Two of baseball's greatest post-War icons began their careers during the same season, but Willie Mays outlasted Mickey Mantle by five full seasons. It makes us all wonder what a 1970, '71, '72 or '73 Topps Mantle would have looked like. It also gives us a few more years to chronicle when we examine the population of graded Mays cards. Willie's … [Read more...]
High-Grade Roberto Clemente Cards: How They Stack Up
His career was tragically cut short but you can find his baseball cards from the era of Topps vs. Bowman to "all 660 cards in one series." Roberto Clemente remains among the most popular players in history and cards from his playing days are big sellers, especially those that look as sharp as the day they came out of the pack or vending box. But which Clemente cards … [Read more...]
The Toughest (and Easiest) Jim Brown Cards to Find in High Grade
His career was relatively short as NFL greats go but there was no one better running the football during the time he was employed by the Cleveland Browns. From 1957-1965 he terrorized opposing defenses at over 100 yards per game for his entire career. Brown appeared on football cards from 1958-1966 and while his rookie card is the most valuable of all, it's not the … [Read more...]
Analyzing the Population of High-Grade Sandy Koufax Cards
His mainstream cards are easy to track and the checklist isn't a long one. The lingering, painful arm injury that ended his career also kept his cardboard to a minimum but he remains one of the most popular post-War Hall of Famers. You know his rookie cards can be pricey but how about the career run of Sandy Koufax cards? Which of the primary cards from his … [Read more...]
Crunching the Numbers: High-Grade Jackie Robinson Cards
The checklist is a short one. During his relatively short playing career, Jackie Robinson appeared on baseball cards for a very limited amount of time. While they're all very desirable and many represent key cards in some very popular vintage sets, high-grade Robinson cards bring robust interest whenever they're offered for auction. But which years … [Read more...]
High Grade Mickey Mantle Cards: How They Stack Up
He remains the gold standard when it comes to collector (and investor) popularity. For those who buy and sell the best of the best, the market for Mickey Mantle cards continues to sizzle. Armed with a list of Mantle's base cards from 1951-1969 and our calculating friend Alexa (a highly underrated device in her own right), we crunched the numbers to make some … [Read more...]