A PSA 8 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle is hitting the block in the Heritage Auctions Fall Sports Catalog. It’s the first NM/MT or better ’52 Mantle to be offered since the record breaking sale of the SGC 9.5 for $12.6 million two months ago.
The card is one of 35 rated 8 by PSA, with only 14 ranked higher on the company’s Population Report.
The record price for a Mantle was set in October of last year at just over $2 million. The last PSA 8 sold in February for $1.56 million.
The 1952 Mantle first broke the seven-figure plateau in March of last year.
The auction will kick off about ten weeks after Heritage sold the SGC graded Mantle for what became the highest price ever paid for any piece of sports memorabilia. That sale garnered extensive media attention.
The ’52 Mantle is considered the most popular and recognizable post-World War II era card. Topps released one final series of cards late in the 1952 season and the cards didn’t sell well. A large number of cases were dumped after Topps was unable to sell them at pennies on the dollar several years after issue. Mantle was part of the final series and even though it was double printed on the production sheet, his popularity and the overall scarcity of 1952 high numbers has made it one of sports collecting’s most iconic cards.
The card will adorn the catalog cover and will be sold in the first of a three session auction set to close Nov. 17-19.