Speaking of nice '52 Mantles...
mattyc_collection
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On the thread about Evan's glorious centered mint example, we got around to discussing the $43,000 PSA 2.5 from Heritage that was really special in terms of eye appeal for the grade.
I saw this specimen in an auction preview with this morning's coffee and man it got the blood pumping, lol. The centering is not dead nuts, yet it really hits the eye lovely. Not mine, nor do I know whose it is. As someone who loves the card, the nice ones always are a pleasure to cite among fellow collectors.
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To me that should be a PSA 4.5 and not 3.5. Very nice centering.....
1952 Topps Collector.
I concur; it certainly looks like a harsh grade or a misgrade from this vantage point. Perhaps magnification would tell a different story— yet I for one never look at my cards under a microscope. A card like that to the normal, everyday viewing eye is a real treat, and saves us collectors a bundle relative to a 6. As the axiom holds: card over holder. One day someone will put that on coffee mugs and make a tidy bundle selling to us collectors.
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I said this over 10 years ago, and I'll say it again...i see no reason why any grading company wouldn't list in the description header a brief explanation as to why a key card such as this received a 3.5
Logically there is a crease, but why should we have to try to figure it out? Oh well.....
It’s hard to find a 52 Mantle with decent centering. Not perfect but I was happy to pick this one up.
I believe that the first one, the 3.5, has a lot of paper loss on the upper left hand corner.
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My 2 has creases and round corners, but still looks good....not $43,000 good though
Wow that is a fantastic example.
I wish they all had subgrades for centering and we could look up how many have 9.5-10 centering. Would be very, very few.
That 2 must look tremendous on a wall display or on a desk from a casual/normal viewing distance. The framing makes it. Congrats.
I'd also bet that 2 would turn some heads, with what it would hammer at.
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Even though mine is altered it looks really nice and that's why I went for it.
Heckuva good job of "altering" whatever they did. I guess they tinkered with the corners a bit, or touched up a scuff mark, perhaps filled a pinhole...but in any event, that is still a really nice card, considering it's a '52 Mantle.
Matt - will text you later with info on this MM rookie. On the road traveling right now but home later.
KC
For a 3.5, it doesn't get much better.
Also, some awesome Mantles in this thread!
Beautiful Mantle. Do you know what the alteration is on it?
Hey Arsenal. I'm not sure where the alteration is. I assume a corner but not sure.
Have you ever run a black light over it?
I need to get one of those as well. Black light that is. How big of a help are they?
It'll help reveal differences in the surface finish indicating built up corners/edges or filled in pin holes.
Also handy for inspecting your hotel room for residual body fluids... But I'll save that for another thread. Lol
I didn't want to out this auction while it was running, and not because I was bidding on it
, but here's a nicely centered EX 5 that just ended at $56,100. Not too shabby
How hard is the 1952 Mantle to find with no tilt and centered?
Below are some fun screen shots from Heritage past sales.
Never ceases to amaze me, how rare those attributes are in the hobby's most popular card.
Not a single one of those is truly centered with no tilt. Should scroll some more but gotta finish some work. The things I will do to procrastinate, LOL.
The centering of the PSA 2 one of us posted above puts all these to shame in that department...
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And the 1951 Bowman is even worse, when we consider the focus, roller mark, and print line issues with which it routinely has to contend!
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The '52 Topps card is the Mantle that catches his head at such an angle that it doesnt quite look like its even him.
The 52 Mantle is such a tough card to find decently centered in any grade, and I still remember taking 2-3 days to decide on whether or not to pull the trigger on it a couple of years ago. Very glad I did so, and while I paid a very strong price for it IMO it was well worth it. Just don’t go outing me at the National if you run into us
Not the best 52 Mantle out there but not too bad considering the grade and price paid.
I am sure that 3 looks even better when photographed head on; that angle only enhances the bottom border width.
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This was a shot someone took of mine when it was at the Slugger/Topps Museum. I prefer a natural looking photo to a scan, except I am really bad with a camera.
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KC...
Do you still have the 51 Mantle? You show it here...but I recall in an earlier thread that you planned to sell it. Beautiful Micks BTW...
Monte - thank you for the kind words, and no I don’t have the 51 any longer. Someone made me an offer I could not refuse, and since I don’t collect Bowman I begrudgingly parted with it. Just happened to be in the photo next to big brother is all.