Ranking Mantle's Hardest Cards To Find Centered

[MattyC]

Over the years I have noticed many big HOFer cards that are routinely plagued from tough centering issues. From the 52 Topps Mantle to the 64 Rose to the 76 Brett.

But Mantle in particular has several early issues that are so very, very tough to find with centering and thus standout eye appeal. What's more, the large number of these Mantles that sell makes for a pretty huge sample space to scour. I'm talking about looking through VCP and completed eBay sales and Registry sets, sifting through examples in ALL grades just to find cards with perfect centering-- or just near perfect.

These issues below are the beasts. I mean, ask yourself, or just look on ebay or VCP-- when do we see these cards available with great centering?

1951 Bowman
1952 Topps
1952 Bowman
1953 Bowman Color
1954 Bowman
1957 Topps
1958 World Series Batting Foes with Aaron.

It's amazing that Mantle is easily the most popular player, the standard bearer of the hobby and market-- and he has perhaps more cards routinely found with TERRIBLE centering than any other Post War HOFer.

It seems when one looks at the high grade Mantles from these years, that sharp corners can be found much, much more easily than great centering.

[Bestdj777]

I would put the 53 Topps at the top of the list. The centering on that issue (left to right) is generally attoricous.

[bobsbbcards]

The '69 Topps Mantle also has fairly severe centering problems.

[Stonepony]

I'd have 58 Topps in the top 5

[MattyC]

I agree the 69 is brutal.

I have seen quite a few dead nuts centered 58s in my time. The 53 always has that bendy tilt in the top right, but one can find those three white borders of equal thickness with patience. On ebay the other day there were 3 separate PSA 5s with amazing centering. Still very very tough overall though no question.

I'd have to say the 51 and 52T are the kings of poor centering and difficulty in finding one with great centering. I just scoured HA.com and there must be a hundred of each of the 51 and #311-- and not a one has glorious centering.

So for me those would be tied for #1.

Coming in to occupy the #2 slot is another pair in a dead-heat tie...

The 53 and 54 Bowman cards.

Holy Crap are these two cards insane beasts to find centered.

Once again, take a look at VCP, at Ebay past sales and current listings, at old auction archives, Registry Set photos, HA.com, heck even Google... The 53 and 54 Bowman cards, aside from being drop dead gorgeous images, are hardly ever found centered. If it's not sideways it's top/bottom. If not either then tilt.

And these early 50's cards just depict The Mick in his most glorious prime-- these images look like an artist's portrait of Post War America. Mick in these shots looks more like a fantasy rendering of the ideal Captain America athlete than a real human being. It's probably why so many who never even saw the guy play are drawn to his cards-- these early issues have an ethereal, almost surreal quality to them. As if they are windows into a Rockwellian, perfect America that exists only in the abstract. Yet by being tangible things themselves, the cards give that illusion that all they represent, however lost to time, did at one point exist.

I would then go with the 57 Topps at #3, the sole occupier of that slot. I have seen a few centered examples over the years but they are like .0001% of what's out there. Even when centered it has subtle tilt. And while I have seen centered examples I must admit I've never seen a DEAD-centered one that was perfection.

So my list goes...

1. 51 Bowman and 52 Topps.
2. 53 Bowman & 54 Bowman.
3. 57 Topps.
4. 52 Bowman. (very close call with #3)
5. 53 Topps.
6. 69 Topps.
7. 60 Topps. (can't sleep on this beast either)

[brian1961]

It has slowly but steadily come to my understanding and experience that from the years 1952 to about 1969, only once in a great while would the Topps printing department "screw up" their centering of a Mickey Mantle card---AND GET IT DEAD CENTERED, AS THEY SHOULD HAVE IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!!!!!!!!! -Brian Powell

PS--Topps must have learned this modus operandi from the Bowman Gum Company, though I feel Bowman got Mick centered an itzy bit more often.

[GregC]

Agree on that list. I would also rank the 55 Bowman very high. That card is almost always OC T/B. I always assumed the card was meant to be registered more to the top until I finally saw it centered. I also still say that is not Mantle on the card...

The centering on all 50's Mantles makes it very difficult for the collector on a budget like myself to find really stellar eye appeal in low grade.

[MattyC]

Yes, but you always get my 'hand-me-down' Mantles as I upgrade-- and you get them for cost no matter how long ago I bought them. Might be the best deal in the hobby, bro!

And I might add your luck in finding Mantles with the best ratio of low grade to high eye appeal (we should create a stat/quotient for that, like OPS+) is crazy good. Your 54 in 3, 57 with the wrinkles, and RC in 4 are nuts. Although that 4 proves that at times you can spend some major coin. And when you aren't finding centered low grade Mantles, you are somehow finding the ONE dealer at the National who has grossly underpriced Mantles! A 52 Bowman in 5 for-- what was it again...750??? I still think he might have been into dudes and was trying to hit on you with that discount price!!!

[Gr8Beldini]

I don't have too much experience w/ early 50's stuff but I can't imagine too many issues being as tough as the '65 Topps, which I find to be much more difficult to find centered than the aforementioned '69 Topps.

[Paul S]

Originally Posted by Gr8Beldini

I don't have too much experience w/ early 50's stuff but I can't imagine too many issues being as tough as the '65 Topps, which I find to be much more difficult to find centered than the aforementioned '69 Topps.

I have - or have owned -- plenty of off-centered Mantles. For some reason most of my 65Ts are very well centered uniformly. I was living in CA at the time I pulled this one out of a pack. Maybe the cutting blades were properly aligned when whoever managed distribution arbitrarily decided send that particular batch to the west coast. Although a lot of time has passed and cards move around, maybe start looking for old time west coast sellers(?). In those days I was more interested in the players I might get than I was about centering issues.