Mantle signed card collection leads SCP Auctions' 2018 Premier Auction

SCP Auctions’ 2018 Fall Premier Auction, which concludes on Saturday, Dec. 8, is headlined by a Mickey Mantle autographed card collection with 22 of his most coveted singles. Other auction lots sure to draw a lot of attention include: a Ted Williams’ 1947 Triple Crown trophy from the Williams estate; a 1939 Inaugural Hall of Fame Original Eleven inductees signed ball; a high-grade 1939 First Day Cover also autographed by the original 11 inductees with correspondence from each signer; and a newly discovered collection of 9,000 plus autographed 3x5 cards and cuts covering almost every 20th century major leaguer.

Mickey Mantle Autographed Card Collection

(Images courtesy SCP Auctions)

Originally pieced together by a California collector and now consigned by his family, this elite group of 22 signed Mantles includes his 1951 Bowman and 1952 Topps rookies. Each autographed card is listed individually. Sixteen have earned perfect Gem Mint 10 grades from PSA/DNA, including the ’52 Topps which is projected at $75,000-plus. In-house estimates for the whole collection are well above six figures – pretty amazing considering many card purists once believed getting a Hall of Famer to sign his card was sacrilegious and would “ruin its value.” That mindset has flipped in recent years.

“These cards are sure to bring record prices due to the current demand of vintage autographed cards,” said SCP Auctions president David Kohler. “and of course Mickey Mantle is right at the top. Most of these are the first examples ever auctioned.”

Ted Williams 1947 Triple Crown Trophy

The Splendid Splinter was no stranger to the Triple Crown. He first accomplished this rare single-season feat in 1942 before stepping away from baseball for three years to serve in the war. In 1947, his second season upon returning to the Red Sox, Teddy Ballgame led the American League with a .343 average, 32 homers and 114 RBI to capture his second Triple Crown, joining Rogers Hornsby as the only other player to do it twice. The trophy Williams received for his monumental efforts in ’47 is consigned by his daughter and projects to sell for over $100,000.

1939 Inaugural Hall of Fame Inductees Signed Baseball and First Day Cover

To mark the 100th anniversary of America’s pastime, 11 of baseball’s greatest players of all-time – Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Connie Mack, Ty Cobb, Pete Alexander, Cy Young, George Sisler, Tris Speaker, Walter Johnson, Eddie Collins and Nap Lajoie – congregated in the little hamlet of Cooperstown, New York on June 12, 1939 for the inaugural Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony. In August SCP Auctions made history with its $623,369 record sale of an Original Eleven signed ball procured by Major Leaguer Marv Owen at the historic event.

This ball, which SCP is calling “the second finest known” autographed baseball, has a more relatable background, hailing from a New Jersey man named Thomas Cullen who attended the ’39 Hall of Fame ceremony at age 22 and got all 11 original inductees to sign it. The OAL (Harridge) ball with bold, well-preserved signatures is expected to sell for $200,000-$300,000.

“The ball must have cost a buck or two. I’d say it appreciated really well,” said Mike Cullen, who consigned his late father’s ball upon seeing the previous result,

Not to be outdone is a 1939 First Day Cover signed by the Original Eleven along with controversial MLB Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis. Each autograph came at the request of an ambitious New Orleans collector named Paul Wunder, who mailed the FDC with a personal letter to each Hall of Fame inductee right after the inaugural ceremony. All complied, several adding personal notes to memorialize the correspondence. The piece is graded PSA/DNA Mint 9 (auto.) and could sell for $200,000 or more.

The Dave Hill Autograph Collection

A St. Louis native and fan of the hapless “Brownies” accumulated one of the largest baseball autograph collections, mostly coming on 3x5 index cards with the rest on cuts, baseball cards or GPC’s. The former minor league ballplayer turned CIA operative never let up on his obsessive hobby, and the collection grew to over 9,000 signatures by the time he passed away in 1995. It encompasses 60 percent of all Hall of Fame inductees, hundreds of pre-1900 born players and several obscure names of which few, if any, records exist. Dave Hill’s family has decided to put the entire collection up for auction, and the 16 lots could cumulatively approach six figures when all is said and done.

Other top lots of the auction include:

1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle Rookie PSA NM-MT 8 – Estimate $125,000-plus
1969 Hank Aaron Atlanta Braves NLCS Game Worn Home Run Jersey (Photomatched) – Est. $90,000-plus
John Harrington 1980 Olympics “Miracle on Ice" Game Worn USA Hockey Jersey – $80,000-plus
Oscar Robertson 1960 Olympics Game Worn USA Basketball Jersey (MEARS A10) – $75,000-plus
1952 Topps Mickey Mantle Rookie PSA EX-MT+ 6.5 – $75,000-plus
1973 Hank Aaron Atlanta Braves Game Worn Jersey (Photomatched) – $70,000-plus
2006 Tom Brady New England Patriots Game Worn Uniform (Photomatched) – $60,000-plus
Babe Ruth Single Signed Baseball With PSA/DNA Mint 9 – $50,000-plus
1936 Winter Olympics Hockey Gold Medal presented to Great Britain’s Star Goaltender – $50,000-plus
1971 Roberto Clemente Pittsburgh Pirates (Championship Season) Game Worn Jersey – $40,000-plus
1966 Topps Baseball Master Set Ranked #6 in PSA Registry Among Complete – $40,000-plus
2015 Denver Broncos Super Bowl 50 Champions Front Office Ring with Presentation Box – $35,000-plus
1911 Addie Joss Benefit Game Panoramic Photograph (PSA/DNA Type I) – $30,000-plus
Red Ruffing 1967 Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ring (Ruffing LOA) – $30,000-plus
Bruce Springsteen 1984 “Born in the USA” Tour Used Acoustic Guitar – $30,000-plus
Michael Jordan Signed 1997 NBA Finals Game 2 Worn Air Jordan Shoes (Photomatched) – $25,000-plus
1984-85 Magic Johnson L.A. Lakers Game Worn Home Jersey vs. Celtics (Photomatched) – $25,000-plus