This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/11/2013
After appearing in both the Topps and Bowman set for two years, "The Commerce Comet" signed an exclusive deal with Bowman for the 1954 season. No longer was Topps able to produce a card with the likeness of Mickey Mantle and several regional issues took advantage by releasing card sets. While Mantle cards from the Red Heart and Dan Dee sets were suddenly in demand, his Bowman issue was the only widely distributed pasteboard in the USA. Unable to get Mantle back for the 1955 set, Topps took a different direction by buying out Bowman, thus establishing a monopoly that would make Mickey Mantle the prime representative of Topps baseball cards for decades. The featured masterpiece is a MINT example of Mantle's 1954 Bowman card, a near perfectly centered specimen with four elite corners that rank somewhere between MINT and GEM MINT. The central image possesses vivid color with a sharp image of Mantle supported by a bright, cloud-laden sky and glowing line-green nameplate. The reverse is completely problem-free, proudly flaunting a boldly printed black bio. Without a GEM MINT specimen recorded by PSA, this is the very best example you could hope for to add to your advanced collection. Highly recommended!