Is this 1953 Bowman Color Mantle legit?

[the 'stache]

Auction in question

This is being sold as an authentic 1953 Bowman Color Mickey Mantle. Admittedly, my experience with shopping for high value vintage cards is somewhat limited, but this has to be one of the most vibrant non-slabbed examples I've ever seen of this card. Is this is the real thing, it's going to go for a bundle.

I've looked back at the seller's history, and they've sold three graded Mantles, all back in 2012: two 1952 Bowman PSA 7's at $1855 and $1936, and a 1953 Topps PSA 4 for $700. So they have, at least in the past, dealt with Mantles from this era.

I'd like some feedback please. Red lights are flashing, yet looking at the scan zoomed in, I can't see anything that "outs" the card right away.

[the 'stache]

PSA SMR for this card

http://www.psacardfacts.com/CardDetail.aspx?item=23557

[KCRfan1]

For me, something is not right about these cards for auction. I believe they are authentic, legit, original. However, the 54 Jackie Robinson card is very blue. The yellow background is pale comapred to the others on ebay. Look at other ebay auctions of this card and this is easily noticed. The 53 Mantle is the same way. His skin tone is blue, as is the Yankee cap. The overall card has a blueish tint. The 61 Mantle has no image or picture depth, and the image of Mantle himself looks washed out. The 53 Bowman looks the same to me. Take some time to look at each card the seller has for auction and compare his cards to the same that others have for sale. There is enough here that if a couple of cards cause me to be suspect, I should be suspect of his whole lot. I suspect either color retouching or the cards have been " cleaned " and the colors have been altered. My concern is if you would have the cards graded they would not grade and return as altered.

[the 'stache]

Lou, you're thinking along the same lines I am. Something is just...off.

For a 60 year old card, it's remarkably clean. It doesn't look like it's been handled, or exposed to the elements, at all.

[Rich Klein]

As in the case of several EBay sellers (Great Lakes comes to mind) the scans are brightened to make the card look even better.

RIch

[ALR-bishop]

The point Rich is making was demonstrated in a thread on pre war where the same cards, offered by different sellers, looked dramatically different ( better) depending on how the scans were handled. That thread went on to debate the ethics of "manipulating " scans. Not my intent to restart that debate here, just to say the right scan technique can apparently do wonders for a card.

As far as this one, I an not a Bowman collector and no experience with this card. But with a card that nice looking you might expect the seller to have had it graded