Top 6 Mantle cards

[cbrandtw]

I'm looking for opinions on what you believe are Mick's top 5 most iconic cards besides the obvious #1. My 2 cents listed below.

2) 51 Bowman
3) 53 Topps
4) 56 Topps
5) 52 Bowman
6) 62 Topps

[Stonepony]

For regular issue I like your list. Others will differ but I don't like the 62 Topps and would put the 1953 Bowman in that position on my list

[TUM301]

Top 6 for me are as follows
1-1953 Stahl Meyer
2-1954 Bowman
3-1957 Topps, liking this issue more and more
4-1960 Topps
5-Red Heart
6-1952 Bowman

[smellthegum]

My votes go to

1953 Topps
1951 Bowman
1954 Bowman
1961 Topps
1957 Topps

[Rookiemonster]

1951 Bowman
1953 topps
1956 topps
1953 Bowman
1958 all star topps
1962 topps
1955 Bowman
1957 topps

[campyfan39]

56 topps
53 topps
58 topps
62 topps
58AS topps

[JohnnyFinance7]

1956 Topps
1955 Bowman
1954 Bowman
1953 Topps
1957 Topps
1962 Topps

[jfkheat]

1954 Red Heart
1956 Topps
1953 Topps
1953 Bowman
1957 Topps

[glynparson]

1. 1952 Topps
2. 1951 Bowman
3. 1953 Topps
4. 1956 Topps
5. 1952 Bowman
6. This is a tough call should easily be the 1953 Bowman but this card has less demand then its Beauty would have one guess. This set despite its beauty has been fairly stagnant for years. Due for a price surge. But the 1957 Topps and 1961 topps have a big demand for a fairly easy cards, and high grade the 1962 topps deserves attention. If I had to make the call I'd go with the 1953 Bowman.

[rats60]

51 Bowman
53 Bowman
53 Topps
56 Topps
65 Topps

[Big Six]

And I'm the only one who loves the '64 Topps...


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[mintonlyplz]

1. 52T
2. 57T
3. 56T
4. 60T
5. 63T
6. 64T (only Topps issue w/right hand batting pose)

[brian1961]

Originally Posted by cbrandtw

I'm looking for opinions on what you believe are Mick's top 5 most iconic cards besides the obvious #1. My 2 cents listed below.

2) 51 Bowman
3) 53 Topps
4) 56 Topps
5) 52 Bowman
6) 62 Topps

CBRANDTW-----Just what exactly, precisely do you mean by "iconic", I should like to know?

Trying to decipher "iconic" might mean:

Your favorite.

Best-looking / Most attractive / Best eye appeal / Most beautiful

Most valuable

Most recognizable by the mainstream hobby

Most wanted by the mainstream hobby

Most wanted by the wealthy connoisseurs

Best potential investment (please, with the current PRE-WAR thread about the investment potential of a T206 Cobb versus the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle, I hope this is not the road you are directing us towards)

Also, in your mind when you created the thread, were you merely referring to "The 21 Gum Salute" to Mickey Mantle rendered by Topps and Bowman, or all period Mickey Mantle cards? Or are we including post-career, too?

At one time or another, I have owned most of the Mickey Mantle cards mentioned, including the 1952 Topps. That dazzling '52 was amazing, and I dearly loved it. In my own personal collecting life, only one card topped it---by a huge margin, and it was another Mickey Mantle. I really don't want to mention that one, but I'm not trying to be mysterious and elusive either. Nor do I wish to make this a doctorate dissertation.

The '53 Topps has spiked well, when Mantle collectors grudgingly conceded they could never get a decent '52. A similar thing is happening with the '53 Bowman, the '56 Topps, and the '57 Topps as well. All of these Mickeys are well-known, by sight, to the average vintage card collector. All would elicit well-earned respect. I have always loved the the basic 1960 Topps #350, and the #563 All-Star. Back in the late 60s, early 70s, these were the mainstream Mantles that I was sure attracted to, and sought out fiercely.

Be that as it may, during my first several years in the organized adult hobby, I discovered there were some rare, hard-to-find brooks, located way upstream. It was there the exotic, dazzling, gorgeous Mickey Mantle gems were. Relatively hard to get in the year they were issued; harder to come by today. Unfortunately, they were located by brooks too broad for leaping, a homage to the title of a favorite motor racing book, beautifully written by the late Denise McCluggage, herself a tough-as-nails racer. These, the avant-garde Mickey Mantles, are extremely prized by advanced collectors---to such an extent that nearly anyone who seriously pursues those gems will read your thread closely, but they won't breathe a word to post an honest response. They prefer to play silent, knowing full well to be on their guard for the guy who owns one, or some, but does not know what he has.

To quote the "card player" (or slayer) who relishes gutting someone who does not know what they have, "Congrats on taking advantage of the unsuspecting!"

You know, my recently published E-book on a CD, NEVER CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN, was written to put the spotlight on the avant garde cards of Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Sandy Koufax, Henry Aaron, Willie Mays, Johnny Unitas, Jim Brown, among many others, to help level the playing field. It will help collectors who have them, those who ravenously pursue them, and those who have no knowledge of these babies, and wonder, what's all the fuss about? At this point, I've only sold 26 copies, and those who took the plunge seem to love it. The many who should have jumped on it to buy it, and have thus far ignored it, have missed a great opportunity. Oh well, their loss; my books are all paid for. I haven't lost a dime. I'm not forced to sell any of my collection I have to pay for anything. I was simply trying to help, because I cannot afford them anymore. Since I cannot afford these prized gems anymore, I am now willing to tell all that I know, along with what other key hobby people shared with me over the years and in interviews for the book.

I also note the OP has not answered my simple question as to what exactly he means by "iconic".

---Brian Powell

[cbrandtw]

Wow Brian. What iconic means to each of those who have responded can mean whatever they want. That's all, nothing more.


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[ls7plus]

For one in the undervalued and likely to exponentially explode in value category I like the 1953-54 Briggs Meat. Last sale I saw was in Steve Verkman's Clean Sweep Auctions about a year ago, with one graded authentic bringing $12,000 to $13,000. Good luck finding one is you go that route--there simply aren't many!

Good post,

Larry

[geosluggo]

I vividly remember acquiring my first Mantle in 1972, when I was not quite 8 years old, from a fellow second grader who didn't care much about cards but had his older brother's collection. He traded me a bunch of 1966s, including Mantle and Koufax (I knew who they were even at that tender age), as well as some cards from that '66 Batman set.

I finally completed the 598-card 1966 set in 2008. The Mantle is the lowest-grade card in my set because it's the same one I've had since 1972. I never was a huge Mantle fan (I'm a Clemente-Aaron-Mays guy, plus I have a soft spot for Frank Howard) and cards of The Mick are always so expensive that I never upgraded. The same is true of my 1968 and 1969 sets, which I completed way back in the 1980s with Mantles I had acquired in elementary school.

[brian1961]

Originally Posted by geosluggo

I vividly remember acquiring my first Mantle in 1972, when I was not quite 8 years old, from a fellow second grader who didn't care much about cards but had his older brother's collection. He traded me a bunch of 1966s, including Mantle and Koufax (I knew who they were even at that tender age), as well as some cards from that '66 Batman set.

I finally completed the 598-card 1966 set in 2008. The Mantle is the lowest-grade card in my set because it's the same one I've had since 1972. I never was a huge Mantle fan (I'm a Clemente-Aaron-Mays guy, plus I have a soft spot for Frank Howard) and cards of The Mick are always so expensive that I never upgraded. The same is true of my 1968 and 1969 sets, which I completed way back in the 1980s with Mantles I had acquired in elementary school.

George, thanks for sharing your childhood memories. Very interesting. While I have pursued Mickey Mantle for a long time, Roberto, Henry, and Willie were all fabulous players, with a strong variety of cards and coins to collect. I also have a soft spot for Hondo Frank Howard. He did some amusing TV commercials that emphasized his towering size back in around 1970. I have a vague memory of Hondo doing one for Nestle's Quick. I should see if perchance it is on YOUTUBE. They left a very positive impression on me. Maybe he won't get in the MLB HOF, but he's in our personal HOF, which means just as much to an individual collector.

Having been in the adult hobby as a late teen since 1972, when prices were minuscule, the money sellers got for Mr. Mantle just seemed to zoom with each year. Much as I might have wanted to gripe as the fox, "Eh, those grapes were probably just sour!!!!!", I couldn't. Meaning, I waited way too long to get some badly-wanted Mickey Mantle cards. They say, "Ya snooze, ya lose". Well, when you realize you're out of the game for getting some Mantle you might have really wanted, it is a tough loss to accept, believe me.

I genuinely wish you the very best in pursuing Roberto, Henry, and Willie. Have a great day, George.

Best regards, bro. ---Brian Powell

[Puckettfan]

1953 Topps
1951 Bowman
1954 Red Heart
1954 Bowman
1952 Bowman
1952 Topps

Wow, I guess I never realized how much I prefer his Bowman issues

[brian1961]

Originally Posted by cbrandtw

Wow Brian. What iconic means to each of those who have responded can mean whatever they want. That's all, nothing more.


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CBRANDTW---

Bro, I wasn't trying to be critical of your thread, or your using the term, "iconic". I honestly was just wanting to know what you meant by that. I have heard the term for years, and always associated icon with an object to be worshipped. Your thread got me wondering, what does "iconic" mean to the hobby and collectors who use it?

Peace. Cheers. ----Brian Powell