He Has Arrived...

[MattyC]

Here is what I know-- though I'm sure some here might have more accurate info...

Topps never marketed the cards of the dice game. It was more of a test product, an internal thing. What seems to support this is that almost every other Topps issue of the era used color and the surviving Dice cards were black and white. Again, not saying that as FACT. My knowledge here is limited.

I remember reading that someone at Topps named Woody Gelman was like their creative director and would issue samples and letters to established hobbyists and sometimes the card was stapled or otherwise affixed to the letter.

Rumor was there were a few sheets with 20 cards. I think Fritsch owned one of them. The one Dice Game Mick I recall for sale was raw hand-cut.

So that one had to come from a sheet, but I remember seeing another one that PSA slabbed that looked factory cut to me.

There was also a send away official Topps product called the plaque/mask and was from 63? That's also rare. I believe the Dice card is considered tougher and more valuable though. Maybe some of our big Mantle collectors can shed some more light for you.

Link to a past sale:

Dice Game Card Sold

[Bestdj777]

My understanding is the same. They are simple black and white cards. At least one of the two has staple holes and was stapled to a sheet of paper at some point in the past. They are believed to have come from Woody Gelman. As far as I know, there are only two Mantles out there. Someone on here posts theirs occasionally, but I cannot recall where the thread is or who the member is off the top of my head. As far as I know, the Dice Game did not make it as far along in production as some of the other rare test/proto types from the 50s/60s.

As for the 63 Plaque, it is a pretty weird looking piece. It is rare but not nearly as rare as the Dice Game. It was supposedly advertised as a send away on what I believe were high series packs. There is some debate about whether this is actually true or not. I have not seen an advertisement for it.

Just my thoughts. I am far from an advanced collector, and I am sure others will weigh in with some better insight.

[pawpawdiv9]

The 63 plaque/mask was something i placed strong bid on back in the REA auction 2013, but i settled on 2 other lots..I know it had the 'tab' intact and fetched more than the 5k i wanted, if i remember it reached 7k.
One of the board members gladly has one and shows it once in a while with a wood frame border. I can tell you that the plastic frame of the card is very brittle they say and careful of the nose to not break off. if i not mistaken, there was one on Ebay at one time.

Now for the 61 Dice Game...yeah its the #1 most valuable it seems.
One of the other sites (COMC) i think has a top 5 list what people think are most valuable Mantle cards.
61 Dice Game, 63 plaque/mask, 55 test stamps (which may be claim as 56), then a 70 topps cloth (which also is uncertain) then 66 topps punch-out, then maybe a 59 Bazooka