(LOT 278)
1952 Topps #311 Mickey Mantle PSA 3.5 VG+ - With Excellent Centering
WELL-CENTERED ‘52 TOPPS MICK!!!... Trying to capture an extremely well-centered 1952 Topps #311 Mantle marvel is tantamount to finding a needle in a haystack, with the majority of the existing examples offering unsightly skewed images. With that in mind, this spectacular PSA 3.5 VG+ inaugural Topps Mantle offering just happens to proudly boast near-perfect centering, with The Mick's hallowed high-number image only ever-so-slightly favoring the left edge. A momentous heirloom, you simply don't find this iconic issue reflecting near-flawless alignment. The past several years have seen an abundance of six-figure+ sales for other PSA 3 and 4 examples, including a formidable $147K in September 2022 for a PSA 4.

Further justifying the immense desirability of any mid-grade offering was an SGC 5 fetching an extraordinary $306K in the summer of 2022, with no end seemingly in sight for this exponential pricing uptick. The unparalleled hyperbole associated with the record-setting $12.6 million public sale of an SGC 9.5 GEM MINT '52 Topps Mantle in late August 2022 certainly added to the ‘52 Topps Mantle frenzy, with this issue the cornerstone of the post-WWII market. Only the T206 Wagner's unparalleled prestige can surpass the celebrated mystique associated with any 1952 Topps Mantle subject. Its sudden rise to stardom in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s literally jump-started the sports card market, with its incredible pricing points redefining one's perspective for utilizing cardboard heirlooms as viable investment options. Indeed, along with the previously mentioned price tags, a PSA 9 MINT copy fetched in the neighborhood of $13 million in a private January 2023 transaction, as well as a stunning PSA 8 specimen achieving $2.1 million in Memory Lane's July 2021 auction.

Typical with any market commodity, the investment values of valuable baseball cards likewise run in cycles, and the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card, dubbed the post-WWII "Holy Grail", continues to experience an amazing pricing surge for all grade levels that has rewritten its overall value. The Mick's unmatchable power obviously contributed to his immense hobby stature, blasting an unfathomable ten-plus documented 500 ft.+ round-trippers throughout his spectacular 18-year career. His mammoth hit off of Senators hurler Chuck Stobbs in 1953 at Griffith Stadium ricocheted off of the scoreboard into a neighboring backyard across the street, traveling a record 565 feet from home plate! The Oklahoma Kid twice crushed horsehide spheres off of Yankee Stadium's right-field façade, and no player will ever hit more tape-measure home runs than Mantle. No wonder his regal 1952 Topps card is widely regarded as the "king" of the post-WWII baseball cards, and this super eye-pleasing PSA 3.5 heirloom has retained many of its original redeeming qualities consistent with most mid-grade specimens. You can literally feel Mickey's curious nature as he gazes into an unknown future, unaware that he will soon be embarking on a majestic career leading to his immortal Yankee standing. Fine image quality for the iconic Mantle pose and the rich aqua-marine/blue hued background can make any collector skip a beat.

The previously mentioned excellent image positioning is the captivating highlight, and any collector would concede that finding a well-centered example is a truly painstaking chore. The relatively clean surfaces do not exhibit any glaring surface blemishes/creases, and the blue setting only exhibits some extremely faint snow barely visible to the naked eye. Preventing a higher grade is typical border toning, even corner wear, and a microscopic surface blemish directly to the left of the Yankees logo. To reiterate, the pricing points for most ‘52 Topps Mantles continue to forge ahead tantamount to an uncontrollable tsunami, with this world-class example standing heads and heels above its inferior peers primarily due to its sensational centering!

MIN BID $15,000
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