The Topps cards are innovative by their enlarged size 7 x 9.5 cm, the detailed information on the back about the player's records, the careful or smiling but always powerful attitude of the champion, and beautiful colors.
Mickey Mantle played his first Major League game with the New York Yankees in April 1951. He will make his entire career in this prestigious team. Aged 20, he has promising qualities that will make him one of the best post war baseball players. His ambidextrous hits are remarkable: he holds the bat in the right hand against left-handed pitchers and switches to left hand against right-handers.
The first baseball card of Mickey Mantle is the number 253 of the 1951 Bowman series, but it is the number 311 of the 1952 Topps set which will become the most prestigious in the hobby of post war baseball cards.
311 is the lowest number in the second part of this Topps edition but it has no reason to be rarer than the highest numbers. PSA has graded more than 1000 copies. The image is especially appealing with the dynamic behavior of the player and the sunlight on the face protected by the cap. Copies in excellent condition have brilliant colors that make it one of the masterpieces of the genre.
I recently discussed a copy graded NM-MT 8 by PSA, for sale by Heritage in Chicago on July 30.
On July 31, also in Chicago, Goldin sells another copy of the same grade, lot 52. The estimate at $ 250K, already exceeded, is justified by the fact that this beautiful card is perfectly centered. The figure announced by Darren Rovell in the tweet below includes the premium. Here is the link to the auction house's website.
Bidding on this Mantle 1952 Topps card @goldinauctions has hit $340K, already auction record for a Mantle card pic.twitter.com/GPx176PEGZ
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) July 10, 2015