Lot # 1340: 1960 Post Cereal Mickey Mantle

Extremely desirable example of New York Yankees Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle, the key card from the 1960 Post Cereal set. 1960 Post Cereals have always been the "king" of all Post Cereal cards. They are large (7 x 8.75 inches), beautiful, and rare, not just because they were issued only one card per box. They are just rare, and this was the first year of issue for Post Cereal baseball cards. They were obviously issued on a very limited basis, and the set was successful enough to encourage Post to issue 200-card sets in the three following years. In the "old days" of the organized hobby, 1960 Post were always known for their mythic rarity and were among the most valuable cards of the era. In recent years, with all the emphasis on graded cards, both larger-format cards and hand-cut cards have received very little attention. 1960 Post might be a little overlooked in today's marketplace, but it is one of the great classic sets of the era. Issued one card per box of Post Cereal, they were intended to be carefully cut from the backs of the packages by youngsters in exactly the same manner as Wheaties cards were in the 1930s. The example presented here displays light rippling and Mantle's name written in red ink on the blank reverse. (Please note that the signature on the back is not authentic.) In our opinion the reverse of the card has been rebacked. Despite the obvious flaws, this is still a very appealing example of Mickey Mantle, the key card from one of the most substantial and rare sets of the 1960s.