This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/11/2020
He may not have so completely dominated the second half of the 20th century as Babe Ruth did in the first half, but fellow pinstriper Mickey Mantle captured the hearts and minds of baseball fans, and baseball card collectors, nationwide. While other superstars of his era, namely Mays, Aaron, Koufax, and Clemente, have their followers, it's the Mickey Mantle card that challenges (and almost always surpasses) any rookie card of a given set as the key card of the collection. Mantle was the perfect embodiment of a true baseball icon; the name, the look, the talent, and he played centerfield for a franchise that had dominated the century and produced one legend after another. Initially handing him jersey #6, he was hand-picked to be the next great immortal to follow in succession after, Ruth, Gehrig, and DiMaggio; a mammoth responsibility to foist upon the shoulders of a 19-year old kid from small-town Oklahoma. But he wasn't ready. He was sent back to the minors following an inauspicious debut and soon returned with a new jersey number and a fresh start. In time, Mantle emerged as "The Commerce Comet," finding American League championship success in 12 of his 18 seasons, winning baseball's ultimate prize seven times. A four-time American League home run crown winner, Mantle won the AL batting title just once, but in doing so accomplished a feat that only Lou Gehrig had done for the pinstripers; a Triple Crown. And just like Mantle, his debut in the inaugural 1952 Topps set saw a perfect storm of events coming together to create something immortal; a difficult high-number debut card of a beloved baseball hero from a company whose dynamic run rivals the team for which Mantle played. Presented is a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card, an issue that we at Mile High Card Company have offered many times. Oh, but this is graded PSA 8, a mark that signifies the crossing over from the relatively common to the extraordinary. Centered moderately toward the right side but within the standards of the PSA 8 grade and a telltale sign of above-grade characteristics elsewhere, you don't have to look very long or hard to see that the central image of Mantle in that familiar golden bat on shoulder pose outclasses most PSA 8 specimens and maybe even a PSA 9 example or two. The bold aqua-blue backdrop is flawless, housing no stray print to detract from the famous image. Each corner and edge has minuscule signs of wear, consistent at the NM/MT grade with no single corner or edge standing above or serving as a weak link to the others. The reverse, while showing the usual bias toward the left horizontal edge, is superior in its ability to display bright red and black print on a slate gray canvas free of stray print larger than a pinpoint. It's just a matter of time before a card of this caliber breaches the million-dollar mark, and the winning bidder here will undoubtedly be looking back in two, five, and ten years from now, satisfied that they were able to land this specimen. Will that be you?