51 Mantle RCs up for auction
 

So there are 5 of these up in the current pwcc auction in a similar range. An SGC 6, SGC 5, PSA 5, PSA 4 pwcc cert. high end, and a PSA 7 mc. It will be interesting to see where they close, but as of now the 4 is well ahead of the rest, and the qualified 7, generally thought to be the equivalent of a straight 5 is well behind. Curious to see if you guys have a favorite, or a thought as to which should sell for the most.

The PSA 4 is centered the best, but I think the SGC 6 looks better and is very well centered too. It does have the print line though.

print lines are killers. always mantles with print lines available on ebay.

but man, now you outed this auction....

I think the PSA4 will sell for the most because of the eye appeal and corners. It is NOT dead centered like the description says though. The SGC6 is better centered but has the print lines and the SGC5 will probably be the best value of the group.

Not sure if a new one has been added or you missed it accidently, but there are now 6 for sale with this one being the highest so far.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/142261640348

Irv I saw the 6th, a BVG 2.5. I thought these 5 were interesting because a PSA 7 with a qualifier, an SGC 6, and a PSA 5 are thought to have a similar value, and a nice PSA 4 might outsell them all. Also, the PSA 5 and SGC 5 have similar eye appeal and centering, so I'm curious to see how much of a difference the grading company will make. It's not often we get to see so many similar examples of a high profile card in the same auction.

the PSA 4 is pwcc high-end certified though so its not apples to apples. We can argue all day about why would the value be more for their opinion and how that shouldnt factor into price but the reality is in ebay past sales history the certified high-end cards have sold for several grades higher than their non-certified counterparts. If all the cards were certified high end that would of made for a better test as far as that '4' is concerned

I am trying to figure out why it is only a "4"...I have not looked closely but it seems to be "undergraded". Certainly has good eye appeal.

Z

It appears to have a lot of surface discoloration or saturation of some sort.
Otherwise it is a sharp example.

Can someone please explain what happened over the last 4-5 years? Why are these Mantle's in such high demand? Including the '52.

In 2010 you could've bought my '51 PSA 5 for less than $5,000 off a BST board.

Were those the golden years for buyers? Or is this a last hoorah for baby boomers who are going after their prized heroes?

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/g...smukshc1a.jpeg

By the way the '52 Topps PSA 2 pictures sold for less than $7k after fees.

I'm trying to make a comeback and upgrade but it's a tough pill to swallow with how the prices have skyrocketed.

The Mantle's aren't the only cards that have went up considerably since then. Check out Aaron's RC, Clemente's, Koufax's, etc.

It could have been a lot of factors, but I think a big part of it is that a lot of collectors around my age finally have the funds available to pick up cards like those two that they've wanted since they were kids. Also a lot of guys like myself have collections that focus on rookie cards . And the Mantle is the more important and desired rookie card available.

The 51 Mantle PSA 4 while a PWCC HE and decent centering has a crease as stated in the description, so no matter how many times someone were to review and sub it would always stay a PSA 4 per PSA's grading standards. IIRC if a card has a slight crease "it can grade up to a 4" - that means this one will never bump despite the fact it is a decent looking card.