The 1952 Topps Mantle is Overpriced and Over-hyped

[jchcollins]

Maybe true now, as it was true then - depending on your perspective. How many desirable hobby items, money aside - are truly scarce to the point where you can't find one even if you have the cash to pony up? I'm not a prewar guy per se, but I know that most items in this realm that people on this board are going to be concerned about are prewar items. So there is that.

But that aside, there are plenty of postwar vintage cards that aren't truly rare or scarce by the factual definition of those words that still sell for big $ and have for decades now. I'm guessing Mike Wheat eventually got comfortable with that notion based on what I know of him in the hobby.

Reminds me of the article that came out I'm guessing at some point close to this one of the guy who burned his '52 Mantle in a trash bin with a bunch of other cards in protest over the MLB strike of 1981. I'm guessing if that guy lived for much longer after he did that, he lived to regret it.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by jchcollins

Maybe true now, as it was true then - depending on your perspective. How many desirable hobby items, money aside - are truly scarce to the point where you can't find one even if you have the cash to pony up? I'm not a prewar guy per se, but I know that most items in this realm that people on this board are going to be concerned about are prewar items. So there is that.

But that aside, there are plenty of postwar vintage cards that aren't truly rare or scarce by the factual definition of those words that still sell for big $ and have for decades now. I'm guessing Mike Wheat eventually got comfortable with that notion based on what I know of him in the hobby.

Reminds me of the article that came out I'm guessing at some point close to this one of the guy who burned his '52 Mantle in a trash bin with a bunch of other cards in protest over the MLB strike of 1981. I'm guessing if that guy lived for much longer after he did that, he lived to regret it.

A dealer being comfortable with a card and its hype and overpricing shouldn't be a surprise, that's just how things are.

But he's not wrong, aside from the hype, that double print really doesn't have much going for it.

[darwinbulldog]

Originally Posted by steve B

A dealer being comfortable with a card and its hype and overpricing shouldn't be a surprise, that's just how things are.

But he's not wrong, aside from the hype, that double print really doesn't have much going for it.

I show the pictures of it to my wife every time it's featured prominently in a new auction catalog (so like once a week). She still doesn't remember who he is but refers to it as the card of that guy who looks like he's got some kind of intellectual deficit, so I guess aesthetically it's not his best image.

[MattyC]

I get a chuckle every time someone goes out of their way to try and slight the hobby's most widely desired postwar card. The acidic haters might as well rage against the rising and setting of the sun. If you don't like or revere it or the player, move the hell along and spend your time on whatever it is you like to collect. That said if Mantle triggers somebody and they get off on masochistically triggering themselves, I got a lot of Mantles for your eye sockets.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by MattyC

I get a chuckle every time someone goes out of their way to try and slight the hobby's most widely desired postwar card. The acidic haters might as well rage against the rising and setting of the sun. If you don't like or revere it or the player, move the hell along and spend your time on whatever it is you like to collect. That said if Mantle triggers somebody and they get off on masochistically triggering themselves, I got a lot of Mantles for your eye sockets.

You did read the title of the thread right? Speaking of Move the hell along.

Also, look up what overhyped means before sounding like a clueless fanboy. Sometimes those guys make me almost wonder if Mantle didn't save the Yankees a bundle by playing every position at once.

Reality is that it's a double print. By definition twice as common as all but the other two 52 High number double prints.

By your logic that being super popular means it's the GREATEST EVER...
McDonalds must make the best burgers, they've sold billions. so many they stopped putting number son the signs years ago.

[MattyC]

Keep on hating. The card will always be desirable. Yes, we all know it was a double print-- that doesn't seem to have affected its price, demand, or even scarcity in centered state. Clueless fanboy-- more like a fan of a great player who laughs at bitter trolls like you who have nothing better to do that hate on Mantle and one of the top cards in the hobby. Keep screaming, "Double print," and maybe one day that factor won't be utterly moot. You say Macdonalds, I'll say Mercedes. They're not uncommon on the street, but desirable.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by MattyC

Keep on hating. The card will always be desirable. Yes, we all know it was a double print-- that doesn't seem to have affected its price, demand, or even scarcity in centered state. Clueless fanboy-- more like a fan of a great player who laughs at bitter trolls like you who have nothing better to do that hate on Mantle and one of the top cards in the hobby. Keep screaming, "Double print," and maybe one day that factor won't be utterly moot. You say Macdonalds, I'll say Mercedes. They're not uncommon on the street, but desirable.

You are capable of understanding that desirability, Price, demand etc are not mutually exclusive with overrated right?

Or are you one of the ones that thinks the only thing that matters is money?

[GregC]

Originally Posted by steve B

You did read the title of the thread right? Speaking of Move the hell along.

Also, look up what overhyped means before sounding like a clueless fanboy. Sometimes those guys make me almost wonder if Mantle didn't save the Yankees a bundle by playing every position at once.

Reality is that it's a double print. By definition twice as common as all but the other two 52 High number double prints.

By your logic that being super popular means it's the GREATEST EVER...
McDonalds must make the best burgers, they've sold billions. so many they stopped putting number son the signs years ago.

Keyboard tough guy alert!

[JackR]

Per Leon’s mantra that every thread deserves a card…

[jingram058]

The fact is, for whatever reason(s) it took off. Right alongside the Wagner t206. Above anything Ruth, playing days or otherwise, Cobb or whoever. It just is what it is, and it ain't coming down. Come Hell or high water.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by GregC

Keyboard tough guy alert!

If we meet at a show just remind me and I'll say to you in person the card is overrated. Because it is.

[Gary Dunaier]

Originally Posted by jchcollins

Reminds me of the article that came out I'm guessing at some point close to this one of the guy who burned his '52 Mantle in a trash bin with a bunch of other cards in protest over the MLB strike of 1981. I'm guessing if that guy lived for much longer after he did that, he lived to regret it.

If memory serves me right, some were saying that wasn't an actual '52 Mantle, just a photo cut from a magazine.

[GaryPassamonte]

Last night in SCP. $103K for an SGC 6.


https://catalog.scpauctions.com/1952...-LOT51386.aspx

[Yoda]

I had the privilege of seeing Mantle play at the old Yankee Stadium on several occasions. When he came to bat, there was an electricity in the crowd that was palpable. I recall one game when he hit HR's from each side of the plate and the Stadium erupted.
I have never owned a '52 Topps Mickey, and probably never will but, in my first year of collecting, I pulled his RC. Where I grew up in Schenectady, NY was fortunate enough to receive a bounty of the last series of the set.

[darwinbulldog]

Originally Posted by GaryPassamonte

Last night in SCP. $103K for an SGC 6.


https://catalog.scpauctions.com/1952...-LOT51386.aspx

Nicer than most of the 6s I've seen.

[Johnny630]

I think this bodes well for my friend to find a nice six 52 Mantle at the National with his budget in cash.

[AustinMike]

I have been in the over-priced and over-hyped crowd since I got back into cards in the mid-80s. I figured as those of us who were able to watch him play die out, the demand would drop along with the price. I hadn't counted on it gaining the statue that it has. Nor did I count on the younger generation picking up his mantle, as it were. Also, after almost 45 years of thinking it is over-priced, I'm positive that as soon as I get it, if I do, the price will drop.

I have over almost 700 different Mantle items, with around 60 items on my want list. The '52 Topps tops the list. Unfortunately, I want both versions. Also unfortunately, there are other rarer cards that don't cost as much. I would therefore be more likely to get them as the chance arises.

Lastly, I have tended to not pay as much attention to the auctions since there are so many. And I regret that now. If I had known about the SCP auction, I would have been in play for that Mantle. I may not have gotten it, but it definitely would have gone for more than it did. Congratulations to whoever got it! Also, as someone else said, the price is encouraging. Maybe I'll be able to get both versions in a 4 or 5.

And more lastly, to all you youngsters, stop it!! Let us old-timers get the Mantles. And stay off my grass!!!