Baseball card aficionados have long recognized the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card as a rarefied prize. Now, a very high-grade version of the card is set to be listed for bidding on eBay, via PWCC auction house. The auction-style listing will start at 99 cents, but it’s likely the final sale price will soar far above that, and the card could even fetch the highest price in nearly two decades for a baseball card sold on eBay.
Sale prices for this card, especially those for Near Mint iterations, have steadily risen over the course of the last 20 years, though the spike seen over the last 24 months is unique, with price increases of over 500 percent according to most metrics.
The Near Mint-graded card went up for bidding on October 29 is one of only about six similarly graded versions of the card in the world. According to the listing for the card:
“The offered PSA 8 is rarely seen this nicely framed with 50/50 registration right to left and 45/55 alignment top to bottom. The corners are extremely square and the print is near flawless with a rich blue coloring and an even sepia toning throughout. An all-around beautiful card which even the pickiest card-investor would consider superior to the average example.“
Notably, the 1952 card is technically not Mickey Mantle’s rookie season card. Mantle joined the major leagues in 1951, after a stint in the minor leagues. But in 1952, Mantle’s legend was already taking shape.
We will provide an update on what this sought-after baseball card finally sells for. It will be an auction-style event worth watching.