Personally, I hope this is the case. I have never cared for Mantle all that much.
I have a few of his cards (56T was a must have) and always felt he was overpriced even when I was a kid. Mays, Aaron, Clemente, all seemingly better players overall, yet they have sat 2nd fiddle to the mighty Mick. I guess loving the Dodgers and hating the Yankees will do that to your mindset though. Oh, and I have a Leaf Robinson and no 52 T Mantle.
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Originally Posted by rats60
It has tripled in value over the last year and is now the most valuable normal print run rookie card, passing the 51B Mantle. Only the 52T Mantle is more popular and expensive among cards with a normal print run. Mantle's popularity is based on being the star of 50s Yankees when card collecting became popular. Those kids grew up and drove the price of that card with their disposal income. As that generation dies off, it is up to further generations to drive demand, but they have no personal connection to that card.
Robinson's legacy is more lasting as the player who broke the color barrier. He has appeal that goes beyond sports and kids who collected cards. I wonder how much the current BLM and social justice movement has in the current run up in price and these things are not going away. There is also the potential for generations of minorities who have been depressed economically to see more disposal income because of these movements. It has been joked that card shows are a bunch of overweight old white men. What happens if they start to look more like America?
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