OT: Mickey Mantle rookie card

[RUhasarrived]

His 1952 Topps card recently sold for 2.8 million.That's for one card of the Series.

In Sept.1973,a card dealer on Staten Island was selling entire sets-over 400 cards-for $350.

Since the price had risen from $195 in the previous year,I passed.I did buy the 1961's for $50,selling them for $500 in 1983(they subsequently went to $5,000).

The question I ask myself is:Would I have sold the 52's when the price hit 6 figures in the mid 80's?

Oh,to have the flux capacitor.I also passed on bitcoin at $10 in 2012.

 

[ruready4somefootball]

I got $1,000 for a Nolan Ryan Rookie card about 15 years ago I had on consignment in a hobbie store in Matawan. I wonder what that card is worth today?

 

[ruready4somefootball]

I got $1,000 for a Nolan Ryan Rookie card about 15 years ago I had on consignment in a hobbie store in Matawan. I wonder what that card is worth today?

Oh crap, I just tossed my breakfast.https://www.beckett.com/news/1968-topps-nolan-ryan-rookie-card-at-25000-and-counting/

 

[ruready4somefootball]

https://www.google.com/search?q=mic...7j69i60j0l4.4782j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

 

[ruready4somefootball]

His 1952 Topps card recently sold for 2.8 million.That's for one card of the Series.

In Sept.1973,a card dealer on Staten Island was selling entire sets-over 400 cards-for $350.

Since the price had risen from $195 in the previous year,I passed.I did buy the 1961's for $50,selling them for $500 in 1983(they subsequently went to $5,000).

The question I ask myself is:Would I have sold the 52's when the price hit 6 figures in the mid 80's?

Oh,to have the flux capacitor.I also passed on bitcoin at $10 in 2012.

How many of these high value cards did we toss against a wall or cloths pin to our bicycle spokes?lololo.

 

[RUClassof67]

His 1952 Topps card recently sold for 2.8 million.That's for one card of the Series.

In Sept.1973,a card dealer on Staten Island was selling entire sets-over 400 cards-for $350.

Since the price had risen from $195 in the previous year,I passed.I did buy the 1961's for $50,selling them for $500 in 1983(they subsequently went to $5,000).

The question I ask myself is:Would I have sold the 52's when the price hit 6 figures in the mid 80's?

Oh,to have the flux capacitor.I also passed on bitcoin at $10 in 2012.

I’ve made my living in the sports memorabilia business since 1985. First of all let me point out that not all 1952 Mickey Mantles are worth $2.88M. The one that sold in auction was in pristine near mint to mint condition. That’s why it sold for that much.

Quick story: A partially unopened case of 1952 Topps high number cards was discovered in New England in 1988 by a high profile dealer named Al Rosen (who at the time was a friend of mine). There were 56 very high quality Mantle cards in that lot. I am quite sure the card which just sold at $2.88M was from that find. Rosen was a wheeler dealer and never wanted to have any inventory so he asked me (among others) to help sell all the cards from that find. After a couple weeks, he walked into my store in Highland Park and plunked down the remaining 11 1952 Mantles. I bought them all for $20,000 and then proceeded to sell them for anywhere from $2200-2800 each netting a nice 30-35% profit. Had I been able to hold on to them to sell now, they would have been naming a good chunk of the new Athletic Performance Center after me! Sorry Pat!

 

[Proud NJ Sports Fan]

People are crazy to spend a lot of money on cards.

 

[RUich]

I never had a card of any real value as far as I know. I do remember buying an entire box of cards from my neighborhood store once thinking Mickey had to be in there! No such luck as there were a lot of duplicates and nobody who ever got, I think, famous. My mother threw an entire dresser drawer of BB cards away when I was in college and they were selling the house. Oh well!

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

hmm.. good topic.. in a resurgence of Philly sports.. maybe I should dig out those Schmidt rookie cards I have.. I think I have 3 somewhere... and a lot of cards from early 70s.

eh... ebay has em cheap.. and $525 for this Nolan Ryan rookie card so the poster who got $1000 did well

 

[Source]

So how much for a pristine condition Mickey Mantle Iron-on?
In fact, I have the Hank Aaron one too - also pristine.

 

[zappaa]

LOL
We had game used, World Series used game bats and gloves from Berra, Ford and Mantle...not to mention single signed balls (worth much more than team balls) signed in the era...worth millions at auction today.
We even had a JFK autographed ball.
We played with all that stuff and it all ended up in the same place as your first little league glove...thrown out, in the woods or God knows where...who knew?

.

 

[chase07470]

Just goes to show, the best of anything is the way to invest.

 

[RUClassof67]

LOL
We had game used, World Series used game bats and gloves from Berra, Ford and Mantle...not to mention single signed balls (worth much more than team balls) signed in the era...worth millions at auction today.
We even had a JFK autographed ball.
We played with all that stuff and it all ended up in the same place as your first little league glove...thrown out, in the woods or God knows where...who knew?

.

zap - Met your brother Larry back in the day through this business.

 

[bigbirdRU]

How long until a rookie jeter card is worth something?

 

[RUtom]

Best thing I have is an autographed Maris ball. Its pretty cool because its an '83 world series ball. I was told he attended the game and he and the other people in his box signed it. Luckily Maris is on the sweet spot.

 

[newell138]

I still have all my Mets cards from 1968-1979, one of them is a Nolan Ryan card but that was his 2nd year on the Mets I think. Most are in very good condition, although some have a tack hole in the top from hanging them on my wall. I also have a Chipper Jones rookie card that is in mint condition. Never purchased from a collector, these were all ones I somehow managed to save from when I was a kid. Then again I also still have the ticket stub to every concert and sporting event I ever attended. The only ones I sold were from the 1969 World Series.

 

[SHUSource]

How long until a rookie jeter card is worth something?

It'll never be, because by the time he was a rookie, the baseball card business had exploded, and everyone bought these things up and saved them, so there is no sense of rarity to them. They'll never be worth much at all, unfortunately.

 

[RUsince52]

I’ve made my living in the sports memorabilia business since 1985. First of all let me point out that not all 1952 Mickey Mantles are worth $2.88M. The one that sold in auction was in pristine near mint to mint condition. That’s why it sold for that much.

Quick story: A partially unopened case of 1952 Topps high number cards was discovered in New England in 1988 by a high profile dealer named Al Rosen (who at the time was a friend of mine). There were 56 very high quality Mantle cards in that lot. I am quite sure the card which just sold at $2.88M was from that find. Rosen was a wheeler dealer and never wanted to have any inventory so he asked me (among others) to help sell all the cards from that find. After a couple weeks, he walked into my store in Highland Park and plunked down the remaining 11 1952 Mantles. I bought them all for $20,000 and then proceeded to sell them for anywhere from $2200-2800 each netting a nice 30-35% profit. Had I been able to hold on to them to sell now, they would have been naming a good chunk of the new Athletic Performance Center after me! Sorry Pat!

Mr. Money liked the currency more than the paper stock. A means to an end and he was good at it. Unless you are a high end dealer with client connections, you still have to find a buyer willing to pay your price. The same thing happens at shows.

 

[RUsince52]

LOL
We had game used, World Series used game bats and gloves from Berra, Ford and Mantle...not to mention single signed balls (worth much more than team balls) signed in the era...worth millions at auction today.
We even had a JFK autographed ball.
We played with all that stuff and it all ended up in the same place as your first little league glove...thrown out, in the woods or God knows where...who knew?

.

In the 60's we went to the Philly games because the tickets were easy to buy. Went to an Atlanta game in Philly for BP and got 11 baseball's. 2 were scuffed up so we threw them back on the field. Crazy stuff as kids.
I probably had a 100 Mays, Mantle, Aaron and Williams cards from 1953/54 and donated them to a church rummage sale when I went off to college. Like you said, who knew they were valuable going forward.

 

[BigLou]

LOL
We had game used, World Series used game bats and gloves from Berra, Ford and Mantle...not to mention single signed balls (worth much more than team balls) signed in the era...worth millions at auction today.
We even had a JFK autographed ball.
We played with all that stuff and it all ended up in the same place as your first little league glove...thrown out, in the woods or God knows where...who knew?

.

2 comments

Back in the Renaissance in Italy, I would imagine that Michelangelo's kids used some of his sculptures for rock throwing target practice and threw away the broken pieces afterwards. Sort of the same thing that happened at your house

And, if you believe Jim Bouten in "Ball Four", many items with Mickey Mantle signatures were actually signed by the clubhouse attendant. But I bet the signatures on the bats and gloves that you had were authentic!

 

[S.W.A.I.N]

It'll never be, because by the time he was a rookie, the baseball card business had exploded, and everyone bought these things up and saved them, so there is no sense of rarity to them. They'll never be worth much at all, unfortunately.

Which is just what I’ll tell everyone and then I’ll be the only one holding on to a Gem Mint 10 RC!

 

[jmc11201]

Best thing I have is an autographed Maris ball. Its pretty cool because its an '83 world series ball. I was told he attended the game and he and the other people in his box signed it. Luckily Maris is on the sweet spot.

My Dad was at the game where Maris hit #61 and actually had a video camera with him and has the video on film (from upper deck behind home plate). Not great camera work...he starts to jump up and down (he was 15 at the time), but there can't be too many of those unseen videos floating around.

 

[Rutgers25]

People are crazy to spend a lot of money on cards.

I’m with ya. It’s a piece of cardboard with a picture on it. Fun when you’re a kid, weird for adults..

 

[RUClassof67]

I’m with ya. It’s a piece of cardboard with a picture on it. Fun when you’re a kid, weird for adults..

Tell that to the collectors who are cashing in on high. Quality vintage cards today. The numbers are mind boggling. It’s no different than collecting fine artwork, coins or any other rare items. And I am thankful that it’s allowed me to live very well.

 

[S.W.A.I.N]

I’m with ya. It’s a piece of cardboard with a picture on it. Fun when you’re a kid, weird for adults..

What’s a dollar bill?

 

[RUtom]

What’s a dollar bill?

I can think of a couple differences between cash and baseball cards.

 

[PiscatawayMike]

It'll never be, because by the time he was a rookie, the baseball card business had exploded, and everyone bought these things up and saved them, so there is no sense of rarity to them. They'll never be worth much at all, unfortunately.

Not true. This 1993 Jeter card recently sold for $3,000...

 

[RU89]

I have a friend who was an ex State Senator of New Jersey who was best friends with Bobby Thompson of "Shot Heard Round The World Fame". He visited his friend in a Hospice in Georgia and had him sign a photo of the famous picture of Thompson hugging Leo Durocher in the clubhouse just afterwards. Thompson wrote to me "Jon, this is the moment in the clubhouse with manager and teammates right after the shot heard round the world" Best wishes Bobby Thompson. I have the last autograph ever signed by Bobby Thompson. He died the next day.

 

[PiscatawayMike]

I have a friend who was an ex State Senator of New Jersey who was best friends with Bobby Thompson of "Shot Heard Round The World Fame". He visited his friend in a Hospice in Georgia and had him sign a photo of the famous picture of Thompson hugging Leo Durocher in the clubhouse just afterwards. Thompson wrote to me "Jon, this is the moment in the clubhouse with manager and teammates right after the shot heard round the world" Best wishes Bobby Thompson. I have the last autograph ever signed by Bobby Thompson. He died the next day.

Please forgive me for being "that guy" but... it's Thomson, not Thompson.

Thomson was a real gentleman. He lived in Watchung for a good portion of his life. I spoke with him a few times in the early 90s while I was vending at sports memorabilia shows in NJ.

 

[RU89]

Lol, no problem. I never met him. The thing that shocked is that he not only signed an autograph for me but how personalized and lengthy it was.

 

[RUScrew85]

LOL
We had game used, World Series used game bats and gloves from Berra, Ford and Mantle...not to mention single signed balls (worth much more than team balls) signed in the era...worth millions at auction today.
We even had a JFK autographed ball.
We played with all that stuff and it all ended up in the same place as your first little league glove...thrown out, in the woods or God knows where...who knew?

.

Ugh! LOL

 

[RocktheRac]

I have a set of 1953 Bowman baseball cards color and black and white in an album. I would love to have an expert take a look at see what value I have with these. Not looking to sell but always nice to look at once in a while. The Mickey Mantle card has a scratch in the sky but my Pee Wee Reese and Mantle/Berra/Bauer card are pretty good. Yogi card is missing. Probably in a bicycle spoke.

 

[RUsince52]

Not true. This 1993 Jeter card recently sold for $3,000...

The difference now is that the base rookie cards don't command the big bucks like in the 50s and 60s cards. Now it's all the special variations that are worth money. Not as many printed or signed, but still have to be mint or NM by the rating services.

 

[T2Kplus10]

Oh crap, I just tossed my breakfast.https://www.beckett.com/news/1968-topps-nolan-ryan-rookie-card-at-25000-and-counting/

Well done genius! :)

 

[S.W.A.I.N]

I can think of a couple differences between cash and baseball cards.

You said it’s cardboard, why is it worth anything? Just like the backing of the Fed gives a dollar value, the free market determines the picture on cardboard has value. Like a naturally produced mineral has value. It may seem silly to you, but that perceived silliness doesn’t affect its value in the marketplace.

 

[RUDutch]

A childhood friend of Johnny Vander Meer lived in the same nursing home as my mom. He had a baseball signed my JVM and several other baseball stars from that era. The old gent got alzheimers and thought he could fix the fading signatures by going over them in ink. Very expensive baseball became worthless.