(LOT 60)
Mickey Mantle 1959 Topps Bazooka Bubble Gum (SGC VG/EX 4)
The unparalleled "hype" associated with Mickey Mantle's 1952 Topps rookie card has placed this immortal Yankee Hall of Famer as the most prestigious post-WWII player in the card hobby. How a single card placed this revered superstar at the sports collectible summit may never be fully understood, but regardless of how this path was laid, Mantle's status as the embodiment of a National hero is irrefutable. Mantle was Goliath, Davey Crockett, John Wayne and Joe DiMaggio all rolled up into one American icon, ably assisted by his supernatural power that led to a myriad of tape measure home runs. Aside from his hallowed rookie card, there are a number of Mantle issues that seldom surface, highly sought after by the most elite collectors.

One of those rarities is the first Bazooka Gum series issued in 1959 with the 24 offered subjects printed on the one-cent Topps Bazooka Bubble Gum boxes. The major stigma with this issue is that most individuals cut the cards at or within the black dashes intended to be the card's perimeter. Major card grading companies assign an "Authentic" technical assessment in these cases, with few copies noted otherwise. Substantiating that notion is the COMBINED SGC and PSA "Pop" Charts listing 126 or 73% of the 172 encapsulated cards as "Authentic"! Presented here just happens to be a stunning Mickey Mantle 1959 Bazooka card that has been neatly cut from the box, and has justifiably received a stellar SGC VG/EX 4 assessment. If you are wondering how many "VG/EX" Mantle 1959 Bazookas are included in the combined PSA and SGC census reports, the answer is a meager 7 examples with only 16 or 9% graded higher.

Coming off their 1958 World Series victory over the Milwaukee Braves, the 1959 Yankees would once again be the favorite to win the American League pennant, led by their world-class superstar Mickey Charles Mantle. The Bazooka Chewing Gum Company celebrated the Yankees championship by utilizing Mantle as one of their 24 subjects, and virtually synonymous to all post-1950 sets, the Commerce Comet resides as the most coveted and valuable card in this eclectic compilation. Mantle's renowned "bat over left shoulder" pose is virtually immaculate as "the Mick" prepares to clout another one of his colossal round trippers. Furthermore, a classic Yankee Stadium backdrop provides the perfect setting for this museum worthy masterpiece.

Mantle's iconic Yankees pinstripe uniform is nearly flawless, with only some diminutive vertical scuff marks situated directly along the right border. More significantly, the image is extremely well centered between four dazzling white borders, with a precision-like manual cut obviously accounting for the near-perfect centering. The blank verso is also relatively clean, the final exclamation point for one of the finest aesthetically pleasing 1959 Bazooka Mantle specimens you will ever come across. If you are assembling the rarest cardboard collectibles of the "Commerce Comet" none could possibly be more impressive then this captivating offering that seldom surfaces with a mid-grade assessment!

MIN BID $2,000
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