Goldin 100 auction

[Topnotchsy]

Originally Posted by rlevy

I was reluctant to comment prior to closing, but the Mantle jersey, while impressive for being photo-matched to so many games, was restored on the front. Pre-pandemic, most HOF vintage jerseys were tough sales if restored, and sold for substantially less than one that was all original. It seemed to change a bit during the pandemic as new players entered the big ticket market, and it may be settling down a bit now. Most of the big hitters have always wanted all-original jerseys, and having a Mantle jersey with the NY restored, no matter how well done, is a non-starter. It would drive them crazy to look at it on their wall, knowing an important part of the jersey wasn't original. I have sold many big ticket items, and the first question I get is always about originality. So while the market may indeed be softening, I think it is hard to gauge the vintage baseball jersey market based on this one sale.

Rick

That's an important point. I never read the description, so I was not aware of the details, but that's a very significant factor.

Does anyone know what the pre-auction estimate on it was? Did they anticipate this, or was it $1M+?

[rlevy]

Jeff, I had thought the pre-sale estimate was $1mm+ but can't be sure. I tend to take pre-sale estimates on baseball game used jerseys with a grain of salt since every jersey is unique. Mantle jerseys are scarce and highly desirable, however year, originality, and condition all can affect the pool of prospective buyers and hence the price. I was a little surprised it didn't go a bit higher given it was from his MVP year and photo-matched to his cycle game that year, and I imagine Goldin was a little surprised as well, but the impact of the restoration on the price was impossible to predict.

Rick

[Topnotchsy]

Originally Posted by rlevy

Jeff, I had thought the pre-sale estimate was $1mm+ but can't be sure. I tend to take pre-sale estimates on baseball game used jerseys with a grain of salt since every jersey is unique. Mantle jerseys are scarce and highly desirable, however year, originality, and condition all can affect the pool of prospective buyers and hence the price. I was a little surprised it didn't go a bit higher given it was from his MVP year and photo-matched to his cycle game that year, and I imagine Goldin was a little surprised as well, but the impact of the restoration on the price was impossible to predict.

Rick

The market has swung so rapidly in the last few years that it is hard to get any sort of handle on the market.

Heritage had some huge jerseys their last sale. The Koufax rookie jersey at $1.8M and Walter Johnson jersey for $2M missed estimates by a decent amount if I am not mistaken.

Time will tell where these settle. Truly remarkable pieces.

[ichieh]

Well, Mantle's jerseys don't grow from tree, so to me this jersey was way under valued and should have gone higher.

[perezfan]

Hard to say the Jersey was undervalued with the front being restored.

Think of it like a '52 Topps Mantle Card with the script "Mickey Mantle" portion erased and then re-written in. Serious Uniform collectors want them to be all-original and as worn by the player.

[ichieh]

last time I checked a 1952 Topps Mantle in any grade is doing pretty well, including those that are trimmed or has major crease.
5-10 years from now, if people still collect Mickey Mantle's jersey, this one will look dirt cheap.

[Topnotchsy]

Originally Posted by perezfan

Hard to say the Jersey was undervalued with the front being restored.

Think of it like a '52 Topps Mantle Card with the script "Mickey Mantle" portion erased and then re-written in. Serious Uniform collectors want them to be all-original and as worn by the player.

I definitely get the preference, but I don't think I agree with the comparison. If a collector has the budget, they can find 50+ 1952 Mantle's to choose from at any moment without much work. Finding another Mantle jersey is a much harder task.

[packs]

Do you guys think the jersey would have done better with no restoration? I'm interested in what the better decision is. With game used it seems like eye appeal can get in the way of what's preferred.

[perezfan]

Originally Posted by Topnotchsy

I definitely get the preference, but I don't think I agree with the comparison. If a collector has the budget, they can find 50+ 1952 Mantle's to choose from at any moment without much work. Finding another Mantle jersey is a much harder task.

Haha… was not meant to be taken literally. Of course there are 5,000 ‘52 Mantles for each G/U Jersey of his. Just illustrating that the replacement “NY” would significantly drag down the price realized.