1952 Mickey Mantle Card Breaks Record on Auction Market

Mickey Mantle's first baseball card has already shattered purchasing records on the auction market, and there's still two weeks left of bidding time.

As of Friday morning, the 1952 Topps card of Mantle — arguably the second greatest Yankees player in the franchise's illustrious history, behind Babe Ruth — has attracted open bids of more than $7.6 million (premium edition), breaking the previous record of Honus Wagner's card, which sold for $7.25 million last week.

The Mantle card has a 9.5-grade, indicating it's in "pristine" condition. 

According to reports, a similar 1952 Topps Mantle card sold for $5.2 million in 2021.

From 1951-68, Mantle amassed 536 homers, 1,509 RBIs, 1,676 runs, a .298 batting average, and .421 on-base percentage. He also won three American League MVP awards, collected four home run titles, led the AL in runs five times, made 14 All-Star appearances, and helped the Yankees claim seven World Series championships.

Also, the Hall of Famer Mantle is universally considered the greatest switch-hitter in baseball history.

According to reports, the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle No. 311 is one of the "most legendary baseball cards of all time."

It's also referred to as the legend's rookie card, though Mantle made his Yankees debut in 1951.

Baseball card experts refer to this Mantle card as "The Rosen Find," as it was found "among 5,500 cards that included 75 1952 Mantles purchased by collector Alan Rosen during the 1980s."

In 1991, Rosen sold the Mantle-311 card to Anthony Giordano for $50,000, briefly making it the world's most expensive. And now, when the bidding closes on Aug. 27, Heritage Auctions speculates the same Mantle card from 1952 could rake in as much as $10 million.

According to WealthyGorilla.com, here are the world's 10 most expensive baseball cards for collectors, before the current Mantle bidding:

1. Honus Wagner, 1909-1911 ATC T206 (part of a collector's set)
2. Mickey Mantle, 1952 Topps
3. Babe Ruth, 1916 Sporting News
4. Pete Rose, 1963 Topps
5. "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, 1909 American Caramel
6. Nolan Ryan/Jerry Koosman, 1968 Topps
7. Mickey Mantle, 1951 Bowman
8. Babe Ruth, 1914 Baltimore News
9. Willie Mays, 1952 Topps
10. Roberto Clemente, 1955 Topps

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