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What would the equivalent of a PSA 8 of a 1952 Topps Mantle have sold for in 1975?

Anyone? Adam Lee? Adamson? Adler?

Joe

IG: goatcollectibles23

The biggest lesson I've learned in this hobby, and in life, is that if you have a strong conviction, you owe it to yourself to see it through. Don't sell yourself, or your investments, short. Unless the facts change. Then sell it all.

Comments

  • DboneesqDboneesq Posts: 18,220 ✭✭
    STAY HEALTHY!

    Doug

    Liquidating my collection for the 3rd and final time. Time for others to enjoy what I have enjoyed over the last several decades. Money could be put to better use.
  • mlbfan2mlbfan2 Posts: 3,115 ✭✭✭
    edited November 26, 2016 4:26PM

    @SpinFadeSplash23 said:
    Anyone? Adam Lee? Adamson? Adler?

    Adamley. Simone Adamley. :)

  • KendallCatKendallCat Posts: 2,966 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I think it is fairly simple in regards to Mantle and his prices compared to others.

    • Mantle was a Midwest born but played in the largest market NYC so he appealed to everyone. Race also had something to do with it since baseball was not integrated until right before Mickey got into the bigs.

    • He was loved by men and women - good looking with blonde hair and blue eyes and muscular. Men wanted to be him and women wanted to be with him.

    • He was the strongest player with tape measure home runs and he was also the fastest. A modern day comparison would be Bo Jackson. All of this despite a serious knee injury his first season. What could have been also plays a factor.

    • He played for the Yankees who are the greatest franchise in pro sports.

    • He excelled on the biggest stage - the World Series, and holds records for HR's, RBI's, runs scored, and walks in WS history and won 8 world titles.

    Combine all of these factors together and you have the perfect storm for popularity. If Ruth had been seen by more people with TV as well as having more cards it would be close, but outside of 1933 not much to choose from that are "affordable".

  • @mlbfan2 said:

    @SpinFadeSplash23 said:
    Anyone? Adam Lee? Adamson? Adler?

    Adamley. Simone Adamley. :)

    My lord, I forgot how gorgeous she was.

    Joe

    IG: goatcollectibles23

    The biggest lesson I've learned in this hobby, and in life, is that if you have a strong conviction, you owe it to yourself to see it through. Don't sell yourself, or your investments, short. Unless the facts change. Then sell it all.
  • I can tell you about one that sold in 1976. I worked for a gentleman who took me under his wing and taught me the ins and outs of collecting; I owe him quite a bit for all of the fun and collectibles I had been exposed to. Anyway, at a show a dealer with whom he was familiar came up to him and sold him a beautiful 52 Mantle for $311, a dollar per number. Those were the days.

  • Great read, thank you!

    Joe

    IG: goatcollectibles23

    The biggest lesson I've learned in this hobby, and in life, is that if you have a strong conviction, you owe it to yourself to see it through. Don't sell yourself, or your investments, short. Unless the facts change. Then sell it all.
  • IndianaJonesIndianaJones Posts: 346 ✭✭✭

    In late December, 1972, after Christmas, I wrote a letter to Larry Fritsch. We had met that summer at the huge Midwest Sports Collectors Convention in Troy, Michigan. I had my heart set on getting a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle, but I wanted a really top condition example. Larry wrote and told me he had one left, and said he would hold Mickey for me for two weeks. He wrote the cost was high, $25, but felt I would be really happy with it.

    Excitedly, I showed Larry's letter to my mother, and proceeded to plead with her to buy me this card. I didn't have the money, being a senior in high school. Now understand, my dear Mom was now a widow, and money was very, very tight. However, we talked about it for a while, and I guess she determined I really, really wanted the card. So, she sent him a check. A few days later, I got my 1952 Topps Mickey. From my point of few, and I am admittedly extremely picky, it was flat-out perfect. Technically, from what we now would grade a card, the centering was 37 - 63, both right - left and top - bottom. However, there were ample borders on all four sides, so in my eyes, the centering was passable. However, the intense colors and crisp picture registry were over-the-top flawless. This was the Mantle with the bold black line around the Yankees logo box; those had the strongest color. Corners solid EX-MT. Larry's prices were typically at the top of the range, but fair.

    As you chaps will conclude, I was more than pleased, and on a baseball card cloud 9. I hugged, kissed, and thanked my dear Mom profusely; I was just so happy! Wow, twenty-five bucks in late '72, beginning of '73.

    ---Indiana Jones (Brian Powell)

  • thunderdanthunderdan Posts: 3,036 ✭✭✭

    Brian, do you still have it and pictures you'd be willing to share? That's a really great story btw.

    image


  • jeffv96mastersjeffv96masters Posts: 594 ✭✭✭✭

    Can't speak for 1975 although I was heavily collecting and traveling back then but in 1982 I purchased my Mantle for $600 . I was in on the bidding for the Rosen find however Marshall and a few others just spent crazy $$ on them and buried my sad attempts to add a 2nd higher quality copy :|

    http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f108/jeffv96masters/miscellaneous/MANTLE-ROOKIE.jpg

    http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f108/jeffv96masters/miscellaneous/Mymantlefront.jpg

  • grote15grote15 Posts: 29,478 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @jeffv96masters said:
    Can't speak for 1975 although I was heavily collecting and traveling back then but in 1982 I purchased my Mantle for $600 . I was in on the bidding for the Rosen find however Marshall and a few others just spent crazy $$ on them and buried my sad attempts to add a 2nd higher quality copy :|

    http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f108/jeffv96masters/miscellaneous/MANTLE-ROOKIE.jpg

    http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f108/jeffv96masters/miscellaneous/Mymantlefront.jpg

    That's a beauty, Jeff! Do you still have it? If so, have you thought about submitting it, if you haven't already done so?



    Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
  • SOMSOM Posts: 1,555 ✭✭✭

    Sounds like what occurred this summer.

  • IndianaJonesIndianaJones Posts: 346 ✭✭✭

    Hey thunderdan,

    Glad you like my story, as that's almost all I have left of my '52 Mick, aside from Larry Fritsch's original letter to me---I kept that!

    Back in 1995, with my wife, son, and I living in a 100-year-old upstairs apartment on top of an ACE Hardware, which was short on cross-ventilation, intensely hot in the summer, and cold in the winter, I decided I had to do something about it.

    Late in the spring, I consigned some very choice items from my collection to raise money for a down payment on a house. My '52 Mantle was one of the items I sadly let go. We had been in that lousy apartment 5 years, and enough was enough. I don't have a picture of the card, but my description was dead-on. Mr. Mint auctioned the card, and he did not place the card where he should have. It was on the bottom left of the first main page of his SCD phone auction.

    My timing was not good; it was the first auction after Mickey's death. At the time I consigned the card, news of his cancer had not been released. At least, I had no idea he was dying. With what Alan took as a fair commission, I got $8,100, as I recall. Percentage-wise, the gain was huge, but you know why I sold my second-favorite card. Boy, it is one I dearly, dearly miss. Then again, nowhere near as much as I miss my dear Mom. Eventually, we bought a home. Happy ending, but many's the time I felt as the chap in the last half of your video clip.

    ---Indiana Jones (Brian Powell)

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