Mickey Mantle 2012 Topps 1/1 Autograph

[thetruthisoutthere]

Here's another hack job by the Topps company on a Mickey Mantle cut autograph. But the point I want to make here is that the below card is a "1/1" card.

Why the heck would Topps do a hack job like this on a alleged rare "1/1" cut autograph!!!??? I just don't get it. Where the heck are the quality control managers? I wrote to the Topps about this and hopefully they will reply.

Mantle11-2.jpg

Mantle11.jpg

[GrayGhost]

DISGUISTING, and people bidding on that are IDIOTS. First, its artificially created. That of course is for the chase , despite the inherent lying in the 1/1 classification.

WORSE yet, its NOT even complete, as Chris said.

Sometimes, greed and stupidity reigns in the hobby, and these two rather unpopular qualities are both present here.

[timzcardz]

Originally Posted by thetruthisoutthere

Why the heck would Topps do a hack job like this on a alleged rare "1/1" cut autograph!!!??? I just don't get it. Where the heck are the quality control managers? I wrote to the Topps about this and hopefully they will reply.

Why should they pay good (or even bad) money for quality control managers?

Thanks to MLB they're the only game in town. Therefor, with or without quality control, they are still the best in town.

Yes, Upper Deck had their legal and moral issues, but I still liked the results of the competition. I actually preferred UD's design to Topps, but wihtout the competition I believe that Topps has gotten real lazy.

On a positive note, I am spening a lot less on newer cards and focusing more on the older ones.

[jmhockey23]

Yeah, that's a poor job on their part. It shouldn't be that hard for them to find a smaller sig to fit their design.

[chaddurbin]

i think the "1/1" designation is for the fact it's missing part of the M and e. you won't find another mantle sig like that.

[Wymers Auction]

Isn't every autograph 1/1? I know that they are promising to never make another card exactly like that one, but it just seems stupid to me to pay a premium for a hack job.

[RichardSimon]

Originally Posted by Wymers Auction

Isn't every autograph 1/1? I know that they are promising to never make another card exactly like that one, but it just seems stupid to me to pay a premium for a hack job.

+1

[GrayGhost]

Originally Posted by chaddurbin

i think the "1/1" designation is for the fact it's missing part of the M and e. you won't find another mantle sig like that.

[D. Bergin]

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-A-N-T-L

[travrosty]

since the e in mantle is almost all cut off anyway, they could have moved the sig over even more and saved the capital M, but they aren't that smart.

[Mr. Zipper]

Or they could have rotated it diagonally and gotten the whole thing in. I suppose "straight and level" is more important than "complete."

[RichardSimon]

Originally Posted by Mr. Zipper

Or they could have rotated it diagonally and gotten the whole thing in. I suppose "straight and level" is more important than "complete."

The more important thing is feeding the beast. The beast being the people who chase these cards in the hope that they can find someone else to sell them to after they buy them. That is all these cards are for. I don't know anyone who actually collects them.
It is the 21st Century version of the Dutch Tulip Craze.
If Topps can produce cards that look like this, and many look worse, it is because they hold the people who chase them in complete disdain, knowing that those people will buy virtually anything and so called quality control means nothing.

[Gary Dunaier]

I always wanted a genuine Mickey Mantl.

[thetruthisoutthere]

Here's another "2012 Topps" hack job on another Mickey Mantle cut autograph and another "1/1."

bigg-2.jpg

bigg-1.jpg

[Forever Young]

Hey Guys,

I will probably have stones thrown at me for my opinion on this but thought I would voice my opinion anyway as I am a glutton for punishment.

I share the basic thought with most of you in that I hate to see a vintage piece cut down to make a card.
HOWEVER, I don't think it is the end of the world as it "hooks" the next generation of collectors. Whether you want to admit it or not, a large percentage of autograph collectors, at one time, probably started collecting cards or at least did it at the same time(I know I did as a child).
I think that exposure to these autographs of vintage players(retired or dead), keeps the new generations interested in them. They then figure out that instead of paying 2k for this, they can buy a vintage gpc for the same price.. or a baseball...which keeps the autograph hobby strong. Seeing a "newer" mantle cut from a less than stellar photo does not bother me so much when I think of it this way. It is not like Mantle is a tough signature to begin with where it should be on the endangered species list.
Just my thoughts... now JUST REMEMBER...People who live in glass houses should not throw stones..

[JimStinson]

Originally Posted by RichardSimon

The more important thing is feeding the beast. The beast being the people who chase these cards in the hope that they can find someone else to sell them to after they buy them. That is all these cards are for. I don't know anyone who actually collects them.
It is the 21st Century version of the Dutch Tulip Craze.
If Topps can produce cards that look like this, and many look worse, it is because they hold the people who chase them in complete disdain, knowing that those people will buy virtually anything and so called quality control means nothing.

Thank you Richard

[JimStinson]

I will take it one step further in saying that the autographs themselves to the "new" or uninformed collector mean nothing , Its the COA that comes with the autograph that holds the value. Or should I say ......."perception" of value. This has never been more obvious than in the e-bay listings that tout "authentication" companies in the description headline instead of the team the player played for or what his contribution to the game was.
Sorry but again I speak of the "old days" when I used to watch people at card shows carry off unopened boxes by the caseload with the mistaken theory that remained unopened for as long as the 1950's issue Topps that they too would be worth as much. Wrong ! Look at the actual selling prices for Williams & DiMaggio alone. Not much more than when they were alive and well....maybe less. Sorry but its the truth.

[RichardSimon]

Originally Posted by Forever Young

Hey Guys,

I will probably have stones thrown at me for my opinion on this but thought I would voice my opinion anyway as I am a glutton for punishment.

I share the basic thought with most of you in that I hate to see a vintage piece cut down to make a card.
HOWEVER, I don't think it is the end of the world as it "hooks" the next generation of collectors. Whether you want to admit it or not, a large percentage of autograph collectors, at one time, probably started collecting cards or at least did it at the same time(I know I did as a child).
I think that exposure to these autographs of vintage players(retired or dead), keeps the new generations interested in them. They then figure out that instead of paying 2k for this, they can buy a vintage gpc for the same price.. or a baseball...which keeps the autograph hobby strong. Seeing a "newer" mantle cut from a less than stellar photo does not bother me so much when I think of it this way. It is not like Mantle is a tough signature to begin with where it should be on the endangered species list.
Just my thoughts... now JUST REMEMBER...People who live in glass houses should not throw stones..

I totally disagree that this is the case. I cannot believe that kids who get exposed to a $2000 Mantle chase card actually then turn around and want to buy a Mickey Mantle autograph gpc or ball.

[Forever Young]

Originally Posted by RichardSimon

I totally disagree that this is the case. I cannot believe that kids who get exposed to a $2000 Mantle chase card actually then turn around and want to buy a Mickey Mantle autograph gpc or ball.

Thank you for your Input Richard

[mighty bombjack]

Yeesh, the 2012 Topps one is particulalry terrible (I assume that is the second one shown in this thread, as the images are not showing for me for some reason). These cards should not be made at all if the auto itself must be chopped in order to do so, but there is no telling any manufacturer that. I'm sure they care on some level (I am a former baseball editor at Topps), but the people who design the card are separated from the people that choose photos/edit, who are separated from the people who procure the auto, who are different from the people who cut it and place it in the card frame. It's a remarkably dissipated process to make a baseball card.

Just don't forget that these are baseball cards, and people like baseball cards. I can get a photo of Albert Pujols from 2001 and put some stats and a nice bio on the back, but people prefer the same with a Topps logo on it. Weird, huh? Clearly it's the same for autos. Lots of people dig a manufacturer's logo. And when they are done correctly, with respect for the auto and a nice design aesthetic, I will and have bought these in the past (see my photobucket link for a few examples). These Mantles do not fit that description.

[GrayGhost]

Those cut cards, esp when they literally are "cut" are garbage, at the very least being how they are artificially inflated value wise.

[RichardSimon]

They are cut into garbage. I would not attempt to sell an autograph that looks like that Mantle. It is horrid. My customers would not want it.
And talk about artificially inflated value,,, Ghost, don't even use the word value as that implies it is something that has worth to it. I will always fail to see the worth of these things.
The stupidity of the marketplace for these things never fails to amaze me.

[mighty bombjack]

I have to laugh when you guys call the value for these "artificially inflated," as if any autograph or baseball card has any intrinsic value whatsoever. The value of each and every thing we discuss on these boards is "artificial." If someone will pay 1200 bucks for it, than that's what it's worth, even if you or I won't.

[RichardSimon]

Originally Posted by mighty bombjack

I have to laugh when you guys call the value for these "artificially inflated," as if any autograph or baseball card has any intrinsic value whatsoever. The value of each and every thing we discuss on these boards is "artificial." If someone will pay 1200 bucks for it, than that's what it's worth, even if you or I won't.

I would have to agree that everything we buy and sell here has no real intrinsic value, however IMO the greater fool theory would apply to these artificially created chase cards, with their so called shortages. The demand for these has been artificially inflated by creating what the card companies like to call shortages.
I do not think the greater fool theory would apply in a case of a vintage item with a limited supply that has not been artificially created by an external force and with a real history of demand.