I popped open a couple of old price guides from 87 and 88 and at the time the 52T Mick sold for around 6x the 52 Mays. As an aside, the Campy card was around the same value as the Mays back in 1987-88.
Nowadays I think the 52 Mantle sells for about 10x a 52 Mays. It could be as low as 8x but it is definitely higher than 6x. Meanwhile the Mays now sells for 4x the price of a same grade Campy.
So I don’t think Mays has at all closed the gap to Mantle in 52T. If anything the gap has widened which is part of the reason I’m fond of that Mays issue because I think it continues to be undervalued. Now granted the 52T Mantle is a special animal — it is THE card — so it’s not surprising it has outpaced the Mays even though the Mays is probably one of the 20 most important and iconic cards in the hobby.
I think Mays has closed a bit of the gap to Mantle in later issues. Only a feel on this one. I can’t speak for 51B since I don’t know that market but I think Mays issues from 55 onward have probably outpaced the % growth of Mantle in the past two years.
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