It was the kind of scene normally reserved for visiting heads of state. A police escort. An armored car. A press conference.
This time, it was all for a baseball card.
Collector Marshall Fogel’s PSA 10 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle arrived in style for a short run as the featured attraction at a special baseball exhibit not far from Coors Field in Denver, the host of this year’s All-Star Game and surrounding festivities.
It was wheeled in on a cloth-covered cart, tucked inside a special box. Then onto an elevator, down a couple of corridors and into the room that’s housing some some other pieces of baseball history–also from Fogel’s collection. The value of the card is anyone’s guess, but based on recent selling prices for other nice but not that nice ’52 Mantles, $10-$20 million is a good starting point.
Fogel also lent the pricey cardboard for display back in 2018. It also arrived by armored truck last time, too, but the fanfare wasn’t quite as much.
While there are two other 10s–one on the collection of Arizona Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick–Fogel believes his is the best looking.
Watch the arrival below:
It’ll be on display, under heavy security and in the same case that once held Thomas Jefferson’s Bible, until Tuesday.
Last year’s live event was pushed online because of the pandemic, but the annual MLB All-Star FanFest is back this year. It’s where you’ll find the auction items on display ahead of Tuesday’s sale, which is again under the direction of Hunt Auctions.
Not far away, Denver’s largest card show in about 20 years took place at the National Western Complex over the weekend. Visitors got to check out about 200 tables filled with modern and vintage cards and memorabilia.
Crowds were steady Friday, Saturday and Sunday and having the FanFest in the city didn’t hurt.
Former Colorado Rockies star Vinny Castilla signed autographs on Friday while Broncos’ receiver K.J. Hamler was there on Sunday afternoon.
Tables for the three-day event were $225 with a larger booth at $400. Admission was $10.
About a block from Coors Field sits the National Ballpark Museum, a labor of love for long-time collector and curator Bruce Hellerstein. It’s considered one of baseball’s best kept secrets and you can read about it in the Colorado Springs Gazette and watch a story from a Denver TV station as the place gets its just due during All-Star week.
