSA 9: $350
PSA 10: $25,000

1952 Topps Mickey Mantle
PSA 9: $2,880,000
PSA 10: $205,714,286

Self-correction: the auction sales referred to above occurred in 2006, rather than 2007 (they were listed in a February 2007 issue of Beckett's Graded Card Investor). The compounded rate of appreciation is approximately 20.6% per annum.

Best to all,

Larry

Where does that card go from 2.88mm?! I’m sure I’m a lone wolf in saying this, but I’d rather have one of the 80-85 known Ruth RC’s graded either a 7 or 8. Better player, much rarer card, and from almost 40 years earlier, but yet somehow brings far less.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think you’re light on that estimate.

It's crazy. Doesn't the 1952 Topps Mantle have variations on the ball stitching on the back and also front box differences ? Wait till someone says one variation is worth more than the other. These cards will need to be regarded indicating which variation it is ! These whales will need all the variations !

They were double printed, 2 per page, each variation having the same total population...I believe.

Yes I probably am low
 

Yes I guess there will be a hedge fund guy willing to pay almost anything to get one of the three 10’s. Maybe $10-12 million?

How would you like to be "the grader" at PSA and you have to make a decision if the Mantle card is a "8" or "9" or "9" or "10" ? Millions of $$$$ difference. Wonder if you knew the submitter ? Labeled From the " so and so " collection .

As far as I know, cards in the 9-10 range (Maybe only 10's?) get multiple reviews before they are slabbed.

Not sure how true that is but I'd like to believe it's somewhat true, especially when there is significant value involved.

To anyone who has seen this card in person what prevented it from a 10?

I have seen it in person and in my opinion it is probably the 2nd best 52 Mantle. The corners are all there and the centering is stronger than 2 of the 3 10’s. The only thing that is holding it back from a 10 IMO is the pack fresh aspect. To be fair, I haven’t seen the 10’s except for scans, but they all appear to be from the find and brighter than this example.

This card rocks and very deserving of the grade. If 9.5 were possible, it would be the poster child.

Brady

Just from scans and photos I've seen, I agree with you. Evan's card looks like a 10 to me. It's certainly better than a lot of 10s of other cards that I've seen.

I still don't get how a card can be better than Mint.