Freed from the cellophane that had had been its home for 63 years, the Mickey Mantle card that became a piece of hobby lore in the summer of 2018 is now up for auction.
Goldin Auctions is offering the 1955 Bowman card that was famously pulled from a pack during the National Sports Collectors Convention. Graded 9 by PSA, bidding has already reached $33,000 with the auction not set to close until October 19. The card was encapsulated with the National Sports Collectors Convention break pedigree on the label.
The pack opening was part of a broadcast conducted by Vintage Breaks on the National’s main stage in Cleveland. It was awarded to Chris Rothe, a collector from Maryland, who had invested $500 for one of the 20 spots in the break. Working that afternoon, he watched a recording of the break after it happened. His spot was #19 and the Mantle card emerged to whoops and hollers in the room.
“I was weak in the knees,” he said afterward. “There are no words that describe the emotions that were going through me when I actually laid eyes on that card.”
“Being a collector myself for nearly 50 years, I can’t watch the video of ‘The Break’ without getting goose bumps.” Said Ken Goldin, Founder of Goldin Auctions. “We’ve all known the thrill from an early age of breaking open a pack and seeing a card of your hero, all these years later it is very cool to see the industry moving into this direction and it’s a blast to have Goldin Auctions involved. This is a card that represents a simpler time where opening a pack of baseball cards had endless possibilities, like landing a mint Mickey Mantle.”
Bidding has surpassed $30,000 but the auction won’t end until October 19 at GoldinAuctions.com.
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