Lot # 1: 1952 Topps #311 Mickey Mantle SGC NM 84

Graded NM 84 by SGC. Tremendous high-grade example of 1952 Topps #311 Mickey Mantle. One of card collecting's classics, Mantle's card is the key to the 1952 Topps set, one of the most famous of all cards, and the single most popular and valuable postwar baseball card. This is a magnificent example with brilliant colors and a bold blue background. The corners are strong, with only the slightest touch of wear visible under close inspection. The centering is solid (slightly toward the top right), which is notable for this card because it is so often found severely off-center side to side. The reverse is clean and boldly printed with crisp red and black colors. The 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle has long been recognized as one of the iconic "blue chips" of vintage baseball cards, and even just a glance at sales records clearly shows that over the years it has consistently risen in value in all grades. The market for 1952 Topps Mantles in general is on an upward swing — especially for extremely high-quality examples. In August 2022, an SGC MINT+ 9.5 example sold at public auction for $12.6 million, a record at that time for any sports card. This 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle presents a particularly significant collecting and investing opportunity as it is such a strong and attractive example that rarely is offered in this grade! This is an outstanding world-class example.