Trading Trout for Mantle - My Biggest Trade Yet!

[mouschi]

Last year, I was on a kick to discover various parts of the hobby, one of which included PSA graded rookies of the newer guys. On April 8th, 2019, I got in a card that I just couldn't get out of my head: A 2011 Topps Update Mike Trout Diamond Anniversary PSA 10. Like many, I have several "I wish I didn't sell" Mike Trout horror stories, and worried I was buying at its peak, but thought it still had quite a bit of room to grow - I was right!

Eventually, I sold all my modern PSA stuff, except for the Trout, because it was doing very well.

Recently, I decided to trade/sell my Trout, because it just didn't fit in with what I was passionate about. A week or so ago, I started talking to someone who had a '52 Topps Mantle, and I was talking to him about trading it for one of my Cracker Jack Cobbs. He wasn't interested, and in an off the cuff remark, I mentioned my Trout. As it turns out, that intrigued him!

This is what came in: I had to give up my Trout plus quite a bit of cash. This is probably the nicest "1" I've ever seen of Mantle (seriously - check what is out there...it is crazy!)



The corners, color and clarity are all amazing, with the centering being acceptable. The paper loss on the white border in the bottom left largely accounts for the low grade. Now that's my kind of "1"! As a bonus, the back is super clean, too. (not that I care about backs all that much - ha!)

The Trout was a super card - maybe *the* card of this generation. While it may have leveled off, it very well could hit $10,000 and beyond, which - to those of you who have one, I'm rooting for that to happen! I'm just happy I was able to do well with it and hop off the Trout train at the right time to pick up this beauty. As crazy as it is, the deal was completed exactly one year to the day of when I got the Trout in! I already had a '52 Topps Mantle up until last year before I sold it. While it was an amazing card, the eye appeal of this one is just absolutely off the charts - a true pleasure to look/stare at, which is what I really look for in any cardboard. This marks the biggest trade I have ever done, and is everything I love about this hobby!

A while back, I created the graph below, and interestingly enough, this card is the exception to the rule for me. I was happy to do the deal and looking forward to it coming in, but my excitement for this card skyrocketed once I had it in hand ... I guess that's when you know you have the right piece for your collection! Not that it will stay here forever by any means, but while it is here, I will happily enjoy it for however long it is in my care.