One of the nine 1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle rookie cards graded PSA 9 sold for $3,192,000 early Sunday morning, setting a new record price for the first trading card ever issued of the Yankee icon.
The price achieved by in Memory Lane’s Fall Rarities Auction more than quadrupled the old record of $750,000 set with the last sale of a mint PSA graded Mantle in April of 2018.
While the 1951 Bowman is Mantle’s true rookie card, the 1952 Topps issue still reigns supreme in terms of price.
The card was part of a group of 15 vintage Mantle cards consigned by an east coast collector who had spent about the last ten years accumulating some of the best known examples. The group included 14 PSA 9s and a 1953 Topps card that rated 8.5.
A PSA 9 1969 Topps Mantle “white letters” variation also generated massive interest from bidders who pushed the final price to a stunning $933,484. The card is one of just three 9s, with one 10 on PSA’s Population Report. The last PSA 9 offered publicly sold in 2009 for $13,000.
Other Mantle cards from the collection included:
- 1955 Bowman PSA 9 $342,000
- 1953 Bowman PSA 9 4294,000
- 1954 Bowman PSA 9 $294,000
- 1952 Bowman PSA 9 $246,000
- 1953 Topps PSA 8.5 $228,608
- 1957 Topps PSA 9 $172,736
The auction also included a collection of 41 1933 Goudey Hall of Famers, 40 of which graded PSA 8. The group included all four Babe Ruth cards, which sold for a combined $1,854,608. One of the 14 PSA 8 copies of the #53 Ruth card led the way at $822,000 while the #149 netted $462,000.
One of the nine PSA 9 copies of the rare 1933 Goudy Nap Lajoie was offered in the auction and bidders chased it to a realized price of $300,608.
The number 1 ranked 1933 DeLong set with an 8.973 GPA was offered in an alternative selling format with bids determining whether it would be sold as a complete 24-card set or broken up into individual lots. In the end, the total value of the single card bids won out at $282,440, led by a PSA 8 Lou Gehrig that sold for $135,483.
Complete results can be found here.
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