(LOT 2)
"Rare for the Grade" 1952 Bowman #101 Mickey Mantle PSA 9 MINT - Only 2 PSA Examples Graded Higher!
2ND-YEAR MICK!!! Extremely rare for the grade, this seldom surfacing PSA 9 MINT '52 Bowman #101 Mickey Mantle gem stands as one of the most formidable Mantle issues you will ever come across. Bested by only two PSA 10s, only 0.36% of the remaining 3,600 PSA encapsulated examples have managed to achieve the hallowed 9 assessment. This near-impossible offering has somehow managed to defy father-time, retaining virtually all of its original factory-issued attributes over the past 70 years. While a number of PSA 8 examples are available for the taking, rarely is a 9 MINT subject offered at public auction, with the last PSA 9 fetching an extraordinary $540K in April 2022, a 46% spike over the previous sold example for $369K in May 2021. Obviously, all Mickey Mantle cards are in the midst of an immense pricing surge, with his early 1950s issues paving the way for this seemingly relentless uptick.

The $12.6 million record sale for an SGC 9.5 Gem Mint '52 Topps Mantle in August of this year certainly adds fuel to the fire, with the finest Mantle cards now deemed as bona fide investment commodities. Synonymous with this revered offering's breathtaking aesthetics and time defying condition is the unbridled legacy of Mickey Charles Mantle. The Commerce Comet as so many avid fans dubbed him, captured the hearts of millions of Americans via his colossal tape-measure home runs. It is nearly inconceivable to think that no baseball player before or after has hit a baseball farther and with more consistency than The Mick, especially in lieu of our National Pastime's current steroid ridden environment. Mantle achieved his mighty power via his sheer natural existence as a coal miner's son who grew up in Commerce, Oklahoma, with no weight lifting or performance enhancing drugs assisting him in any way, shape or form. Ultimately deemed the Oklahoma Kid, he is the undisputed king of the post-WWII card market, with a myriad of advanced enthusiasts seeking his most exalted cardboard gems.

The condition of this pack-fresh PSA 9 is highlighted by the near-perfect centering that is painstakingly difficult to find on any 1952 Bowman Mantle subject, regardless of the assessment. So many of the existing examples portray skewed images, with this gem providing an extremely scarce well-positioned illustration. The sparkling lithographic image emanates rich blue and facial hues that literally jump off the card, as The Mick reveals his candid "arms folded" Yankee pinstripes pose. It is this classic illustration that truly stands as one of the cornerstones of post-WWII card collecting, a quintessential image defining Mantle's early years in the Big Apple as he was about to embark on a career for the ages.

Aside from the previously mentioned near-perfect centering, additional world-class attributes being fine edges, pinpoint corner tips consistent with any mint subject, dazzling white borders, and impeccable surfaces including a verso free of any typical gum stains. Finding a Mint '52 Bowman Mantle is synonymous to finding a needle in a haystack. While there are 12 other PSA 9 examples, virtually all of them are securely tucked away in some of the most elite private gatherings, and who knows when the next one will become readily available. With one PSA 9 specimen having already breached the half-million mark, there appears to be no limits for its unlimited growth. This remarkable offering has miraculously retained virtually all of its original factory issued pristine qualities, with its spot-on centering and extremely scarce MINT 9 grade combining to place it as one of the most significant Mickey Mantle vintage cards on the planet!

MIN BID $100,000
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