This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/16/2015
The current high bids for the cumulative group of singles, $192,977.00, is currently higher than the total for the complete set, $188,955.00 (this lot is currently winning)
While most collectors will go to their grave swearing that the 1952 Mickey Mantle card is the most attractive issue ever produced by Topps, we think that if you give them a little truth serum, they would grudgingly admit that the '53 Topps card of "The Commerce Comet" is actually more attractive. And that's OK, people tend to intertwine the value, the history and the importance that the 1952 version brings with the sheer aesthetics of the image. Of course, we do all love that classic pose of Mantle, standing proudly in superhero-like stature with his golden war-club firmly resting on his shoulder, all set against an expansive aqua backdrop. But the detail of the artwork, richness of the color and "on field" simulation in the backdrop of the 1953 series is just ... better. The close-up portrait of Mantle peering over his left shoulder, with varying flesh tone shades and the deeply colored Yankees hat, provides a pitcher's perspective of exactly what Mantle appeared like when he took his all too deadly right-handed batting stance. The red nameplate, with its black and yellow accents and large-sized Yankees logo, provides full visual satisfaction that the '52 Mantle can't match. You don't need to admit it, feel free to go down swingin'! But if you're going to compile a 1953 Topps set that rocks the record books as one of the finest ever build, you're going to need a top-quality specimen of Mantle's second-year Topps card like the one featured here. Only 13 examples have graded higher than this PSA 8 beauty, comparable in scarcity to the 11 specimens graded above PSA 8 for the '52 Topps Mantle. The above-grade top endpoints compensate for the mild positioning toward the left side while the image quality and presentation of the front and back surfaces is truly indicative of the rarely given grade. A heavy layer of protective gloss gives this pasteboard a reflective sheen that rarely survives on cards this age. We've all been watching the astronomical prices that high-grade 1952 Topps Mantle cards have been realizing lately and with advanced collectors turning to more financially friendly alternatives, it's beginning to take the 1953 Topps version along for the ride skyward. If you've been in the market for a card like this, you need to get in now, while you still can!