This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 8/19/2016
While crowned the heir apparent to Joe DiMaggio's center field home, Mickey Mantle was roughed up in his 1951 major league debut. And while he returned to lead the American League in strikeouts with 111 in his first full season, "The Commerce Comet" slammed 23 homers and posted a .311 batting average. More importantly, the 20 year old phenom posted a .345 average with two home runs to lead the Yankees to a seven game World Series victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. An up and coming prospect when his 1952 Topps card was released, Mickey Mantle was now a bonafide superstar entering the 1953 season. Over the past two years, we've been watching the price of 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle cards, in any condition, setting new records virtually every time one becomes available. But the 1953 Topps card of Mantle has been slower to follow suit. Only now are collectors starting to realize that with PSA 8 examples of Mantle's '52 Topps card exceeding the half million dollar mark, it's just a matter of time before the '53 Topps card experiences the corresponding exponential price increase. While it may not have been produced in as limited numbers, and it's not his rookie card (but technically, neither is the 1952 Topps card), it's considered by many vintage hobbyists as being a more attractive card than the legendary '52 Mantle. And a much lower percentage of 1953 Topps Mantle cards have graded above PSA 8 (just 14 of approximately 3,000 submissions compared to 11 out of 1,350 for the 1952 Topps Mantle), which leaves this stunning NM/MT example as an outstanding investment that has plenty of room to grow and could soon experience a similar price explosion. The centering mildly favors the top right corner, which is typical for the issue even in high grade and well within qualifications for PSA 8 status, while the edges and endpoints show nothing to knock it from its lofty PSA assessment. The red edges along the bottom and right side are fantastic, giving no cause for concern, while the brilliant red, white and blue pigments of the central image, not to mention the lifelike delivery of Mantle's thoughtful expression, are among the best you can ever hope to find. The reverse is equally as impressive, displaying sharp black print on a clean surface graced with varying shades of bold red pigment. Whether you're building a world-class 1953 Topps set or just want to secure this incredibly rare specimen for your collection, be advised that time is running out, and the next time you see an example offered in this grade, it could cost you double or even triple the amount!