1952 Topps Mantle sells for record $5.2 million.

[Austin]

ESPN - A Mickey Mantle baseball card has shattered a 5-month-old record for highest-selling sports card of all time, going for $5.2 million, PWCC Marketplace announced on Thursday.

The 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle PSA 9 took the record from a one-of-one Mike Trout rookie that sold for $3.94 million in August. It's believed that there are only six PSA 9s of that Mantle card still in existence.

Rob Gough, the actor who acquired streetwear brand Dope in 2017, purchased the '52 Mantle, which former NFL lineman Evan Mathis sold in 2018 for $2.88 million.

"The 1952 Topps Mantle is the holy grail of sports cards," Gough said. "As a kid ripping packs in the '90s, I always dreamt of owning one. ... I felt this Mantle was highly underpriced."

While not Mantle rookies, the 1952 cards are renowned for being Topps' first annual set and for having been dumped, by the thousands, into the Hudson River in 1960 after overproduction.

Since August, Gough has amassed a 1916 Sporting News Babe Ruth rookie, a 1917 Collins-McCarthy Joe Jackson and several PSA 10 Michael Jordan rookie cards among others.

The purchase marks yet another milestone amid a recent surge in big-money sports memorabilia sales. Ten card sales now topped $900,000, with eight of those sales in the past 12 months. Before the Trout rookie sale in August, a T206 Honus Wagner PSA 5, sold in 2016, held the record at $3.12 million.

And the ceiling could rise further still. There are three recognized PSA 10 (rated "gem mint" condition, a "virtually perfect card," according to PSA) Mantles in existence, one of which was on climate-controlled, UV-protected display and transported by armored car in Colorado in 2018. They're valued at more than $10 million each.

 

[Randy Shields]

1952 Topps Mantle PSA 9 Sells for $5.2 Million, Now Most Valuable Card Ever Sold

Actor/entrepreneur Rob Gough is now the owner of a PSA 9 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle in a $5.2 million deal.

www.sportscollectorsdaily.com

Rob obviously thinks its Dope!
Evan Mathis, hmm maybe not so much..

I know I've told this story before but when I attended the National in Cleveland in 2001 I saw one of the 3 existing PSA 10 Mantles.
The husband was away from the table at the time so I said to his wife "So just out of curiosity how much are you asking for the Mantle?" She said "$150,000." I said Wow, and then told her that I was excited about an '89 Upper Deck Griffey Jr that I had graded that came back a PSA 10, but that it kind of pales in comparison. She just laughed. A very nice lady.

So while I have no idea if they are still owners of one of those 3 cards at least I was able to see one. (I even brought a camera to the show but apparently I was too dumb or rather too dumbfounded to think about asking to take a pic).

And of course if I knew back then what I know now I would have hit up all of my friends, relatives neighbors, High School classmates, co-workers, along with everyone else and their brother to pick it up for that measly $150,000!

I recall back in 2018 when it sold for 2.88 million dollars that the article I read said if any of the PSA 10 Mantles were ever to go up for auction that they would easily bring $10 million dollars or more. That's pretty obvious now and even more likely that they could very well run in the $20-30 million dollar range and who knows, maybe even more. Absolutely crazy but not unbelievable especially with the current state of cards and prices in which we live.

The article says that out of the known 6 PSA 9 Mantles that this is the best-looking one of the bunch, so shoot if I were him I would go to PSA and have them take another look to see about a possible bump. --Although I'm pretty convinced that this has more than likely already been done.

 

[nosterbor]

The next $1,000,000.00 card if it ever comes up for sale again.
1990 Upper Deck RC of Juan Gonzalez no name on front. Rumored to have been purchased by Juan himself in 2008. for $$$$$$. Would really like to know where this card went.