Early Mantle Auto
 

My pop worked at the old Griffith Stadium when he was a teen selling dogs. He gave me approximately 100 autos on 3x5 index cards. Sometime around 82' I cut down a few of the bigger names down so they would fit in card holders (like the Mantle pictured, I was a dumb kid).

I'm pretty sure this is a 51 or 52. What would you guys think the value would be. I realize being that its on an index card brings down the value vs. a ball for example. Also what would the value be if I had PSA authenticate it?

Thanks!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kensimp...57633698411248

Mantle
 

Not an expert on mantle, but I am fairly certain this is not an early 50's exemplar

If you check out the link below it matches the second pic.

http://live.autographmagazine.com/fo...ntle-authentic

I also received a nice offer from these guys:
http://mickeymantleautograph.com/


But thought I'd check to see what you all thought in regards to getting PSA to authenticate it.

I have had a couple of baseballs with early Mantles on them like that, up until about mid/later fifties.

NOT 1951 or 52 BUT mid-late 50S IMO. Value.. whatever someone will give you at the time. :) It is clearly rarer than all the post-career examples though. Nice vintage Mantle Sig.

psa will just cost you 75 dollars and that is just less money in your pocket and more money on overhead when you sell it. collectors who collect 50's mantle examples know them when they see them and dont need psa certfication, so just skip psa and make more money for yourself.

Thanks for the advice. Didn't realize PSA charges 75. Ouch.

Nice Vintage Mantle. Good luck with it

Thanks.

PSA actually cost $100 for mantle not including shippings....

Are you his Selling Agent, Travis?

Keep up the completely unprovoked attacks on Travis, Chris.

(And don't forget to whine--as is your wont--when someone criticizes you.)

Chris,

The subject matter is the Mantle, not Travis. The board has been pretty peaceful without your provocations. Please keep it that way.

Lighten up fellas, I was being sarcastic.

It's amazing that sarcasm directed at me is okay, but not the other way around. My apologies to the OP if my sarcasm wasn't clear enough.

My point being, the owner of that early Mantle sig would get a higher price for his piece if it was authenticated by PSA. That's a fact.

I remember awhile back Mr. Atkatz listed two PSA or JSA certed baseballs to help pay for his new "1927 Yankees" team-signed ball and he was promoting the fact that they were TPA certed. Why? To receive the highest price possible.

Got any cheese to go with that whine?

It always amazes me that a simple question on the autographs boards can turn into a pissing match in such a short period of time. Can't everyone just let this go and answer the questions that are presented? Maybe Leon should just create a pissing match thread where you guys can go and beat each other up and others wont have to see it.

I would think the same, I'm unfamiliar with Mantle sales, but I would guess there is a higher premium for early playing days autographs compared to 60's etc.

Nice autograph. While looking for a 1958 Mantle signature to display with another piece, I started seeing small variations in his writing, almost from year to year, from 1952-58.

I don't want to draw out the creativity of any of my recently-acquired and never-desired autograph sub-forum 'enemies', so I won't assign a date to it, but you should be able to pin it down to one of two years, just by looking at signed team balls that have been positively dated.

Early Mantle signituers are wanted because they are so totaly different from the ones you see today. He told me that when he found out he could make a great deal of money by signing autographs. He went to a hand writeing class to improve his signiture. If he was telling me the truth or not it sure looked that way.:)

The ones from today just be rough!

I am sure you understood that I am talking about the Mantles that we see in all the auctions and on Ebay vs the early signiture that you hardly ever see.:rolleyes:

I'm sure I did. Just having fun

So these are from his class?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...ntle_Balls.jpg

Not sure of value. It is clean and strong, should go for $600-$750 - graded or ungraded.

It is definitely not from '51-'53. Closest examples are '54-'56 based on Mickey's signatures on Yankee contracts from those years. Best guess '55 or '56. If you could provide provenance for '56 then upwards of $1,500.

Craig