April 3, 2025: Spring Auction
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/3/2025
It’s the most important and coveted postwar baseball card in the known universe, and the one that can command even millions of dollars in its highest grades, leaving lesser examples still with plenty of clout for collectors looking to join an exclusive club. It’s also a bit of cardboard whose pedigree is further enhanced by the seemingly mythical (but entirely true) legend of 400 or so unwanted cases of 1952 Topps High Numbers being unceremoniously dumped in the middle of Long Island Sound in 1960 under the capable direction of none-other-than Topps guru Sy Berger. This particular 1952 Topps Mantle presents in a fashion far in excess of its technical Fair to Poor grade and would be suitably entombed in PSA plastic were it not for the “autograph” in ballpoint across the center. In withholding its blessing for the signature, PSA thusly will not entomb the card according to their guidelines. None of which casts doubt about the authenticity of the card itself, even if experts might kibitz about the signature. As noted above, the card presents in an attractive fashion, with the fabled turquoise background setting of the striking Mantle bat-on-shoulder image to great effect, with decent centering top to bottom and perhaps 75/25 left to right. The corners are rounded but presentable and the paper loss in two sections on the wider left border does not reach all the way to the image area; there is some light scuffing to the background on the front. All that said, the lot represents an extraordinary opportunity to bid on a genuine hobby treasure, dare we say Holy Grail item where there may be debate about the signature but not about the authenticity of the card itself.
Authentic 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle No. 311
Click above for larger image.