Is this 1953 Bowman Color Mantle legit?
 

Auction in question

This is being sold as an authentic 1953 Bowman Color Mickey Mantle. Admittedly, my experience with shopping for high value vintage cards is somewhat limited, but this has to be one of the most vibrant non-slabbed examples I've ever seen of this card. Is this is the real thing, it's going to go for a bundle.

I've looked back at the seller's history, and they've sold three graded Mantles, all back in 2012: two 1952 Bowman PSA 7's at $1855 and $1936, and a 1953 Topps PSA 4 for $700. So they have, at least in the past, dealt with Mantles from this era.

I'd like some feedback please. Red lights are flashing, yet looking at the scan zoomed in, I can't see anything that "outs" the card right away.

PSA SMR for this card

http://www.psacardfacts.com/CardDetail.aspx?item=23557

For me, something is not right about these cards for auction. I believe they are authentic, legit, original. However, the 54 Jackie Robinson card is very blue. The yellow background is pale comapred to the others on ebay. Look at other ebay auctions of this card and this is easily noticed. The 53 Mantle is the same way. His skin tone is blue, as is the Yankee cap. The overall card has a blueish tint. The 61 Mantle has no image or picture depth, and the image of Mantle himself looks washed out. The 53 Bowman looks the same to me. Take some time to look at each card the seller has for auction and compare his cards to the same that others have for sale. There is enough here that if a couple of cards cause me to be suspect, I should be suspect of his whole lot. I suspect either color retouching or the cards have been " cleaned " and the colors have been altered. My concern is if you would have the cards graded they would not grade and return as altered.

Lou, you're thinking along the same lines I am. Something is just...off.

For a 60 year old card, it's remarkably clean. It doesn't look like it's been handled, or exposed to the elements, at all.

Or
 

As in the case of several EBay sellers (Great Lakes comes to mind) the scans are brightened to make the card look even better.

RIch

Scans
 

The point Rich is making was demonstrated in a thread on pre war where the same cards, offered by different sellers, looked dramatically different ( better) depending on how the scans were handled. That thread went on to debate the ethics of "manipulating " scans. Not my intent to restart that debate here, just to say the right scan technique can apparently do wonders for a card.

As far as this one, I an not a Bowman collector and no experience with this card. But with a card that nice looking you might expect the seller to have had it graded

Interesting, Rich. I don't get why a seller would do that, because when the card is received, the buyer is going to notice the card is not nearly as brilliant as the picture. That would almost certainly result in my returning the card. If they were willing to manipulate the image, what else might they have done?

Al, that's a good point. The other Mantles he's sold have been PSA graded. Why is this one being sold unslabbed?

Umm.. to me it looks funny..such sharp corners and nice white border and all centered.
Almost like a re-print. Thats what i would label it as.
You gotta ask yourself...why the seller did not slab the card and get more $$$

Agreed on all points, Chris.

53 bowman mantle
 

Bill,

I collect these and something does not look quite right. My first and most obvious question - which has been pointed out previously - is why he hasn't had such a high end card graded. I would like to hear his response.

The corners are extremely sharp for a card of this age and given the fact the main star card of this set is not graded is just plain odd?

The white borders also stick out like a sore thumb. There are just too many things that stick out for me to purchase if I were n your shoes.

They may all be real, but...I don't know. Something bugs me. The 61 mantle back isn't the right color green. And why would these not be graded? If they are legit, this seller is leaving a lot of money on the table. I'm all for raw cards, but I think I'd need to see these cards "in hand" to spend that much money.

If you click on their completed listings all three all graded cards yet all these nice cards are being offered raw. Could be very legit but raises a ?? to me.