Auctions
Rare 1954 Stahl-Meyer Mickey Mantle hot dog card tops Spring Rarities Auction at Memory Lane
Baseball cards have been sold in all sorts of packages and with all sorts of products over the decades, from tobacco and Cracker Jacks in the early 1900s to candy and bubble gum in the 1940s and ’50s.
Such popular but consumable and disposable products often wreaked havoc on fragile, coveted trading cards, not to mention their scarcity.
One series of cards that was victim to such vulgarities was the 1953-55 Stahl-Meyer baseball card set produced by the east coast hot dog company. The set featured cards of the top stars from the three New York teams—Yankees, Dodgers and Giants—released inside packages of Stahl-Meyer hot dogs.
Though the cards were some of the most attractive on the market in the 1950s, they were condition sensitive, with the rounded corners sometimes chipped and creased and the card often stained with hot dog grease. As a result, cards in top condition are hard to find.
The best known example of Mickey Mantle’s 1954 Stahl-Meyer card just sold for six figures in the Spring Rarities Auction at Memory Lane Inc.
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Graded PSA 8, the card is one of only 24 ever graded by PSA and the highest graded from any grading company’s population report. It sold for $231,484 to top the auction.
As usual, Mantle items were big sellers in the rarities auction. A 1953 Bowman Color #59 Mantle (PSA 9) sold for $195,484, while a 1952 Topps Mantle (PSA 3.5) went for $82,966; a 1953 #82 Topps Mantle (PSA 8) for $75,808; and a ticket stub from Mantle’s MLB debut in April 1951 in low grade for $41,903. Even a 1954 Dan-Dee Potato Chips Mantle card graded PSA 7 sold for $16,538.
The auction also featured several rare pre-war and tobacco cards that drew large bids, including a 1915 Cracker Jack #30 Ty Cobb (PSA 5) for $65,005 and a Zack Wheat (PSA 8) for $10,010.
Similarly, a 1913 T200 Fatima Cleveland Americans Team Premium photo featuring Shoeless Joe Jackson brought $25,424, while a Pittsburgh Nationals Team Premium with Honus Wagner fetched $17,765.
The classic 1933 Goudey set also was well represented. A PSA 7 copy of the #1 card in the set, Benny Bengough, sold for $17,118, while a #3 Hugh Critz (PSA 8) went for $21,494, a #52 Andy Cohen (PSA 7) for $20,432, #5 Babe Herman (PSA 8) for $8,287, and a #229 Arky Vaughan (PSA 7.5) for $7,878.
Post-war cards also saw significant interest, with a 1955 Topps #50 Jackie Robinson (PSA 9) selling for $58,961, a 1962 Topps #300 Willie Mays (PSA 8.5) for $37,934, and a 1968 Topps #177 Nolan Ryan rookie (PSA 8.5) for $31,986.
High-grade cards from the ever-popular 1952 Topps set that fetched attractive bids including a trio of PSA 9s: #208 Marlin Stuart $25,960; #258 Steve Gromek $25,313; #196 Solly Hemus $15,352.
Other notable post-war sales included a 1952 Topps #295 Phil Cavarretta (PSA 8.)5 selling for $11,534 and one of the 43 PSA 10 1981 Topps Nolan Ryan cards for $12,134.
1970 rookie cards that performed well included a 1974 Topps #252 Dave Parker (PSA 10) for $25,331, and a 1975 Topps Mini #623 Keith Hernandez (PSA 10) for $7,878.
Vintage basketball card collectors chased a 1957 Topps Tommy Heinsohn rookie (PSA 8.5) that wound up netting $30,768.
Among sports memorabilia, the auction featured a 1920s Babe Ruth Ice Cream Baseball advertising postcard (PSA 2.5) for $67,457; a Lou Gehrig Goudey Knot Hole League of America framed item for $46,198; and a 1919 Chicago Cubs Tommy McCarthy-endorsed cancelled check (PSA/DNA) for $27,308.
The Stahl-Meyer Mantle card was not the only hot dog-related card to do well: a 1964 Kahn’s Wieners #49 Johnny Unitas card (PSA 10) brought $17,300.
