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BOTNThis was 1998. I had a partner at the time and we came to a table of a dealer he knew from Northern California. He had 3 showcases set up. In two of them were more than 100 different Mantle cards, including various Stahl Meyers, a Dan Dee, a Berk Ross, a 59 Bazooka and other regional issues. We asked to see the Dan Dee and proceeded to ask how much. He quoted us a price, which was very fair. I then jokingly said how much for both showcases? He thought for a moment and said $2,000. I turned to my partner in disbelief. The dealer said you have 60 seconds to decide and then the deal is off. We assumed that the cards were either altered or stolen. Neither was the case. We said we would do it as I reached into my pocket to hand him the cash.
The dealer then said I have more. Take these cards for another $300. It was another stack of 25 or so cards and included some late 60's Mantles and almost every leader card Mantle was on. By the time we were done we had walked away with virtually every Mantle card that had been issued with the exception of the 1951 Bowman and 1952 Topps. The majority of the 125+ cards were at least NM, with the exception of the Stahl Meyers and the 59 Bazooka. We graded most of the cards, which were 7's and 8's.
The dealer apparently had purchased the collection at a local garage sale and had sold the 52 Topps and 51 Bowman Mantle cards and was well out of the deal and wanted to throw us a bone. Still exciting to think back on it.