This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/7/2009
Proudly presented for your viewing and bidding pleasure is one of the single finest Mickey Mantle baseball cards in existence, 1 of a mere 8 examples of the immortal slugger's second-year 1953 Topps issue to attain the improbable opinion of MINT 9 from PSA from a staggering total of nearly 1,900 copies on record at the hobby's leading grading authority. Statistically, these numbers prove the offered specimen to be far scarcer in its condition than even the world famous 1952 Topps Mantle, and not by any piddling margin, but by a statistically convincing multiple of nearly 2! As 1 of just 8 examples in its class from precisely 1,874 submissions, to date, only 4-tenths of 1 percent of all similar submissions have climbed the gilded grading ladder to the nearly impossible position of MINT 9. The '52 Mantle reports an almost identical number of total examples in the grade, with 7, but a submission pool almost 50% smaller than the number of '53s on record, with just 942 to the date of this publication, which translates to a percentage of well over 7-tenths of 1 point. A bit of further proof of the elevated condition sensitivity of the ’53 issue over its famous '52 forefather is the fact that only 1 single '53 example stands atop PSA's population report in the pinnacle GEM MINT 10 tier, compared to 3 examples of the '52 issue, which is even more surprising when we recall that PSA's graders have had almost exactly twice the number of opportunities to identify GEM specimens of the former relative to the latter. The reasons for this, of course, have been very well-documented. The 1953 issue presents the high-grade enthusiast seeking top copies of any card from the entire set, let alone Mickey Mantle, with a number of expected challenges for a 56 year-old baseball card hailing from just the second major set ever produced by the legendary Topps Company. But on top of these standard concerns--corners, edges, surfaces, centering, etc.--the '53 set presents a notorious condition challenge that the Topps production crew wouldn't even attempt to employ for another decade with its famously sensitive '62 set. If you haven't guessed by now, I'm referring to the delicate full-bleed printing of the susceptible red nameplates, evident at both the lower obverse and top reverse. With factory-fresh chipping and other production line perimeter wear already an almost standard occurrence on the vast majority of all early Topps cards, these full-bleed print boxes almost always serve to highlight the rough contours of the card, bringing out its imperfections rather than camouflaging them, as is often the case on cards with completely white or even cream perimeters, such as the '52 set. The proudly resilient specimen featured here, however, showcases an uncommon cleanliness throughout the periphery of both boxes, and while they may not boast perfect GEM MINT precision, they are unquestionably sharp and clean enough to boost the offered specimen above 99.6% of all other copies on record at PSA. Another notable virtue of this particular specimen is the fact that it shows virtually no traces of extraneous red print in the extreme upper field of the obverse, which is so common to the issue that the leading grading companies often overlook its presence. To the naked eye, the offered prized specimen appears completely devoid of this characteristic imperfection, although a thorough inspection under magnification does reveal a single pixel-sized microdot above the interlocking NY logo of Mantle's cap that blends perfectly into the purplish pixels of the backdrop when admired from even a quarter arm's length distance, serving merely to remind its loupe-wielding admirer of what could be there. The remainder of the obverse is sufficiently clean for the grade and showcases a powerfully and pristinely registered image of the five-tool talent who would effectively help engage an entire generation of would-be beats and hipsters in the pursuit of the American Dream. Mantle's meteoric rise to stardom proved to the admiring masses that even a boy from Commerce, Oklahoma, could thrive (or so everyone believed) in The Big Apple, beneath the bright lights of Broadway, on baseball's biggest stage, in the House that Ruth Built, forever immortalized as baseball's cathedral. After too many years in hiding--we honestly can't remember the last time another PSA MINT 9 surfaced for trading--the presented masterpiece of the Topps baseball card canon reenters the market, reminding us all of Mantle's eternal legacy, that fairy tales can come true, it can happen to you, but, in this case, only if you're fearless at heart, because only a visionary bid will do!