[Leon]

Originally Posted by MattyC

I concur. The demand part and the centering part are missing in that assessment, which does not account for the nuanced ways in which the market has evolved today.

To merely cite population numbers as a whole when it comes to the 1952 Mantle is specious. When someone is shopping for one and wants the best in whatever their price range, it comes down to this: how many are centered?

The market is parsing the centered examples from the herd, and in that respect those examples are indeed scarce. We see this dynamic at play even in mid/low grade centered Mantles — cards that are plentiful in any condition, yet rarely centered; 1957, 60, 61, 62, when a focused and centered example shows up, it breaks out from the herd.

Do I see a lot of basic issue Mantles on ebay? Yes.

Are 99.9% of them ugly, tilted, and OC? Yes.

That makes that 99.9% a decisive turn off, for me.

That small fraction of scarce and highly sought-after specimens that are gorgeous with great centering? Major turn on.

While I agree that rare/scarce and significant is a great way to go, I also think that the evolving hobby and market is redefining rare/scarce in nuanced ways. I also think the 1952 Topps Mantle will always be the most in-demand card. And the demand for centered examples of the 1952 Topps Mantle will continue to far outstrip the supply.

I agree completely. Try to find one of these (received yesterday), in a mid tier grade, which is centered nicely. They are quite scarce....and their value is quite a bit higher than normally centered ones...