Value of Mickey Mantle's cards

[Ksmithwick]

So I'm sitting at home an watching the Mickey Mantle story on HBO. It got me to thinking about his baseball cards and their value. Now I never got to see Mantle play and his numbers are impressive but certainly not the best.

So is the value of his cards in the fact that the people who grew up watching him play are now older and have more disposable income? Like classic muscle cars, people want to own the cards they had in their youth.

I understand condition and scarcity play a roll but there are modern era players with some rare cards.

Anyone have some thought they'd care to share.

[bwalter1]

Supply and demand, people want mantle bc of exposure. Collecting was not a thing of the past as it is today. That is why some cards are so rare and pull so much of a premium. Cards nowadays are not as expensive because of the shift in how people collect along with scarcity.

[sthoemke]

Forget about his stats, or fans that had watched him play. Mickey Mantle is one of the names that is simply iconic - most people that aren't even baseball fans know the name. His 1952 Rookie is one of the best known/publicized trading card ever. It's all supply and demand, and most of his vintage cards are condition sensitive.

[Lancemountain]

Mantle's rookies were well timed for hobby love. Right at the switch from cards being in tobacco/gum/caramel/candy packs to more primarily card packs.

Mantle also was the face of the mightiest franchise in their mightiest era. The 50's were the golden age of baseball where the game was cemented into American society to the point where it was "america's game"

He was cool. Good looking. Had a personality and was funny. Liked to party. Everyone likes the Mick. Best ball player ever? No, but on the short list. But

He's old enough to create scarcity, new enough that the cards resemble the cards of today, has a aura about him and the guy was just simply really liked.

[gmsieb]

Why does a psa 6 of mays sell for 1700

while a

psa 6 of mantle sells for 34,000


or mays psa 5 for 1500
mantle psa 5 for 15000

Color of skin???

[TheHeel]

Why does a psa 6 of mays sell for 1700

while a

psa 6 of mantle sells for 34,000


or mays psa 5 for 1500
mantle psa 5 for 15000

Color of skin???

Post of the day :rolleyes:

[YankeesKRD]

Post of the day :rolleyes:

Yeah, that's an unbelievable thing to say.

[gmsieb]

Yeah, that's an unbelievable thing to say.

Why? Most know/believe it's true.

At best, both equal players.
Both played in ny, granted mays only for a while.
Being a yank makes a difference, but not that much.
In some grades, it 7-10 times as much.

Only major difference between the two, is skin color.

Where am i wrong??

[2ssYankees7cf]

I think being a Yankee does make that much of a difference.

[goduke]

Why? Most know/believe it's true.

At best, both equal players.
Both played in ny, granted mays only for a while.
Being a yank makes a difference, but not that much.
In some grades, it 7-10 times as much.

Only major difference between the two, is skin color.

Where am i wrong??

What's the point of bringing it up? This wasn't a post about Willie Mayes or race.

[gmsieb]

I think being a Yankee does make that much of a difference.

Doesn't hold true with modern day players. My dad and gramps both grew up/lived in ny(bronx), and it was always believed by them to be the skin color.

Being a Yankee in the 50's is big, but not this big

1700-34000 on the same card .

20* the card??

There is a bigger picture here.

Both are great. Mantle healthy, was every bit the player mays was.
But he wasn't always healthy and mays ended up with better numbers , and missed two years, that would have made them much bigger.

20** on the same card/same year, doesn't = being a Yankee.
His card was always valued much higher, going back to the days when skin color mattered. And it has never adjusted properly.

I'm not saying the people buying them are racist today, but when the prices were established 30-50 years ago, they sure were.

[gmsieb]

What's the point of bringing it up? This wasn't a post about Willie Mays or race.

It was a question about why the 52 mantle was valued so high.

I brought up a comparison. Why is is 10-20* the price of mays.

Not to far off point.


I'm done though. Everyone can live in there dream world.

[thetheham]

Mantle's rookies were well timed for hobby love. Right at the switch from cards being in tobacco/gum/caramel/candy packs to more primarily card packs.

Mantle also was the face of the mightiest franchise in their mightiest era. The 50's were the golden age of baseball where the game was cemented into American society to the point where it was "america's game"

He was cool. Good looking. Had a personality and was funny. Liked to party. Everyone likes the Mick. Best ball player ever? No, but on the short list. But

He's old enough to create scarcity, new enough that the cards resemble the cards of today, has a aura about him and the guy was just simply really liked.

Uh...no. Mickey Mantle was a drunk who slammed a bus window on a kids fingers. A drunkard who more then once came to signings wasted off his gourd. I personally seen him act like a complete fool while being carted around on one of those electric carts. Not a fan of him personally, but a great player none the less.

[TarjetasBéisbol]

Most of the Mantle mystique started in the 80s when collecting rookie cards really started heating up. Collectors realized that most of the Mantle rookie cards, which were in the last series, (This would also explain why the Mantle card is more expensive than the Mays rookie which was triple printed) ended up in the ocean after Topps needed space in their warehouse. Many collectors started chasing after all Mantle cards and they continue to be seen as a must have in every collection. Even though I cannot stand the Yankees, I have a few Mantle cards in my collection and would love to have many more. Like it or not, many Yankees players easily cross the lines into a collectors PC because of their standing in baseball history.

Attached are two articles on the 1952 Topps find:

Pulp Non-Fiction: The Famous 1952 Topps Baseball Find (http://www.psacard.com/Articles/ArticleView/7813/pulp-non-fiction-the-famous-1952-topps-baseball-find)

1952 Topps Case is Baseball Card History | Sports Collectors Daily | Sports collecting news (http://www.sportscollectorsdaily.com/1952-topps-case-is-baseball-card-history/)

PS: The question on Mays and race being thrown into the mix should not even be in this thread. If you feel that way start another thread instead of trying to hijack this one.

[teosdesserts]

gmsieb, are you Oprah?

[toppsfan]

It's "race"

No... It's the Yankees.

[SaveMeTheGum]

The 1952 Topps Mantle became the holy grail of post-war cards. Just like the Honus Wagner T206, or the 2001 BC Pujols auto recently. That's why it's worth so much more -- because it symbolizes something more than just the player on it. I think you'll find that the values of all the other years/brands of Mantle and Mays cards are a lot closer in value ... With Mantle carrying the Yankee premium of course. Way to inject a racial commentary when it has nothing to do with conversation though :)!

[TheHeel]

Isn't 1952 Mantle a high number while Mays is a low?

[jlzinck]

Isn't 1952 Mantle a high number while Mays is a low?

Damn you man and your common sense.

It's ONLY because everyone is racist. That's all.

[TarjetasBéisbol]

Isn't 1952 Mantle a high number while Mays is a low?

I guess you didn't read the thread?

[lazygambler]

Why does a psa 6 of mays sell for 1700

while a

psa 6 of mantle sells for 34,000


or mays psa 5 for 1500
mantle psa 5 for 15000

Color of skin???

This is all Obama's fault :turkey:

[Lancemountain]

Uh...no. Mickey Mantle was a drunk who slammed a bus window on a kids fingers. A drunkard who more then once came to signings wasted off his gourd. I personally seen him act like a complete fool while being carted around on one of those electric carts. Not a fan of him personally, but a great player none the less.



You don't have to like him and feel free to site as many examples as you'd like. His drinking is well known.

Doesn't change the fact that the writers, fans and women all loved him. He was an extremely popular player.

[Ksmithwick]

Good replies everyone.

I'm not sure why race was brought up. Not original intent.

Yes 52 Topps Mantle was high series and Mays was triple printed so that could factor in.

What about 51 Bowman where both Mays and Mantle are high series cards. Still a 5X spread.

It just seams to me that his cards carry a premium because of all the publicity that Mantle gets and nothing more.

The T-206 and Pujols BC comment is interesting but those cards are truly scarce.

Mantles card in every topps products 50's-70's is the highest in set while other HOFers cards are left in the dust.

[37Jetson]

Do not let the fact that the 1952 Topps Mantle RC is a HIGH NUMBER and the 1952 Topps Willie Mays is a Mid-Series card get in the way of your race baiting comment.

Why does a psa 6 of mays sell for 1700

while a

psa 6 of mantle sells for 34,000


or mays psa 5 for 1500
mantle psa 5 for 15000

Color of skin???

[TheHeel]

I guess you didn't read the thread?

I am giving an example of probably the most important card set ever. What would you compare?

[rats60]

Why does a psa 6 of mays sell for 1700

while a

psa 6 of mantle sells for 34,000


or mays psa 5 for 1500
mantle psa 5 for 15000

Color of skin???

No, for the same reason a T206 Wagner sold for 2.8 million even though it's not the rarest baseball card. It's because it's the rarest card in the most iconic tobacco set.

1952 Topps set is the first full baseball set by Topps. It is also the most difficult to complete because of the scarcity of the high numbers (commons of which sell for 250.00). It just so happens that the rookie card of the greatest Yankee of the post war era and greatest player of the 50's is in the high number series, so when baseball card collecting took off, the 1952 Topps Mantle became the holy grail of modern cards.

As far as Mantle cards in general, for a long time there wasn't much difference between Mantle and other superstars of that era. His cards took off in the late 80's due to hype and his statis as the greatest Yankee of the modern era.