This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 1/22/2010
Proudly offered and very sincerely recommended is an exceptionally presentable 1952 Topps complete 407-card mid to upper mid-grade assembly, with each and every card graded by either PSA (336) or SGC (71), with an average professional grade for each card rating an impressive, indeed honorable, 5.49. What can be said about the landmark 1952 Topps baseball card issue that isn't already public knowledge, if not legend? On an inspired night back in 1951, Sy Berger, the so-called "father of modern baseball cards," sat down at his kitchen table and didn't get up until he'd conceptualized the famous 1952 Topps design, which included the player's name, colorized photo, facsimile autograph, and color team logo on the front, and the player's height, weight, batting and throwing orientation, birthplace, birthday, career stats, previous season's stats, and a short biography on the back, many of which were then innovations to the generations-old concept of baseball trading cards. Berger's sizable 2-5/8" by 3-3/4" design and his checklist of 407 players were both innovations as well, making the groundbreaking 1952 Topps set the largest of its contemporaries, both in scope and in dimension. Package five "giant size picture cards" together with a stick of bubble gum, and the end result was a veritable cultural shockwave that forever changed the way fans followed their favorite teams and athletes. By mid-season 1952, nearly every Woolworth's and five & dime shop in the nation had sprawling Topps displays with seemingly endless stacks of wax packs and boxes (and even cases). Sales were certainly encouraging enough for Topps to begin planning a 1953 edition, but with yet another World Series victory by the dominant New York Yankees over their seemingly cursed cross-town rivals, the product, just now entering production for its third and final series (Topps had been playing catch-up all season long due to its success), came to an abrupt standstill. The third series, encompassing cards #311 to #407, or what are now widely recognized as the coveted "high-numbers," barely made it out of production by the start of football season, and demand simply disappeared. Unfortunately, no one at Topps had the foresight to imagine increased demand down the road, decades down the road, that is, and so, sometime around 1960, Cy Berger loaded approximately 300 to 500 cases of 1952 third series product onto a tugboat in the New York harbor and steamed them to their watery demise, dumping them somewhere off the coast of northern New Jersey. For this obvious reason, all high-numbers, not just the famous Mickey Mantle card #311, are unusually scarce, especially in presentable condition. The significance of this groundbreaking set, the difficulty of its third series high-numbers, and the red and black back variations for cards from the first series all combine to make collecting the 1952 Topps baseball set one of the single most passionate and pursued pastimes, not just within our cherished hobby, but within the vast universe encompassing all Americana collectibles. With an average professional grade of 5.49, or Excellent Plus, it is important to note that the presented set ain't your grandpa's dusty box of tattered cardboard heirlooms. Rather, it is a remarkably well-preserved and relatively high-grade collection. A passing glance at the Mantle alone easily confirms this, as card #311, like every hand-selected card included in this offering, presents an abundance of desirable presentation qualities to be expected of a meticulously hand-collated collection. By no means is the Mantle card a stock selection; it is exceptionally clean, unusually glossy, and very well centered for the issue, with EX to EX/MT qualities evident only in its mildly worn yet still well-formed perimeter, and NM to NM/MT qualities elsewhere. Finally, it is also important to note that the winning bid on this lot in no way ensures the end of the winning bidder's 1952 Topps adventure. Keep it as is for simple enjoyment and an intelligent investment, or upgrade individual cards to a completely EX/MT or perhaps even NM assembly, or collect each and every error and variation for a mammoth Master Set; it's entirely up to you! But one thing is for certain: placing a bid on this impressive mid-grade collection is not the end, but rather just the beginning of your own personal saga with this legendary set. Happy trails! PSA 8 NM/MT (3 cards): #126, 228, 283. PSA 8 NM/MT OC (2 cards): #116, 244. PSA 7 NM (6 cards): #5, 144, 147, 154, 183, 282. PSA 6.5 EX/MT+ (12 cards): #81, 93, 95, 103, 146, 148, 176, 209, 239, 276, 292, 369. PSA 6 EX/MT (161 cards): #6, 13, 16, 18, 19, 21, 27, 29, 30, 32, 33 Spahn, 35, 36 Hodges, 38, 44, 48, 49, 56, 57, 61, 64, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 73, 78, 82, 84, 86, 91, 94, 98, 101, 102, 104, 105, 107, 109, 113, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 123, 125, 127, 128, 129, 130, 132, 133, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 143, 145, 149, 150, 153, 155, 156, 159, 166, 167, 172, 173, 188, 191 Berra, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, 201, 203, 204, 206, 207, 210, 211, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 224, 225, 226, 227, 229, 231, 232, 233, 237, 238, 241, 245, 246, 249, 255, 256, 258, 259, 260, 265, 267, 268, 270, 273, 274, 275, 281, 284, 285, 289, 300, 301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 306, 307, 309, 313, 315, 324, 325, 326, 327, 330, 332, 333 Reese, 334, 335, 349, 355, 367, 368, 370, 371, 372, 376, 378, 379, 383, 387, 389, 391, 393, 397, 399, 402, 403. PSA 5.5 EX+ (3 cards): #39, 40, 185. PSA 5 EX (127 cards): #1 Pafko, 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11 Rizzuto, 12, 14, 20, 22, 23, 26, 31, 41, 42, 43, 45, 47, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 59, 60, 63, 74, 75, 76, 77, 79, 80, 88 Feller, 89, 90, 92, 96, 100, 106, 111, 112, 114, 115, 122, 134, 136, 142, 151, 152, 157, 158, 162, 163, 165, 168, 169, 171, 175, 178, 182, 184, 189, 190, 193, 194, 200, 202, 208, 212, 215, 223, 230, 234, 235, 236, 243, 247, 250, 251, 257, 261 Mays, 262, 264, 266, 290, 291, 293, 294, 295, 297, 298, 299, 312 Robinson, 314 Campanella, 316, 320, 322, 323, 329, 336, 337, 339, 340, 341, 343, 345, 347, 348, 351, 352, 354, 357, 358, 360, 362, 364, 366, 374, 377, 380, 381, 385, 388, 390, 401. PSA 4.5 VG/EX+ (4 cards): #288, 321, 342, 386. PSA 4 VG/EX (18 cards): #46, 254, 263, 272, 296, 318, 319, 331, 353, 365, 373, 382, 384, 395, 396, 398, 405, 406. PSA 3 VG (1 card): #400 Dickey. SGC 86 NM+ 7.5 (1 card): #83. SGC 84 NM 7 (7 cards): #28, 97, 135, 164, 213, 278, 308. SGC 80 EX/NM 6 (23 cards): #25, 34, 37 Snider, 66, 85, 108, 110, 124, 131, 160, 179, 186, 205, 214, 240, 252, 269, 287, 328, 344, 346, 375, 404. SGC 70 EX+ 5.5 (13 cards): #62, 87, 99, 161, 174, 177, 181, 192, 242, 248, 279, 311 MANTLE, 361. SGC 60 EX 5 (20 cards): #7, 15, 17, 24, 55, 58, 65, 170, 180, 187, 253, 271, 277, 280, 286, 310, 317, 356, 359, 363. SGC 50 VG/EX 4 (6 cards): #72, 338, 350, 392 Wilhelm, 394, 407 Mathews.