STOLEN 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle from recent National Convention

[canjond]

A friend also had this card stolen from his case at the National...

[Sterling Sports Auctions]

I was near the table when security came by to explain to Jeff that they could not see anything on the surveillance cameras because of the back drop from near by areas blocked their space.

Seems like you should have been able to get something off that time period in the area, but that is what I heard. In the end it really sucks and hopefully they find the culprits.

Lee

[drcy]

For a hopeful real story, a guy had his Mel Ott game used bat stolen from the PSA booth at last year's National, and, while it took some time, he got it back. He said he thought spreading the word (and photos) around the hobby helped his cause, because whomever took it simply, though anonymously, returned it. May be the thief figured it would be too problematic to try and resell it.

[itjclarke]

I was of the mind that visible flaws could be matched from hi res scans of the card, but then it occurred to me that the thief can decide to further deface/damage the card any way he so chooses. Seems like no one would want to intentionally devalue a card, but for his purposes he may decide to add a corner crease or two. A recognizable PSA 4 '52 Mantle is probably worth less to him than a less recognizable 2. Regardless, this really sucks and I feel for the dealers. Hope their cards are returned somehow.

[HOF Auto Rookies]

Originally Posted by itjclarke

I was of the mind that visible flaws could be matched from hi res scans of the card, but then it occurred to me that the thief can decide to further deface/damage the card any way he so chooses. Seems like no one would want to intentionally devalue a card, but for his purposes he may decide to add a corner crease or two. A recognizable PSA 4 '52 Mantle is probably worth less to him than a less recognizable 2. Regardless, this really sucks and I feel for the dealers. Hope their cards are returned somehow.

Unfortunately, I was just about to say the same thing...

[Cardboard Junkie]

This is true, just because you can see a dot or wrinkle or crease, once it is out of the slab it's just a 52 Mantle, with no way to prove that it is the same one, even if it looks identical. That is not proof. Dave.

[the 'stache]

Originally Posted by itjclarke

I was of the mind that visible flaws could be matched from hi res scans of the card, but then it occurred to me that the thief can decide to further deface/damage the card any way he so chooses. Seems like no one would want to intentionally devalue a card, but for his purposes he may decide to add a corner crease or two. A recognizable PSA 4 '52 Mantle is probably worth less to him than a less recognizable 2. Regardless, this really sucks and I feel for the dealers. Hope their cards are returned somehow.

Oof, that didn't occur to me. If they're crafty enough to steal that card with hundreds if not thousands of people around, they could probably clean off that identifiable spot.

Let's hope for the best. Thank you, Ian, for giving us some hope.