1951 Wheaties Premium Photo Mickey Mantle

[Timbegs]

I recently won this card raw in an auction (really I was just very lucky) after chasing it for the last 20 years. When you have a very small budget and collect Mickey Mantle cards, you sort of recognize that certain cards will be unattainable. You're just never going to own one; I came to grips with the fact that I'll never own a 1952 Topps 311. I'm OK with it. Maybe old and gray one day. Maybe. So that, 51 B, 52B, 69 Super in any kind of decent grade (I always felt a really nice 3 or better was good enough for me) would always elude me. Whenever I save for a high end card, something important takes that money. And I'm not complaining. This is luxurious hobby for vintage collector. At least I hope that it is. And for a number of reasons, price chief among them, I had the Wheaties rookie card on the list. A bit of a dream come true to own one and the card will ship to me Monday. The good folks at SGC will be grading what I am hoping will be their twelfth shortly there after. I have graded this card from the scans a 4 so its pretty much guaranteed to be a 3 (at best). That is a reflection on BOTH my lack of skill as a grader AND my inability to see the flaws in my own cards. Nothing more, nothing less.

So, I am and always have been absolutely fascinated by this card. The scarcity (of graded ones anyway), the only photographic picture of Mickey at such a tender age on a rookie card, and the (near) fact that this card is a nice 'photoshop' job by an artist from the 1950s who doctored a rather famous photo from the 1952 World Series by adding pinstripes and removing the background. I am aware of theories that surround the card (and the others from the set) but I have never seen definitive proof of an issue date - here or elsewhere. I searched these threads pretty well and while each theory had solid supporting evidence, I never saw a 'final verdict' on the date of issue for the set.

So I am starting this thread in the hopes of accumulating more information (total graded population, history, lure, what happened to them, recent sales - literally anything) about the card and to (hopefully) see a few - graded or raw - from those who may have one - beaters, gems, whatever you got. I'll get the ball rolling now and I'll also post the card below when it comes back graded from SGC - which, coincidentally, is when I will actually be happy. I have not made a decision as to whether or not I will sell the other items from the lot (since you'll see them, too, below) despite already receiving some nice offers from some of the good members of net54.