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Mickey Mantle cards continue to set records, 1951 Bowman rookie tops record $3.1 million
Mickey Mantle cards are still setting records, with Mantle’s 1951 Bowman rookie card selling for a record $3.19 million at Memory Lane Inc.
One of just nine PSA MINT 9 copies in existence, the $3,192,000 sales price was four times higher than the previous record of $750,000 for Mantle’s first-ever trading card.
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The card was the highlight of a stunning group of 15 vintage Mantle cards in Memory Lane’s Fall Rarities PREMIUM Auction, which netted $10.1 million in sales.
The lot of Mantle cards was consigned by an east coast collector who had spent the last 10 years accumulating some of the highest quality examples he could find. The collection included 14 PSA 9s and a 1953 Topps card that rated 8.5.
A 1969 Topps Mantle “white letters” variation, one of just three PSA 9s on PSA’s Pop Report, also generated tremendous interest and sold for $933,484. The last PSA 9 offered publicly sold in 2009 for $13,000.
Other Mantle cards from the collection included:
• 1955 Bowman PSA 9 — $342,000
• 1953 Bowman PSA 9 — $294,000
• 1954 Bowman PSA 9 — $294,000
• 1952 Bowman PSA 9 — $246,000
• 1953 Topps PSA 8.5 — $228,608
• 1957 Topps PSA 9 — $172,736
The auction also included a collection of 41 1933 Goudey Hall of Famers, 40 of which graded PSA 8. The group included all four Babe Ruth cards, which sold for a combined $1,854,608.
One of the 14 PSA 8 copies of the #53 Ruth card led the way at $822,000, while the #149 sold for $462,000.
One of nine PSA 9 copies of the rare 1933 Goudy Nap Lajoie sold for $300,608.
A collection of 1934 Goudey cards was led by a #61 Lou Gehrig, graded 8.5, that sold for $204,608, while a PSA 9 Hank Greenberg rookie netted $184,736.
Other ’34 Goudey sales included:
• Jimmy Foxx PSA 8 — $36,128
• Paul Waner PSA 9 — $33,373
• Carl Hubbell PSA 9 — $44,405
• Lefty Grove PSA 9 — $30,463
The top-ranked 1933 DeLong set with an 8.973 GPA was offered in an alternative selling format with bids determining whether it would be sold as a complete 24-card set or broken up into individual lots. In the end, the total value of the single card bids won out at $282,440, led by a PSA 8 Lou Gehrig that sold for $135,484.
Memory Lane’s Winter Rarities Auction opened on Dec. 8 and closes on Saturday, Jan. 7.
