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Thoughts on the market value of the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle

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MansGame

Active member
Sep 25, 2009
15,324
20
Dallas, TX
Last 3 intact Mantle PSA1 have sold for over $10K. (Watchcount eBay data only)

$14K
$12K
$11K

One that had a hole all the way through the surface, $6,600K.

Makes sense regarding the PSA 1s. I figured $10k plus is where you will be looking on price.

For AUTH it is funny you mention the one for $6.6k. There is on on eBay now which is laminated and alterned (BGS) and one which a freaking kid must have drawn all over it to make Mantle have a long beard LOL. Just hard to pull trigger on a card which is so damn beat up and for something on the order of $6k or $7k or whatever. Just so much money for something in such terrible shape. Much rather scrap together the extra $$ and get a decent PSA 1 if that is what you are in for.
 

MansGame

Active member
Sep 25, 2009
15,324
20
Dallas, TX
My wife actually started following prices on the 52T after seeing one at a show for sale for $14,000 or something that looked like it had been through the wash, graded SGC 1 IIRC, and the guy was sure he'd sell it at something close to that price. She wants me to sell everything else to buy one, and I can't really say she's wrong. Prices in the hobby as a whole seem to be rising, from the latest Bowman prospects to blue chip vintage, and I think people's expectations now are just that any 52T in 4 figures is a bargain no matter what condition. This in turn is lifting the prices on 51B and 53T. I assume 52 Bowmans are also rising, but I haven't looked lately.

Your comment about her wanting you to sell everything for just one of these is something I have thought about a lot. Part of me, as I get older, feels like the hobby has changed SO much and maybe vintage cards is where all the future value will be when we all look back. Then again, not sure how fun it is just buying/selling online vs old school breaking wax, trading and having more fun with it on a continual basis. Interesting topic though... I would love to have one of these Mantle's one day but feel like I need to pony up the $10k + in order to own a PSA 1 because these authentic graded ones are damn near washed up cardboard and not sure I would be happy paying $6k or $7k for one. It might make me feel even more disappointed lol
 

nevermore

Well-known member
Aug 7, 2008
3,371
514
New York
I do need a Mantle at some point to truly complete my Topps Yankees run, but I hadn't looked up prices until now, and it hasn't been something I am shopping for at this time. I imagined $3-5K for the card. Hope the prices come down a bit, maybe with the next recession.
 

MansGame

Active member
Sep 25, 2009
15,324
20
Dallas, TX
I do need a Mantle at some point to truly complete my Topps Yankees run, but I hadn't looked up prices until now, and it hasn't been something I am shopping for at this time. I imagined $3-5K for the card. Hope the prices come down a bit, maybe with the next recession.

I think your comment around prices coming down is interesting because you could see that happen... especially if a recession hits or people start to let go of the cards. This is purely a supply/demand issue since they rarely show up on eBay which is the #1 place I feel people look for cards. That said, not sure a decent looking one will ever sell for $3k but maybe. From what I have been reading online or from other people is that anything $5k or below looks like something you can barely even recognize as a card... or the one where a kid drew all over it if that makes you happy for $6k. So interesting. So sad that so many are at the bottom of the Atlantic too.
 

walt_altmen

Member
Aug 1, 2019
168
2
i would never say it couldnt happen but if you can find anything remotely resembling a full and authentic ‘52 mantle for under $5k, it would be a miracle.
 

walt_altmen

Member
Aug 1, 2019
168
2
i would never say it couldnt happen but if you can find anything remotely resembling a full and authentic ‘52 mantle for under $5k, it would be a miracle.
 

MansGame

Active member
Sep 25, 2009
15,324
20
Dallas, TX
i would never say it couldn't happen but if you can find anything remotely resembling a full and authentic ‘52 mantle for under $5k, it would be a miracle.

I agree with this statement. Pretty much have found in the last 48 hours people saying that hardly recognizable authentic graded copies go for $5k... getting it below that would be tough... then again, one has to argue for whether they want a completely damaged Mantle for that kind of money. Feels like owning a baseball signed by Babe Ruth and authenticated but you can't see the auto because it is SO faded but the LOA shows Ruth held the ball and put a pen to it at some point... just can't see it anymore. Kind of like huh
 

WCTYSON

Well-known member
Nov 3, 2014
7,364
171
Personally, I have never been able to pull the trigger on high value graded vintage. Just too many decades of circulation, increased risk of alterations. I will say though, even with the 1952 Topps being so iconic, I would consider the 1951 Bowman Mantle RC over the 1952 Topps Mantle.
 

MansGame

Active member
Sep 25, 2009
15,324
20
Dallas, TX
Personally, I have never been able to pull the trigger on high value graded vintage. Just too many decades of circulation, increased risk of alterations. I will say though, even with the 1952 Topps being so iconic, I would consider the 1951 Bowman Mantle RC over the 1952 Topps Mantle.

I actually agree. I think that would be a pretty good survey question and think 1951 has a shot to be more desired.
 

MansGame

Active member
Sep 25, 2009
15,324
20
Dallas, TX
Mantles like that are entirely out of my league. Only admiring from a far for now. haha

I hear that. I probably would have to spend the $$ if the price was right but up to this point I think the most I have ever spent on a card is like $300 on an Albert Belle LOL... not sure how I would find myself shelling out $6k+ for a barely recognizable card from 1952
 

dano7

Well-known member
Aug 7, 2008
13,324
3,846
Roanoke, VA
I don't have the date of purchase (probably early 2000's), but I paid $7200 for a PSA 3. Wow, have those gone up!!!
 

nevermore

Well-known member
Aug 7, 2008
3,371
514
New York
MansGame - You are right the best bet would be off-eBay at show/local deal. I would want something resembling a Mantle if I were paying ~$10K for a card. My high-end purchases have also been in $200-300 range. Perhaps, one day I can swing a five-figure purchase but a lot of things would have to fall into place for that to occur.

dano7 - Congrats on landing one early! That's a great price. I regret not going after vintage stuff sooner.
 

walt_altmen

Member
Aug 1, 2019
168
2
3 pages deep and no one has posted one yet!?!

52mantle5.5psadna.jpg
 

smapdi

Well-known member
Aug 7, 2008
4,397
221
I went to the National with a 51B Mantle as my #1 want, and I saw probably 15-20. My target of $8K for a decent 4, which I thought was a real possibility, was not found. Closest I saw was $8200 for a severely OC SGC 4, or $10K for a pretty good PSA 4. Prices on mid-level 51s have risen about 20% in the last year, in my casual observations of ebay and at the big shows, and I don't think they'll ever be cheaper. Even in a recession, if some people sell they won't flood the market, and the whales out there will just keep buying.

There's been a lot of money sloshing around all sorts of collectibles, in traditional hobbies and relatively new areas, and a rising tide lifts all Mantles. As the 52 Mantle has risen, so have the others as people get priced out. What do you do when you have $8K but that won't get you a PSA 1 1952 Topps anymore? You can get 1951 Bowman PSA 4 or a 1953 Topps PSA 6, and it seems that's what people are doing.

But on the whole I just don't understand why a really nice 51B, like a PSA 7, is not $50K or even $100K. There are currently 3 7s on ebay, at $35K, $40K, and one on auction ending in a couple days currently at $30,100. It's with PWCC, so who knows, but it will probably seem like a bargain a year from now.
 

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