Nicer card design - 1951 Bowman Mantle vs. 1952 Topps Mantle

1970s · February 4, 2019 3:50PM

1951

brendanb438 · February 4, 2019 4:42PM

1952

mattyc_collection · February 4, 2019 5:14PM

Both are such iconic and pleasing images to me I could never choose between them. Sometimes the only answer is, “Both, please!”

ahopkins · February 4, 2019 5:18PM

I like 1951 now. Ask me next week or next year and I might say 1952.

CW · February 4, 2019 5:19PM

Overall I like them both, but the eye appeal nod goes to '51 Bowman.

'52 Topps has a better looking back, though.

brad31 · February 4, 2019 6:09PM

1951

rounding3rd · February 4, 2019 6:22PM

1952

bishop · February 4, 2019 6:51PM

I have them both. If I had to give up one, it would be the 51

galaxy27 · February 4, 2019 6:53PM

51 all day

addicted2ebay · February 4, 2019 7:27PM

52

VoteDizzy · February 4, 2019 7:27PM

1951

ZTarg · February 5, 2019 4:58AM

Ridiculously iconic cards mentioned in the subject line, and nary a picture within.

GreenSneakers · February 5, 2019 5:32AM

14 year old me wanted 52T
47 year old me wants 51B

dan89 · February 5, 2019 8:33AM

Had to post mine

@ZTarg said:
Ridiculously iconic cards mentioned in the subject line, and nary a picture within.

akuracy503 · February 5, 2019 2:40PM

I’ve owned both and stared at them a lot. I like the eye appeal of that the large blue canvas on the 1952.
With that said it seems prices have nearly doubled in the last 6 years. Direct reflection of the healthy economy and demand for assets/investments.
As much as I’d like to buy another I think that ship has sailed in terms of value. As much as cards are of sentimental value I’m not rich enough to just plop down for a mid grade 1952 Mantle.
What’s everybody’s thoughts do these iconic cards keep climbing? Or do we see a cool off with drops in price?

mattyc_collection · February 5, 2019 2:53PM

My opinion is that desirable/eye-appealing examples of those two Mantle cards will always climb in price over time, sometimes steadily, and sometimes with a sharper spike. Centered examples in any grade are just too scarce, relative to demand— and the buyer pool is solid on the order of a few decades from now. The salient point I think is to parse the eye appealing examples from the masses, when talking about any card (PWCC, for all the Sturm und Drang surrounding their PQ and HE designations, has really proven how that dynamic affects card values, with the nice ones behaving according to their own set of laws, separate from the more average looking examples).

In the 1951 Bowman Mantle Rookie and the 1952 Topps Mantle, we're talking about two of the most popular, pedigreed, iconic baseball cards. These are two cards that, when acquired by a collector, tend to stay in a collection for the long, long, long haul.

garnettstyle · February 6, 2019 4:47AM

The rookie card

stevek · February 6, 2019 6:47AM

1952 Topps Mantle

Stone193 · February 6, 2019 5:04PM

Bishop: I have them both. If I had to give up one, it would be the 51

You know where I live Al.

BLUEJAYWAY · February 6, 2019 8:11PM

1951 RC.

KendallCat · February 7, 2019 6:38AM

Kind of like arguing would you rather date a hot blonde or a hot brunette - at the end of the day you get a hot one either way 😉

countdouglas · February 7, 2019 7:05AM

@KendallCat said:
Kind of like arguing would you rather date a hot blonde or a hot brunette - at the end of the day you get a hot one either way 😉

Looks like at the end of your day, you're having a ménage à trois.

mattyc_collection · February 7, 2019 7:17AM

Or you can always just go Caligula style...

originalisbest · February 7, 2019 8:12AM

Really they're equally nice to me. I have a '51 but can't say I prefer it over the '52. Just wish I could see a way towards getting a '52 (I'm not in any danger of being able to do so!)

KendallCat · February 8, 2019 7:46AM

@countdouglas said:

@KendallCat said:
Kind of like arguing would you rather date a hot blonde or a hot brunette - at the end of the day you get a hot one either way 😉

Looks like at the end of your day, you're having a ménage à trois.

Actually that 3 some as you put it does not exist any more. I sold the 51 Mantle a few months back when I was made an offer I could not refuse - compared to VCP it was 40-50% above the high sale and the guy had wanted the card for 30 years.

The 52 Mantle was on display at the National, and right before Christmas I worked out a deal on it with a collector who offered a very fair and aggressive price on it which again compared to VCP blew it out of the water price wise. The 51 was a beautiful card whIch without the very small wrinkle looked like an 8 all around, but I never collected Bowman cards so I did not lose any sleep on the sale. The 52 Mantle I liked and it looked strong for the grade, and if it had been centered 50/50 t/b I would have kept it. At some point I can go back and find another one in the future, and with the sale of this one might be able to upgrade to a higher grade. Then again I have owned most of them at one time or another and have some neat personal Mantle stuff that cannot be replaced so I am good either way.

For now I will probably focus on getting a high end 56 and 57 Mantle in 8/8.5 this summer to upgrade what I currently have, and will probably move a few mid grade Mantles I have that are centered and duplicates from 1956, 1959, and 1960 here shortly. Might finish my Aaron, Ryan, and Bench high grade runs as well.

KC

Nicer card design - 1951 Bowman Mantle vs. 1952 Topps Mantle

Comments