Quote:
Originally Posted by Bigdaddy
I think that question has already been answered by Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Joe Jackson and Christy Mathewson among others.
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Thank God someone surfaced with this ironclad logic, so I did't have to type it for the umpteenth time. The notion that interest will die over time is so specious and reductive and rears its head every now and then on these boards and others. When someone advances that theory, do they even bother to take a beat and think about Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Ty Cobb, and Shoeless Joe cards? And frankly while I LOVE all of those players and LOVE their cards, one could argue the 52 Mantle is more popular than any of them— so if demand and prices for their cards endures today, the Mantle's surely will.
This is also worth flagging: "The argument for owning a Mantle seems to be based on the circular reasoning that the prices for the Mantle will always go up because "they've always gone up".
Who says that is the reason Mantle owners own a Mantle? I and many owners I know could not give a rat's ass if the price halves or doubles. In fact, as a COLLECTOR I wish all my cards would halve so I could buy new stuff without having to sell anything. I bought my Mantle because I revere the player, the humanity of the man in the end of his life, baseball card history, the look of the card, the team, the card as a symbol of baseball and the Yankees and America in that era... notice nowhere in my list of reasons for owning the card is the presumption above— that its price will go up. And I can speak for too many collectors I know to list here that their reasons for owning one also do not include its future price. Besides, if one buys never intending to sell in their lifetime, who cares what the price is? That money will never be seen.
Also, when Louisville Slugger is putting a 52T Mantle as the headliner of its Museum Exhibits in our time today, that is further powerful proof of how the card will endure. Here's a video for the one or two people out there who don't realize that people of all ages are exposed to this card and its status today, below. I believe both Fogel's and Kendrick's Mantles have also been on Museum display for people of all ages recently. Not to mention the press on the PSA 9 sale.
LINK:
Mantle On News At Museum