(LOT 8)
1957 Topps #95 Mickey Mantle PSA 9 MINT - Only ONE PSA Example Graded Higher!
MIGHTY MANTLE!!! The $12.6 million sale of an SGC 9.5 Gem Mint 1952 Topps Mantle in August 2022, the highest amount ever paid for a sports card in a public auction, substantiated the notion that The Mick rules the post-WWII card market. Mantle's HOF credentials are seemingly countless, including 536 home runs, three MVPs, twelve pennants, seven world championships, a record for World Series home tuns (18), and a Triple Crown season in 1956. Following that "Cinderella" '56 campaign in which the Yankees also reclaimed the world championship, Topps issued one of The Mick's most popular cards in 1957, with the mighty Mantle ultimately capturing his second consecutive MVP award that same season.

Memory Lane is proud to present one of the most breathtaking 1957 Topps #95 Mickey Mantle specimens extant, with this miraculous PSA MINT 9 marvel truly residing as one of the best of the best. Consider that of the 7,800+ encapsulated copies, only 22 or 0.28% of those specimens have achieved the sanctified 9 assessment, with a SOLE copy graded higher! Indeed, only a single 1957 Topps PSA encapsulated #95 Mantle subject has ever achieved a 10 GEM MINT grade, substantiating the utmost significance of finding an extremely obscure MINT 9 example. The phrase "a sure thing" is seldom used in today's society. Yet, high-grade Mantle cards continue to escalate in value at a nearly alarming rate, once again substantiating the accepted notion that the Commerce Comet continues to be one of the cornerstones of the prized card market. Substantiating that notion are three astounding sales for PSA 9 MINT '57 Topps Mantles since 2021, including $173K, $180K, and a record-setting $210K price tag realized in an October 2021 Memory Lane Auction.

The manner in which Mantle secured this stranglehold on the card-collecting circuit remains a mystery. Was it the mystique of his 1952 Topps rookie card, being the great Joe DiMaggio's successor or how about his long tape measure home runs? Whatever the reason, his cards hold a special place next to the great pre-1940 players such as Ruth, Cobb, Wagner, Jackson, and Gehrig, with this 1957 museum-quality example proudly standing tall as one of Mantle's finest cardboard keepsakes. The card itself is magnificent in all aspects of condition sensitivity, highlighted by the atypically spot-on 50/50 centering that has also eluded any glaring tilt. It's no secret that most 1957 Topps Mantle subjects reveal unsightly skewed images, with this miraculous offering one of the few marvels boasting near-perfect positioning.

Additional world-class attributes include the crystal-clear Mantle batting image as he possibly clouts another one of his majestic long balls wearing the classic Yankee pinstripes. White borders leading to a razor-sharp perimeter are bolstered by four right-angled corners, with both surfaces exhibiting pack-fresh immaculate quality. The original sheer gloss is completely intact, and the verso's red and blue typography reflects bold and vivid registration. Considering the prices of high-grade 1951 Bowman and 1952 Topps Mantles have soared to unattainable heights for most budgets, the advanced collector may need to place their focus on more affordable 1950s Mantle issues, such as this remarkable museum-worthy heirloom. To reiterate, justifying the amazing prestige of a high-grade '57 Topps Mantle is the earth-shattering $210K pricing point realized by Memory Lane in 2021, with this exalted memento defying the past 66 years to truly stand as one of the finest '57 Mantle subjects on the planet!

MIN BID $50,000

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