A PSA 9 1962 Topps #200 Mickey Mantle sold in 2017 for the record sum of $35,248. Mile High Card Company’s just completed August auction pushed the new record to a whopping $158,497 and set the pace for a slew of cards, unopened material, and memorabilia.
Numerous new marks were set in the vintage card category including a 1951 Bowman Mantle rookie card graded PSA 6.5 that sold for $81,460—almost double the previous record price for the grade; a 1952 Topps #312 Jackie Robinson PSA 7 that more than tripled the previous record price of $12,905 with a sale of $38,271; a 1915 Cracker Jack Christy Mathewson SGC 8.5 that beat the previous record by over $10,000 with a sale of $25,285; a 1933 Goudey #149 Babe Ruth SGC 6.5 that topped out at $44,685, a 1962 Topps #1 Roger Maris PSA 9 that sold for an eye-popping $67,702– over $25,000 more than the record price set just three months ago; a 1962 Topps #594 Bob Uecker PSA 9 that more than doubled the previous record with a winning bid of $21,553; a 1911 C55 #38 Georges Vezina PSA 5 that set a new mark at $13,501 and a 1923 V145-1 Paterson #15 Howie Morenz PSA 4 that shattered the old record of $14,101 with a sale of $16,276.
“After coming home from an amazingly successful consignment campaign at the National, we were gratified to see so many record and near-record prices,” stated MHCC President Brian Drent. “If there is a slowdown in the market, we certainly didn’t see it.”
In all, the auction generated more than $5.5 million.
Other realized prices included a a 1955 Topps #164 Roberto Clemente PSA 8 netting the highest sale in over five years at $81,519; a 1961 Topps #8 Wilt Chamberlain PSA 8 NM/MT beating the last three sales by well over $20,000 with a winning bid of $72,181; a 1957 Topps Bill Russell PSA 8 topping out at $148,943 and a 1952 Topps Mantle PSA 2 fetching $57,931.
The auction also saw the breakup of the greatest Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali collection ever assembled, courtesy of three-time Super Bowl Champion Brandon Stokley. His 1960 Hemmets Journal #23 Cassius Clay Hand Cut PSA 9 sold for $88,818 while several other pieces also set new marks for cards featuring the champs including a 1965 Edizioni Lampo I Grandi Campioni # PSA 3 VG that sold for $20,331. The last sale of the same card in 2012 was for $306.
A strong selection of wax boxes and cases caught the eye of collectors of unopened material, led by a 1988-89 Fleer Basketball wax case that was featured at the National and sold for $91,876. A 1960 Topps Football cello box drew a crowd of bidders before realizing $56,554 while a A 1972 Topps Baseball 5th/6th Series unopened box netted $32,512.
There were plenty of top-ranked sets available as well with the second ranked set of 1953 Glendale Hot Dogs on PSA’s Set Registry bringing in $22,671, the eighth current finest set of 1956 Topps Baseball changing hands for $40,688 and a 1958 Hires Root Beer set ranked #1 on the registry that sold for $42,558.
Among the memorabilia offered in the Mile High sale was a 1929-30 game-used Babe Ruth bat, which soared to $220,114. A high-grade Ruth signed baseball rocketed to $138,914 while a pair of Michael Jordan game-used, autographed shoes worn in Game1 of the 1998 NBA Finals originally gifted to a Utah Jazz ball boy that went for $120,585.
Complete results can be found on the company’s website.
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