1952 Rosen Mantle SGC 9.5 Final Price – Too high, too low, just right?

[Rhotchkiss]

Originally Posted by BobbyStrawberry

I must've missed that comment. Do you have a link?

Post #56 above (real tough to find)

"Thousands of people will die this winter because they can't afford gas or heating oil or electricity and will freeze to death and some guy spends millions on a friggin baseball card. I wonder if he gives a shit about them. I will guess he does not. The priorities of things has gone to hell."

[BobbyStrawberry]

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

Post #56 above (real tough to find)

"Thousands of people will die this winter because they can't afford gas or heating oil or electricity and will freeze to death and some guy spends millions on a friggin baseball card. I wonder if he gives a shit about them. I will guess he does not. The priorities of things has gone to hell."

This comment doesn't say what you claimed. Where does the writer blame the Mantle winner for people freezing to death?

[Rhotchkiss]

Originally Posted by bobbystrawberry

this comment doesn't say what you claimed. Where does the writer blame the mantle winner for people freezing to death?

👍 👍

[BobbyStrawberry]

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

👍 👍

Perhaps you should actually try reading members' comments before you start railing against them as "haters". (I guess it's "real tough to read"!)

[Rhotchkiss]

Originally Posted by bobbystrawberry

perhaps you should actually try reading members' comments before you start railing against them as "haters". (i guess it's "real tough to read"!)

Self-edited (see prior comment immediately below). Some people really get my goat. But ultimately it’s better to use the “block member” function than to cuss on a public forum.

[BobbyStrawberry]

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

Go fuck yourself

Ryan Hotchkiss

I always appreciate when someone is willing to show who they really are.

[G1911]

Originally Posted by Rhotchkiss

Go fuck yourself

Ryan Hotchkiss

Misreads a post and uses that misreading to criticize people. Responds by cussing out the person who points this out and is factually correct.

What is it about this card that makes people go crazy? It’s a unique phenomenon.

[Carter08]

Originally Posted by G1911

Misreads a post and uses that misreading to criticize people. Responds by cussing out the person who points this out and is factually correct.

What is it about this card that makes people go crazy? It’s a unique phenomenon.

Yeah agree it drives people crazy - like I can’t figure out why you seriously spend time to go out of your way to hate on it. It’s the most iconic post-war card. Accept that fact and move in with it and you’ll be happier. Your pop and non rc arguments against the card are a bit like yogi’s no on ever goes there anymore because it’s too crowded.

[Eric72]

Originally Posted by G1911

...What is it about this card that makes people go crazy?

In my opinion, the large sums of money which typically trade hands these days when the card is bought/sold.

Quite a few people here remember a time when a lower grade '52 Mantle was somewhat attainable. That ship has now sailed for many of us. Some people get on with their lives. For others, it continues to grind their gears.

To me, it underscores an often valid maxim; the worst regrets we have in life revolve around things we didn't do.

Yep, I should have bought that card when I had the chance. I didn't. Oh, well.

[Lorewalker]

Originally Posted by G1911

Misreads a post and uses that misreading to criticize people. Responds by cussing out the person who points this out and is factually correct.

What is it about this card that makes people go crazy? It’s a unique phenomenon.

Actually I don't think it is just this card. I think it is certain people. I think long gone are the days where collecting cards was a hobby. Sure in 52 it was a hobby. Maybe even until the early 80s. In a short time it became an industry and there are a lot of people who have a lot of money invested. And that figure is all relative based on one's economic status. Either way, it has certainly brought out a great deal of sensitivity and shown sides of people that might not otherwise have been seen.

It is too bad that now we can now reduce fighting and unprovoked off base aggression to cards. Maybe those who keep coming unglued should take a time out and catch their collective and collector breaths. Someone's Sun was wrecked and now we got two collectors whose entire Tuesdays have been decimated due to a discussion over a baseball card. Really?

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by G1911

Misreads a post and uses that misreading to criticize people. Responds by cussing out the person who points this out and is factually correct.

What is it about this card that makes people go crazy? It’s a unique phenomenon.

Some other random musings:

We often fall into the trap of binary thinking. Issues are complex. People are complex. I know people who are filthy rich but whose idea of a fine night out is a trip to In N Out for a burger and fries (hint: ask for animal fries with chopped chilis). I know people who will drop everything to help a friend but whose politics are of the "let them eat cake" variety. It isn't all one thing or all the opposite.

I agree that we are really still ramping up as a transition to an alternative asset class. Look at the money not only pouring into the hobby infrastructure but also professionalizing it. We're seeing vertical integration, scaling of operations, etc. Then there are the rising marketplaces like Whatnot that are democratizing the live auction experience. I would not be surprised to see a National moving closer to the Comicon model in the next decade. It all points to a cross-over from a low-brow to a high-brow vision of collecting.

The Mantle is a great example of the art-like transition of the market. You can own a work by Roy Lichtenstein on a budget, but it will be a print or serigraph, not an original canvas. Very few could piss in the tall weeds with the big dogs who chased down the 9.5, but lots of us could get into a low-grade 52 T Mantle with some savings and liquidating of existing cards.

Which brings me to my next point, why people react so strongly. It is frustration. I've been there too. I was so frustrated with card prices 15 years ago that I stopped buying mainstream baseball cards and moved to regionals and Exhibits. I wish I'd spent some of that money on a midgrade Mantle when it was still a middle-class card, but I was too butt-hurt about not being able to afford every card I wanted that I just pulled a Cartman: "screw you guys, I'm going home."



Seems to me being all bent out of shape over someone else's good fortune is a waste of time and only hurts you; the rich guy who bought the card doesn't care one iota that you are frustrated. Won't do anything except make you mad. It's all just stuff; what is real is how we react to it. We can control that. Like James Brown sang: "You don't miss nothing you never had but you miss so much you wish you could get, hah!"

[G1911]

I get that people are excited about record sales that could help produce profits on big cards or even middle cards as publicity is great, but the repeated hyperbole, misreading of anything not serving this purpose as hating, and more is extreme in these threads on this card.

Disclaimer: The 52 Mantle is a great card. Mabtle was a great player. I like it and I like him. This copy presents well. I hope all of you make tons of cash from your cards.