Will there be a post-war card again like the 52 Mantle ?

[RaidonCollects]

I think it could happen. The '68 Ryan/Koosman and the '89 UD Griffey are already very popular, but not as much as the Mantle. Mickey Mantle defined the 1950s and 60s for baseball, and until someone else does that, there will not be another '52 Mantle. Also, I think that even with manufactured scarcity there can still be huge demand for some cards, take the 2008 Topps Kershaw for example.

Just my thoughts

Owen

[irv]

Originally Posted by RaidonCollects

I think it could happen. The '68 Ryan/Koosman and the '89 UD Griffey are already very popular, but not as much as the Mantle. Mickey Mantle defined the 1950s and 60s for baseball, and until someone else does that, there will not be another '52 Mantle. Also, I think that even with manufactured scarcity there can still be huge demand for some cards, take the 2008 Topps Kershaw for example.

Just my thoughts

Owen

The Ryan RC is already there. Only 1.2 or 1.5 CDN for this one!
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/1968-Topps-17...item2387fdcdbe

[steve B]

I doubt there will be another 52 Mantle sort of situation anytime soon. It's got all the things that make for a really expensive collectible.

It's not common at all, but not so rare that someone couldn't find one.
The subject is incredibly popular, even across generations.
Bonus for the subject being possibly the biggest star from the biggest media market, And that he was that star at just about the perfect time.
It's got a good backstory, maybe not as good as the Wagner, but the fewer produced/not necessarily available everywhere/Excess unsaleable inventory being dumped off a trash barge by the company is a pretty good one.

Today there's too much access to the players for them to be as revered as the players in the 50's.
The PED era leaves most of us with just a bit of doubt/mistrust.
Cards are widely collected, so most get saved as opposed to thrown out.
Companies just don't usually operate in ways that would lead to a great backstory, and if for some reason they did we're all too jaded to find it amazing.

Imagine if Mantle had played for Kansas City, and was regularly in the paper for drinking too much and saying crass things, and the High numbers had hung around the warehouse for a decade or two until they got sold to the Christmas racks makers. No matter how great he was his card would be just another star card.

[nat]

"Imagine if Mantle had played for Kansas City..."

...the Yankees would have traded Johnny Hopp (or whomever) for him, and everything else would be unchanged.

[Jenx34]

Just to add to what others have said....

There can't be another card like the '52 Mantle because:
1. Cards have been somewhat commoditized (is that a word?). There are printed values so the awareness of even every day non-collectors is there? How many people try to sell their baseball card collections and think they are sitting on a lot of money before ultimately realizing the junk era wasn't going to be their retirement?
2. Piggybacking off that, many people see baseball cards as an investment now. It's no longer a hobby. What Beckett and PSA have done to the hobby is kill the casual hobby part of it. For many that's not a bad thing, but it changed everything.
3. I'm not into modern cards at all, but it does seem interest is higher than it has been in a long time. But that interest is in how many autos, relics, etc you find, and the rest are throw aways. That may not be a ton different from earlier years... We were all looking for the superstars when we opened packs, but we weren't looking so that we could turn around and sell that autographed card for $1,000 right out of the pack.
4. I also wonder what so many options will do to the business 10-15 years ago. How many different cards can Topps make? Topps, Topps Chrome, Stadium Club, Finest, Allen & Ginter, Gypsy Queen, Archives, Heritage, Definitive Collection, Fire, Gold Label, Topps Now, Bunt, Museum Collection, Bowman, Bowman Chrome, Platinum... Hell my head hurts now. Will too many options cause confusion over what to collect and ultimately lead to people losing interest or will one of these become that Holy Grail if a player becomes a superstar?
5. Lastly, as someone else pointed out there is too much access. Too much baseball on TV. There is no longer any mystery about a player. Word of mouth details about players lives is now photos and social media put out immediately. Even though everyone know who Mickey Mantle was, it was still rare to be able to see him play unless you were in an American League city. How often could you watch the Yankees on TV in the 50's? With no mystery, I believe, nothing like the '52 Mantle can happen again.

[Volod]

Originally Posted by nat

"Imagine if Mantle had played for Kansas City..."

...the Yankees would have traded Johnny Hopp (or whomever) for him, and everything else would be unchanged.

Hah, KC was a long-time NY farm team - even after it putatively joined the majors - so, the Yankees would have just brought him up by demoting a couple of marginal players to the A's. If he had been found by another team before the Yanks, that team's owner likely would have turned him over for a case of cracked bats. Roger Maris was an example of that process.