Hi, all. I'm not a baseball collector, so I apologize if this is a flagrantly stupid thread... But, I know someone who has this card, and they have no clue what it is.
It appears to be a Mickey Mantle card with Japanese writing, but with a blank back. No manufacturer info or stats.
From my brief research, it looks to be a hastily scaled down image of the 1955 New York Yankees Tour of Japan program.
Albeit cheaper/less fancy, it appears to match design-wise with a few cards I've been able to find listed on ebay that are titled "1950 Japanese Baseball Karuta Menko Card."
Does anyone have any clue what the Mantle is? Was it a giveaway at the 1955 exhibition games? A promo item somewhere in Japan? A rare food/gum/candy issue in Japan?
Or, is it just a weird oddball fake?
I feel like anything Mantle should be documented, and I can't find anything about this... which leads me to think fake. But, why fake an irrelevant, non-desirable and unsearchable Mantle, when you could fake a high dollar one?
If it is real, is there even a value comp out there?
Any information would be appreciated. My curiosity is killing me.