This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 9/12/2024
We just never get tired of offering the king of the post-war era, the iconic 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card. Many people mistake this 1952 Topps card for his rookie debut, which is the 1951 Bowman issue, but the 1952 Topps card is important for other reasons. Although technically a double-print, the "high numbers" (#311-407) of Topps' inaugural offering were produced too late in the season to generate any serious consumer interest, forcing the company to eventually dump the extra inventory. Unlike any other highly valued sports card collectible, every '52 Topps Mantle seems to take on a personality of its own, blending the various exceptional qualities and displayed liabilities to land at an assessment that can be debated or agreed upon by hobbyists. The featured card is graded PSA 4 and displays a centering shift toward the right edge. That said, you rarely encounter this card at this grade level that offers such a clean and bold image with the golden bat on Mantle's shoulder and the aqua-blue backdrop seeming to possess a little extra pigmentation. Even the image of "The Commerce Comet" appears particularly clean and well-focused, allowing a true-to-life depiction of the up-and-coming mega-star. The corners and endpoints, aglow from the extreme white of the border, appear above grade and the reverse, considerably better positioned, is extremely clean and more in line with much higher-graded examples. At this grade level, the overall presentation of this hobby masterpiece rates high at the VG-EX level and would happily anchor any advanced collection.