1952 Topps #311 Mickey Mantle SGC EX/NM 80

Sold For:

$45,000

Year:

1952

Auction:

2017 Fall

Lot #:

939

Category:

Postwar Baseball - 1950s Cards

Graded EX/NM 80 by SGC. Extremely attractive, crisp, clean, high-grade example of 1952 Topps #311 Mickey Mantle. One of card collecting's greatest classics, Mantle's Topps rookie card is the key to the 1952 Topps set, one of the most famous of all cards, and the single most popular and valuable postwar baseball card. This is a magnificent example with brilliant colors. The corners are strong and square, each with only a touch of wear visible upon close inspection (predominately the lower right). The deep blue background, which is so prone to wear, is exceptionally strong and virtually perfect (a tiny white speck near the left border is of no consequence and mentioned strictly for the sake of accuracy). Centered very slightly to the top, but far better than normally encountered with this card, which is often found severely off-center side to side or with a major tilt to the image. The reverse, centered to the far left, is entirely clean and boldly printed with crisp red and black colors. The 1952 Topps #311 Mickey Mantle has long been universally recognized as one of most iconic "blue chips" of all vintage baseball cards, and even just a glance at sales records clearly shows that over the years it has consistently risen in value in all grades. The market for 1952 Topps #311 Mantles in general appears be on an upward swing - especially for extremely high quality examples. Recently, ultra-high-grade examples have soared to new levels, with a February 2017 sale of $660,000 reported for a PSA NM-MT 8 and a 2016 sale of $131,450 for an SGC NM 84 example as well as REA's Spring 2016 sale of a PSA EX-MT 6 for $108,000. This 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle presents a particularly significant collecting and investing opportunity as it is such a strong and attractive example in a particularly desirable grade! This is a spectacularly bright, fresh, and clean example of Mickey Mantle's most celebrated card. Reserve $10,000. Estimate (open).