1952 Topps Mantle card may garner $3.5M bid

DALLAS, Texas – It’s been well over a decade since a PSA Mint 9 example of a celebrated post-war trading card was offered at auction. However, the inaugural Heritage’s spring Sports Card Auction will tempt elite collectors. A 1952 Topps example of Mickey Mantle’s coveted rookie is on offer. It is estimated at $3,500,000+. It is expected to compete for the most expensive price ever paid at auction for a baseball card ($3.12 Million). The nearly 2,000-lot event wraps April 19-20.

“Since the last auction offering of a PSA Mint 9 example over ten years ago, the 1952 Topps Mantle rookie card has exploded in popularity and identified itself as the hobby’s ultimate blue chip stock,” said Chris Ivy, Director of Sports Auctions at Heritage.

The auction also includes a mint example of Mantle’s sought after 1951 Bowman rookie card. Ivy continues, “There are fewer than ten cards equal or superior to each of these examples in the PSA population, so the gulf between supply and demand is truly massive.”

The recent discovery of a long-forgotten cigar box in a Connecticut attic supplies the auction with a thrilling assembly. The finds include a 19th century cardboard, such as an exceedingly rare 1888 S.F. Hess Mickey Welch. In addition, two representations of 2000 Hall of Fame inductee Bid McPhee is up for bid. In addition, 10 cards portraying players with previously uncataloged teams are on offer.

Another single-owner consignment is offered under the title, “The Windy City Collection.” It features 36 graded sets, which reside almost exclusively within the top five on the PSA Registry. In all there are more than 450 single-card lots. There are high-grade 1916 M101-5 Sporting News representations for both Babe Ruth and “Shoeless Joe” Jackson. Plus, a 1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle graded PSA Mint 9. In addition, the No. 1 1895 N310 Mayo Cut Plug Boxers Complete Set on the SGC registry also crosses the block.

For more information, visit www.ha.com.