The official Mickey Mantle Pickup Thread. All Mick, all the time!

[REGGIE206]

Originally Posted by jchcollins

I've been lurking on this thread for a long time and have never posted anything. Since I don't have a recent Mantle pickup, I'll post my original one - this '56.

Circa 1990 at a now long-gone card shop in the mall in Hickory, NC. I walked in and gasped as I saw this beauty under the glass. I was 13 at the time and carried my cards with me on trips (this was to visit my grandparents and my cousin, so I must have had the box of good stuff in the car...) Wound up trading nearly everything I had with me that day (including a nice '61 Mantle #300 and an '89 UD Griffey RC...) but I walked out with it. Still the key card in my modest collection nearly 30 years later. It's only about VG, though might grade lower technically due to the paper loss on the bottom right corner. Other than that though it's got bright colors, near perfect centering, and no creases. Gray back...

This card has survived all of the "holder generations", incidentally. It originally lived in an inch thick lucite screw down, currently lives in a vintage sleeve and a toploader in my closet.

For my money, this is one of The Mick's best cards other than his rookies. Colorful, from an awesome set design, and of course from his triple crown year. I figure mine is not worth more than about $300 or so, but I wouldn't trade it for the world!




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Great story and awesome card! That 1956 Topps Mantle is one of my favorite Mantle cards ever. Amazing how you got that when you were 13 and it still looks like it is in decent condition.. I would forever hold on to that card. The cards I have from when I first started collecting didn't survive the card binders, so they all don't look too good.. lol. Thanks for sharing your card and story.

Originally Posted by mintacular

Am pretty happy with this one:

Nicely centered and great color! That card is on my want list!

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by REGGIE206

Amazing how you got that when you were 13 and it still looks like it is in decent condition..

Thanks. Remember I was 13 in the prime of the Beckett era. Baseball cards were front-page news. This card has never spent more than 30 seconds or so not in some type of case...at least while I've had it. :-)

[irv]

That 56 is also one of my favorite, Mantles, and I plan on owning one someday soon.

Great story, too. Thanks for sharing!

[ValKehl]

John, your post of your 1956 Topps Mantle prompts me to post mine, which I got out of a 5-cent wax pack in 1956, a few months before I turned 13 in November of that year. I know that this is a favorite Mantle card of many collectors, but truth be told, I have always liked the Mick's 1957-1960 Topps issues, which I also got as a kid, much better. Heck, I even like his 1955 Bowman card better. Although I like the background action on the 1956 card, there is something about Mantle's facial that just doesn't do it for me.
Val

[Puckettfan]

Originally Posted by ValKehl

John, your post of your 1956 Topps Mantle prompts me to post mine, which I got out of a 5-cent wax pack in 1956, a few months before I turned 13 in November of that year. I know that this is a favorite Mantle card of many collectors, but truth be told, I have always liked the Mick's 1957-1960 Topps issues, which I also got as a kid, much better. Heck, I even like his 1955 Bowman card better. Although I like the background action on the 1956 card, there is something about Mantle's facial that just doesn't do it for me.
Val

I agree with you in the facial pic. Unsettling. But that is great centering on a 3.5. Awesome card.

[TUM301]

Having caught the "Mantle Bug" and as usual late to the party have been on the lookout for period items within my budget. Items like these "photo packs' are an avenue to collect without breaking the bank. Picked up this nice SGC 40 and a decent SGC 20, writing on the back, over the last 2 months.

[brian1961]

Extremely nice Mantle photo, Hugh. I love it. You have good taste in selecting an eye-appealing photo for a fraction of the price of a mainstream card. Simply beautiful Mantle item that, frankly, would hold its own in a display with the gum cards.

Thanks for sharing your joy with us, bro. Wishing you the best in pursuing The Commerce Comet. You needn't feel lousy for being late to the party. Some of us have deeper regret over parting with Mickey Mantles we sold off over 20 years ago, and can't get back now, no matter what. We had our good reasons, but the hurt is still there. Part of me misses the massive value appreciation, whilst part of me simply misses the attractive cards.

One thing you have going for you is that you have good taste and the intelligence to think outside the mainstream current.

---Brian Powell