What is up with this rare Mantle card? Really?
 

Saw this 66 and seems just a little overpriced. Not even sure this card is considered a variation.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/RED-LINE-TOP...4AAOSwvFZW7H2R

Show me another, he says??? I did a quick look on ebay (with no effort at all) and immediately found two:

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It's just a crop line on the printing sheet and it's been known about for 50 years.

Thanks JollyElm, I kind of figured that this one was no big deal. I would love to know how to send them the pictures of the two you found.

I've noticed that the 1962 topps mantle has that in the bottom.

Yeah, I do a lot of 1962 green tint research, for lack of a better word, and the crop marks seem to appear after 4 cards down on the vertical. So on a print sheet (across all series, not just the GT's) of 12 cards down, these marks appear twice (after 4 cards down and again after 8 cards down), so you'll find them on the bottom of a ton of different cards and across the top of a ton of cards. But due to the vagaries of the positioning of cards on said print sheets, just because a print line appears on a particular card, doesn't necessarily mean each and every version of the card has it.

Case in point, card #135 (regular version) with and without a bottom crop line…

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My 62 Mantle looks like it has the line at the bottom.

Nice card ! I wonder if it would have graded higher without the line . Here is a pic on mine without the line . I got it from a guy at a card show who had four this was the only one that did not have it .

Yours is a nice one too Rookie. I like it better without the line, for sure. I've always wondered if it would grade a half point higher without the line. I never tried to review it, I'm happy the way it is.

Johnny630 thanks but it's no 7 lol

Jollyelm I've noticed it the most with the mantle . And it's always on the bottom . Does that say anything about the placement ?

I

I'm pretty sure in the only uncut print sheet that I've ever seen from the Mick's series (it only showed one Mantle card, as it only included 10 rows down), he's the eighth card down from the top, so the crop line appears under him.

Tough to see, but there he is, 5th column from the right…

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Very cool , thanks for showing me that . I wonder what the line does on grading . Do they just say the centering is a bit off ? Or do they say well I see a line as count it against the card ?

I am not 100% sure but I do believe that you are not penalized for the line. A lot of the 70 Willie Mays cards have the white line showing at the top and it does not appear to affect the grade for the graded examples I have seen. I think I remember reading something on that as well a while back.