How much should I spend on a 1952 topps psa 1 Mantle?

[MattyC]

Real or not, we are really starting to see the 51B grab some props. What impresses so much about the difficulty of the 51B Mick is the registration problems-- if the Yankee cap isn't blurry, it's the outline of the bat. Then there's the centering. Then there's those two, or sometimes one, vertical lines. It's a major card and also so hard to find a nice one, despite the very misleading overall pop number.

[pokerplyr80]

I actually discussed this one while it was up with another member who was considering it. My thought was that the answers to the questions, will possibly true, were strange to say the least. And I didn't like the face that the only other card he had sold was another 51 Mantle a year ago. Given the uncertainty I'm surprised it closed as high as it did.

Nice card though and certainly an unfortunate downgrade if the story is true. That one probably goes for 4-5k more in a 6 holder.

[begsu1013]

we all agree that there was a degree of shadiness to the seller / listing. maybe it was legit. maybe it wasn't.

BUT...

imagine if there wasn't the slightest bit of doubt and what this card really woulda sold for...

let's not lose sight that it garnered $7700 w/ a questionable seller. couple that w/ the referenced sgc card that sold @ $7800.

definitely some nods to the 51 and good to see!

it may be the 51's proverbial turn at bat since just about everybody is getting pushed outta the 52 market.

...would be just plain impolite to call it the "trickle down effect", but it looks like that's exactly what could be happening

and brings this thread around full circle.

[pokerplyr80]

I can't argue with that. For the price of a beat up 52 PSA 1 that the OP was asking about someone bought Mantle's true RC dead centered in a PSA 4.5. I think the gap will narrow eventually between the two. The 51 is one of the most under valued cards, and certainly the highest profile card that's under valued, if by no other standard than when compared to the 52, in my opinion.

[MattyC]

I agree with the two posts above. As someone who's been collecting mostly Mantle for over a year now, always looking to acquire pretty cards, I see it happening to all his basic issues lately. Last year we saw the 62 pop. Now the 56. Recently the 57 went nuts at auction. That 53T in 8 went crazy high on eBay, great card that was. Come to think of it the 59 also has a few very high sales lately.

The 52B, 53B, and 54B are so hard to find with great eye appeal, I think the next pretty one of each and every of those will turn heads with auction results. I look like a madman for those and can't find them. The one time I saw a nice 52B and 53B, I made sure to reel them in. Love the man's cards!

[begsu1013]

love all the bowmans as well.

high graded mantles have always done well but as for the above mentioned 4/4.5s and all lower grades:

no statistician here but w/ the 52t outta sight, i expect to see the lower grade 51b's start to take precedence as the "achievable goal". once they exit the orbit then we'll see the shift towards post 52 cards. of course, the other 52 card suffers from middle child syndrome. he's got big brother topps and lil baby 51b to compete with. 52b just kinda get's lost in the shuffle and its a shame, as she's a gorgeous card!


i am only talking the lower graded and somewhat obtainable ones....as matt said, it's simple supply and demand and demand is through the roof right now. all of these record prices and news coverages and headlines are bringing in more eyes. there's gold in them there man-tle's

it's good for certain reasons, bad for others.


in the end, it is what it is. seeing a sketchy 4.5 reach nearly $8K and reading about another sgc doing the same is utterly eye opening to me. just wish i woulda snagged up a few more examples which i'm sure rings true w/ the rest of the collecting world...

you kick me, i'll kick you?



.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by MattyC

Real or not, we are really starting to see the 51B grab some props. What impresses so much about the difficulty of the 51B Mick is the registration problems-- if the Yankee cap isn't blurry, it's the outline of the bat. Then there's the centering. Then there's those two, or sometimes one, vertical lines. It's a major card and also so hard to find a nice one, despite the very misleading overall pop number.

Gum stains on the back too -- and a slightly blurry face too, and/or washed out color -- believe me I know every damn reason I haven't bought one yet.

[MattyC]

Man, I forgot the gum stains, too, Peter. Good call. I think half the total pop across all grades or maybe worse suffers from one or more of the aforementioned flaws. I've seen 7s that have some of these problems. These are the challenges that make card collecting so fun. It's like when I found a 67 that had no red dot over the YANKEES, or a 57 that was actually in focus, LOL. I swear if I ever see let alone hold a 57 Mantle that is both dead nuts centered and focused I might have a heart attack on the spot.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by MattyC

Man, I forgot the gum stains, too, Peter. Good call. I think half the total pop across all grades or maybe worse suffers from one or more of the aforementioned flaws. I've seen 7s that have some of these problems. These are the challenges that make card collecting so fun. It's like when I found a 67 that had no red dot over the YANKEES, or a 57 that was actually in focus, LOL. I swear if I ever see let alone hold a 57 Mantle that is both dead nuts centered and focused I might have a heart attack on the spot.

I had one in an 8 years ago, or at least by memory it was. Pretty nice focus on this one at least by my standards, although the centering isn't quite there.