Mantle pickup and bump - National version.

KendallCat

Subbed this one as an SGC 7.5 at the National and was going to do it a year ago but CoVid had other plans. Have not had very good luck with subs, but had a good feeling about this one for a long time and sent it off from the National.

Just got it back in a few days ago and have not been this pumped about a card in a while. When I left for Chicago I had in my collection an SGC 7.5 and a nicely centered PSA 5. While at the National I picked up a dead centered PSA 8 from a fellow collector so i could add one back to my collection. Fortunate to have a pair of 8’s now with some good luck.

1959

best looking 5 I've ever seen.

maddux69

Congrats KC! You can never go wrong with a '56!

nam812

So you had SGC review your SGC 7.5 and they bumped it to an SGC 8?

KendallCat

Thank you everyone for the nice comments. 1959 -:you have a very good eye and the 5 looks like an 8. Got it a few years ago, and noticed on the right edge there is an indentation like someone dropped something pointed on it. Except for that it would be an 8 IMO.

Nam - correct. Subbed the 7.5 in Chicago and came back an 8. Always thought it had a good chance since I have owned about 5-6 PSA 8’s and 2-3 PSA 8.5’s and it has eye appeal as nice as any of them. One 8.5 I had was very close to a 9 but would never bump. UFFDAH(Chris) owned the card as well and is the second nicest 8.5 I have ever seen. Saw one at the National 2 years ago I passed on since I bought an 8.5 right before the National 😡 Here is the card pre bump as an SGC.

Mickey71

Congrats. Those are all gorgeous cards. It took quite a while to get that back ??

nam812

So now that you got the bump (smart move letting SGC bump it), is crossing in your future, and do you feel the card is at max grade?

KendallCat

About 2 months to get back on the card - not too bad.

Nam - yes. Plan was to bump at SGC and then eventually try to cross at PSA. I have crossed SGC before to PSA grade for grade and think this one has a shot at it. I have always been a fan of the 56 Mantle for many reasons - eye appeal, dual images, Triple Crown year… Back when I got back into collecting around 2013-14 I looked at the market and analyzed everything and felt the 56 Mantle was way undervalued and demand would skyrocket. His 52 rookie was too expensive and 53 is a tough one to find. With no cards in the 54 and 55 sets his 56 example was his 3rd card and Triple Crown year. At that time 8’s were $3200-3800 and 8.5’s were around $6-7k. I grabbed several 8’s in that range and later sold when they hit about $10k. The 8.5 I picked up for around $10k and sold for a then record of $18.5k privately. Will see if I can find some old photos.

A few years back I was working on a full run of Mantle cards and had 52 Topps through 1960 done in all PSA 8 except for 52 and 53 which due to price I did not pursue in an 8. My wife is very supportive of my collecting and never says a peep about what we spend on cards; however, I don’t think selling the house for a 52 Mantle would fly 🤣 - will try to find a photo of what I had to date on that run which was fun. Ultimately I decided not to finish it due to the fact I had no interest in buying certain years from the 60’s like 63, 67, 69….

As far as crosses only other one was a 1915 Cobb that crossed from an SGC “4” to a PSA 4. Card supposedly had a slight back wrinkle that could never be found, and outside of that it looked like a 6.5/7. See below.

maddux69

Speaking of '56 Topps, it looks as if they are starting to take off and not just the Mantle. Low to mid grade with great eye appeal are harder and harder to find and when you do, they go for a premium. I recently picked up a WB Jackie graded by SGC and a raw GB Jackie that I plan on sending to PSA when it is feasible. I ended up paying a premium as they are both 60/40 or better.

Mickey71

@maddux69 said:
Speaking of '56 Topps, it looks as if they are starting to take off and not just the Mantle. Low to mid grade with great eye appeal are harder and harder to find and when you do, they go for a premium. I recently picked up a WB Jackie graded by SGC and a raw GB Jackie that I plan on sending to PSA when it is feasible. I ended up paying a premium as they are both 60/40 or better.

They are simply great looking cards in just about any grade and almost all of the great players are in that set. Very, very popular.

MantleMarisFordBerra

Those are some real beauties! KendallCat as you know I too share your enthusiasm for the '56 Mantle. As the 53 follows the 52 into pricing realms much higher than many can reach, it leaves the 56 as the only choice left before Topps moved away from the larger 2-5/8" by 3-3/4 sized cards featuring artwork to the smaller, standard sized cards with photographs. And what a card it is! A big smile from a young Mickey, and what about that catch?!?!? It seems almost too good to be true...and it kind of is.

As it turns out the "catch" took place in Sept of 1951 at Yankee Stadium in a game against the White Sox. Joe DiMaggio is still playing center field at this time which is why Mickey is in right field. As you can see in the photo despite Mick's best efforts the ball sailed over his glove and into the stands for a home run. But placing the ball in MIck's glove isn't the only way the Topps artist got creative with this card. Because the photo is vertical in shape instead of the horizontal format of the '56 Topps design, the artist placed the left side of the photo on the right side of the card as well as the left, essentially repeating the image. You can really see the effect when you notice the guy with the stripe on his shirt leaning, and the guy directly above him wearing a tie.

All of this just adds to the intrigue and allure of the card. And then add in what Mantle did on the field that year (The Triple Crown, the MVP, The World Series Championship) and it all comes together to make an all time legendary card. Congrats KendallCat on owning those beauties and thanks for sharing!

KendallCat

@MantleMarisFordBerra said:

As it turns out the "catch" took place in Sept of 1951 at Yankee Stadium in a game against the White Sox. Joe DiMaggio is still playing center field at this time which is why Mickey is in right field. As you can see in the photo despite Mick's best efforts the ball sailed over his glove and into the stands for a home run. But placing the ball in MIck's glove isn't the only way the Topps artist got creative with this card. Because the photo is vertical in shape instead of the horizontal format of the '56 Topps design, the artist placed the left side of the photo on the right side of the card as well as the left, essentially repeating the image. You can really see the effect when you notice the guy with the stripe on his shirt leaning, and the guy directly above him wearing a tie.

All of this just adds to the intrigue and allure of the card. And then add in what Mantle did on the field that year (The Triple Crown, the MVP, The World Series Championship) and it all comes together to make an all time legendary card. Congrats KendallCat on owning those beauties and thanks for sharing!

Really cool and thanks for sharing the photo. I never knew that was an in game in action photo. I was just looking at the cards a little while ago. I saw what you were talking about and that is pretty neat about repeating the image and the guy with the tie - just saw it! Thank you again for the nice comments and for sharing some knowledge.

KC

1951WheatiesPremium

@KendallCat said:

A few years back I was working on a full run of Mantle cards and had 52 Topps through 1960 done in all PSA 8 except for 52 and 53 which due to price I did not pursue in an 8. My wife is very supportive of my collecting and never says a peep about what we spend on cards; however, I don’t think selling the house for a 52 Mantle would fly 🤣 - will try to find a photo of what I had to date on that run which was fun. Ultimately I decided not to finish it due to the fact I had no interest in buying certain years from the 60’s like 63, 67, 69….

First, gorgeous cards! Second, it’s funny: I am working on a ‘rich in eye appeal’ mid grade Mantle run (again) as we speak. While I happen to like the 1963, the ‘67 and ‘69 are near the bottom for me, as well!

A fun workaround is to skip the Topps in ‘67 for an OPC (tougher, scarce card) and go for the White Letter in 1969. For whatever reason, it is a much nicer looking card without the yellow...

The current Topps run…