Lot # 1695: 1961 Topps Near-Complete Set (581/587) Including #300 Mickey Mantle

Presented is a very sharp-looking near-complete set of one of the era's most popular issues, crisp and clean throughout. This near set consists of 581 different cards (out of 587 in the set), missing only #436, 472 Berra MVP, 534, 544, 575 Banks AS, and 576 Maris AS for completion. The 1961 Topps set includes five different Mickey Mantle cards and was Topps' first venture into the popular League Leader subset. The Most Valuable Player subset, an extremely difficult high-number run, and the rookie cards of Juan Marichal, Billy Williams, and Ron Santo also highlight this set. Condition is 10% Nr/Mt to Nr/Mt-Mt, 35% Ex to Ex-Mt, 47% Vg to Vg-Ex, and 8% lesser (including a couple with a slight trim). Keys: #2 Maris (Pr-Fr), 10 B. Robinson (Vg-Ex), 35 Santo RC (Gd+), 44 AL HR Ldrs (Vg+), 80 Killebrew (Vg+), 120 Mathews (Vg+), 141 B. Williams RC (Fr), 150 Mays (Vg), 160 Ford (Vg), 200 Spahn (Vg-Ex), 211 Gibson (Vg-Ex+), 228 Yankees Team (Vg), 260 Drysdale (Ex), 287 Yastrzemski (Gd+), 290 Musial (5/95 L/R, otherwise Ex), 300 Mantle (Vg), 307 Mantle WS Gm. 2 (Vg-Ex), 344 Koufax (small pencil mark on reverse and 100/0 T/B, otherwise Ex), 350 Banks (Fr), 360 F. Robinson (Vg-Ex), 388 Clemente (Vg-Ex), 401 Ruth Hits 60th (Vg), 405 Gehrig Benched (Vg+), 406 Mantle Blasts HR (Vg-Ex), 415 Aaron (Vg-Ex+), 417 Marichal RC (Vg+), 425 Berra (Vg), 429 Kaline (slightly miscut right edge and 5/95 L/R, otherwise Ex), 443 Snider (Vg), 475 Mantle MVP (Vg-Ex), 478 Maris MVP (Vg-Ex), 482 Mays MVP (Vg+), 484 Aaron MVP (Vg-Ex), 517 McCovey (Ex), 577 Aaron AS (Vg+), 578 Mantle AS (Vg-Ex), and 579 Mays AS (Gd+). 1961 will always be remembered as a "magical year" in baseball history, and a high-quality, mostly mid-grade near-complete set of 1961 Topps as offered here will always be a highly prized "time capsule." Total: 581 cards.