Mickey Mantle’s Game-Used 1956 Triple Crown Home Jersey Nets $649,250 in $3 Million Mile High Card Company January Auction

January 24, 2020

Castle Rock,CO. - Many collectors felt Mile High Card Company would never be able to beat “The Event”, the October 2019 auction the featured a T206 Wagner, but MHCC has done so and on the very next attempt, which concluded on Thursday, January 23rd. No, there was no Wagner this time around but the auction was headlined by a trio of world-class pieces: a game-used Mickey Mantle jersey, worn during the first half of his 1956 Triple Crown season with extensive photo matching, that sold for $649,250, a game-used Ty Cobb bat from his 1922 season PSA/DNA GU 10 that brought in $202,751, and the granddaddy of all post-war baseball cards, a 1952 Topps #311 Mickey Mantle graded PSA 8 that dropped the hammer with a winning bid of $373,625. “We’ve picked up right where ‘The Event’ left off and opened the 2020 year with the finest auction that we’ve ever had the privilege to offer. A lot of previous record prices fell last night and we’re pushing hard for the trend to continue” said MHCC President and CEO Brian Drent.

Other museum-quality pieces that likely would have taken top-billing in other auctions include a 1960 Mickey Mantle World Series Game-Used and Signed Adirondack Bat MEARS A10 and PSA/DNA AUTHENTIC that netted $82,506, 1921 Exhibits Babe Ruth Autographed PSA/DNA 10 GEM MINT - The Finest Autographed Ruth Card Known In The Hobby, that took in $137,634, a 1964 Al Kaline Detroit Tigers Game-Used and Signed Road Jersey selling for $17,894, a 1968-69 Harmon Killebrew Minnesota Twins Game-Used Home Jersey from AL MVP season With Photo Match to 1968 Season By Sports Investors Authentication that fetched $23,039, and a 1925 Lou Gehrig Rookie Year Type I Original Photo by Charles Conlon-The Holy Grail Of Lou Gehrig Photos that impressed at $50,307.

Two world-ranked sets were offered in their entirety as well as individual lots with the method of sale determined by whichever total was higher: an Exceptional 1909-11 T206 Complete Set Completely PSA Graded #9 on PSA Set Registry With 4.27 GPA that sold as a complete set for the astonishing sum of $175,100 and a 1971 Topps Greatest Moments Complete Set #3 Current Finest on PSA Set Registry that was broken up for a grand sum of $43,518. 1910 Imperial Tobacco C55 and C56 collections were also broken up and sold, the C55 set bringing in a total of $59,664 led by a #27 Walter Smaill Right Hand on Hips PSA 7 NM selling for $11,998 and the C56 set earning $79,553 with #12 Art Ross PSA 7 NM leading the way with a sale price of $13,858.

With all the Cooperstown-worthy pieces of baseball history mentioned above, let’s not forget the amazing selection of top-quality cards that are standard in MHCC auctions. Key cards included a 1887 N690-1 Kalamazoo Bats Athletic Club Cabinet SGC AUTHENTIC that sold for $7,163, 1895 Mayo's Cut Plug N300 Cap Anson SGC 80 EX/MT 6 that brought down $10,233, 1933 DeLong #21 Jimmy Foxx PSA 8 NM/MT that netted $11,641, 1933 Goudey #29 Jimmy Foxx SGC 8.5 NM-MT+ that sold for $26,799, 1934 Goudey Premium R309-1 Babe Ruth SGC 84 NM 7 NM-Highest Graded Copy Known that was bid to $13,350, 1955 Topps #123 Sandy Koufax PSA 8 NM/MT bringing in $11,641, 1971 Topps #156 Terry Bradshaw PSA 9 MINT hauling in $14,000, and 2003 Topps Chrome Xfractor #111 LeBron James PSA 10 GEM MINT #107/220 that saw highly competitive bidding and set a world-record at $33,206.

Speaking of world-records, many new record prices were set in the MHCC auction including a 1950 Bowman #194 Billy Cox PSA 10 GEM MINT shaking up the PSA Set Registry for $7,998,1959 Topps #10 Mickey Mantle PSA 8.5 NM-MT+ at $10,888, almost double the previous high price, 1970 Topps #189 Thurman Munson PSA 10 GEM MINT at $33,206, 1970 Topps #630 Ernie Banks PSA 10 GEM MINT at $15,864, more than doubling the previous record, 1971 Topps Greatest Moments #47 Reggie Jackson PSA 8 NM/MT at $6,007, 1967 Topps #161 Dick Williams PSA 10 GEM MINT that closed at over four times the previous record with a sale of $3,957, 1965 Topps #116 Winston Hill PSA 9 MINT that brought in an eye-popping $9,500, 1965 Topps #174 Dick Westmoreland PSA 9 MINT that sold for $8,636 and a 1940 Gum Inc. #1 Superman PSA 7 NM with a sale price of $13,673.

An impressive selection of rare photos, unopened material, autographs, PSA Set Registry collections and other rare items were in the MHCC January Auction and closed with impressive results with a 1948 Nat Fein Type I Original Photo "The Babe Bows Out" Signed by Fein PSA/DNA and Nat Fein Estate LOA selling for $9,619, 1915 Joe Jackson Type I Original Photograph by Paul Thompson netting $16,599, Exceptionally Rare 1967 Topps Punch Out Unopened Wax Pack Featuring Hank Aaron As Team Captain BBCE bringing in $4,342, Exceptional 1968 Bazooka Full Box Featuring Mickey Mantle surprising at $5,721, 1970 Topps Football Full Unopened Series 1 Wax Box BBCE taking in $18,049, 1971 Topps Football Full Unopened Series 2 Wax Box BBCE that sold for $27,317, 2017 Panini Football National Treasures Football 4-Box Hobby Case that leaves our office for $18,926, Astonishing 1933 R136 National Chicle Sky Birds Original Unopened Wax Box with (91) Unopened Packs that hauled in $36,202, and a 1959 Fleer Three Stooges Complete Set all PSA Graded with 8.594 GPA that saw heavy competition before closing at $29,118.

Once again, we are immensely grateful to our incredible bidders and consignors for helping us present another ground-breaking auction and we are currently accepting consignments for our Summer Auction, so if you desire the maximum possible return for your prized sports cards and memorabilia, please call our office at (303) 840-2784 to speak with one of MHCC’s experts, or visit our website at www.milehighcardco.com.