Does anyone actually like the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle?

[todeen]

While I don't have a goal to own one, I like the 52 Mantle. It's not my favorite, but I have no "bad" feelings toward it. The drawn and sometimes cartoonish look of the cards isn't the best, but compared to the 1940s R302 set, the 1952 set is WAY better. The design also sets it apart from other sets of the decade, and that's okay - it's recognizable. I also like the 55 Bowman set, which a lot of collectors dislike. I think the TV border is an awesome time capsule of the era.

I only own one 52 Topps, and that is the Reds Ted Kluszewski. And I'm actually pretty proud to own that card. Not sure how I could collect a 50s era player and not own the 52 Topps.

I think a set I dislike more than 52 Topps is 48 Leaf, but I've come around to that set over the years as well.

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[pawpawdiv9]

YES!
It is the 'white-whale' of collecting. A dream card to ever own.
I envy the guys on this board that had one. (Bestdj)
I grabbed the 51 Bowman -since it was more affordable.
I eventually got mine in late 2013.
(of course this is before i dug into the pre-war stuff like Cobb & Ruth)

[ALR-bishop]

I collect all Topps sets and so collected the 52 set, which of necessity includes the Mantle. I also collect at a minimum recognized variations in those sets. For 52 that meant 2 Mantles. It is not my favorite set or card. I also have the Bowman sets and like it more than his 51 Bowman

As you said there are many threads debating why the 52 Mantle is what it is in the hobby. It does seem to me that most folks who disparage the card don’t have it

[irv]

I honestly don't know what's not to like about the 52 Topps Mantle and the rest of the set?
Are there, maybe, better looking cards out there? Sure, but the 52 Topps set will gone down in history as being the most iconic set of all time that paved the way we see cards today.

" The 407-card set was the largest ever produced at the time of its release".
1952 Topps Baseball laid the foundation for what would become the modern trading card. In addition to the larger checklist, the design of the cards themselves featured full team logos, colorized black-and-white photography and, most interestingly, a facsimile signature of the player taken directly from their player contract with Topps.
https://www.cardboardconnection.com/...baseball-cards
https://www.cardboardconnection.com/...seball-cards-2

[G1911]

I don’t think there’s really such a polar divide like suggested. I like the card, the 52 Topps are a nice set. At the same, it is factually just a second year card, not a rookie. It’s pricing is abnormal and difficult to defend on the normal ‘rules’ of card values. It is difficult to deny it is overpriced by any rational look at the item. It’s a long running hype train, on a nice card. I’m sure the hype to inflate its price will continue unabated.

[MattyC]

I guess I'll go ahead and debase myself by entering into another of these asinine threads where some schmuck tries to diss the 52 Mantle.

Yes, many of us love it. Many of us in our 30s and 40s. Kids now 12 revering it at shows. And on and on and on. It has attained iconic status, and will always be the standard bearer of the postwar card hobby.

Anyone who wants to wait out its becoming undesirable for some twisted, pathetic form of satisfaction, go on and wait. You'll be dust before that ever happens.

The card is beautiful. The blue background. His look in the portrait.

The card is challenging for a collector— to find a centered copy. Probably 95% or more are off centered and tilted. It also represents a BELOVED athlete. For all these reasons it is a beloved card by many.

So it's pretty and challenging and significant to the card hobby as the card from a watershed set. And it depicts a super popular legend who played for a team with a massive fan base. Kids of Yankee fans learn who Yankee legends are, and kids involved in the card hobby today learn about that particular card.

Could some people out there hate the color of blue? Or the Yankees? I guess. To them I say spend less time having negative feelings toward a baseball card and spend more time collecting whatever it is you enjoy.