The Willie Mays price boom

[Gorditadogg]

Originally Posted by rats60

Mays RC PSA 8 264k
Clemente RC PSA 8 99k
Aaron RC PSA 8 64k

Mays cards were about the same as Mantle cards until NY dealers bought them up in the mid 80s driving prices of Mantle up. Mantle has been increasing at a higher rate than Mays for ~35 years, but in the last 2 years Mays has separated himself from Clemente and Aaron and is closing the gap on Mantle.

There are far more Aaron rookies than Mays, which accounts for much of the price difference between those cards. There are only 59 52T Mays cards in PSA 8 and 193 54T Aarons. Also, the fact that the 52T set is the gold standard for many collectors probably creates more demand for those cards.

Looking at an early year for both players, the 1957 Topps cards of both players in PSA 8 most recently sold for about $4500. You can check some other years and grades and I think you will find the prices between Mays and Aaron are pretty close.