This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/14/2024
And here we are! Among the plethora of elite-level 1968 Topps cards in this auction, with GEM MINT examples of Aaron, Mays, Clemente, Rose, Bench, and the like, the truly advanced card collector goes out of their way to find out if the Mantle is going to be a let down as one of the few that only came in at MINT. Negative! Other than falling into the luckiest opportunity to find the one GEM MINT example of Nolan Ryan's rookie card floating out there, there's no better help a 1968 Topps collector can get to boost their set rating than to add a GEM MINT example of "The Mick" to serve as the cornerstone of the assemblage. Over 14,000 examples have made their way to PSA headquarters and just 11 have emerged at the top of the mountain. To put that in perspective, if we take another Hall of Famer from the set, say Billy Williams, only a little over 1,000 have been graded with 18 PSA 10s. It also happens to be the last card that features "The Mick" as an active player. As we know, Mantle was included in the 1969 Topps set but he wasn't an active player, abruptly retiring over health concerns during spring training. Understandably, PSA is especially cautious about granting PSA 10 grades to vintage cards, and even more judicious when it comes to a high-brow issue like Mickey Mantle, but this one likely wasn't a difficult decision as it comes in virtually flawless in every regard, right down to the crystal-clear image of "The Commerce Comet" displaying his left-handed batting stance. The reverse carries a deeply pigmented canary yellow canvas that doesn't succumb to the unsightly fading that is prevalent on most. Whether it's to catapult a set into contention at the top of the ranks or an acquisition that gives a world-class collection just a little more swagger, the featured card is a museum-quality piece that will serve as the benchmark for either.