Jarrod,
I was fortunate to come into the collecting arena in the late 1970's, just prior to the autograph boom. At that time, Mantle, Dimaggio, and Williams were the most expensive, at shows, at $7 per item. During the 80's they went up slowly, and in the early 90's is when all hell broke loose. Around then is when Mantle, Dimaggio, and Williams went up to $150-175 per.
One of my best memories is the 1982 Show at the GW Motor Lodge, run by Ray Gallo, with Joe D signing. My father and I bought 100 autos. They closed the door to the auto room while he completed my items and answered all sorts of questions about the late 30's Yanks and, more specifically, Lou Gehrig. I was 16 and it was pretty cool to have a private audience with Joe D.
As far as my Mantles go, you can actually see the majority(about 65) of them by following the link in my signature to my photobucket account.
The main album is pictures I have used in ebay listings in the past, but the sub albums have the photos of the stuff in my collection. There are around 35 in and on Sport magazines. The rest are on various items, including HOF yrbks, cards, pictures, etc.
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