Originally Posted by KCRfan1 (Post 1568847)

Tell you what Matty, if you want to make a couple of bucks off that 2.5 Mantle, I'll go ahead and give you grade 3 dollars.

Just trying to be a friend and help out! :D

Originally Posted by cbdavids (Post 1570162)

I traded for this Mantle back in 1970. The owner was an older kid down the street, a teenager, but I don't remember his name. Rounded corners? Off center? Creases? Meh! It didn't matter then, and it doesn't now.

Originally Posted by MBMiller25 (Post 1571151)

Orlando, That's a very nice 61 Mantle.

I have always wanted a 69 Mantle because it has his career stats on the back of the card. For a generally tough and ugly card, I am happy with this one.

http://www.collectorfocus.com/images...-mickey-mantle

Originally Posted by pokerplyr80 (Post 1571284)

Did you get that from Jeff at the national? I think that's the one I saw on his site. Went to buy it and it was gone. Nice card.

Originally Posted by begsu1013 (Post 1571731)

the 65 is off to be red flipped hopefully...

tried to stick to centered cards the best i could.

the 57, 59 and 64 were toughies.

really hard to balance my patience, my standards when it came to availability.

as far as centering goes, those are tough years to begin w/ but then throw in the sig

and it's get's really tough.



but signed basic topps run is officially complete
and fig'd this be a good place to dump it:


side notes of the project:

* never woulda guessed the 65 woulda been the final nail.
* the 52 was second to last.
* almost bought a 52 beater in a blue flip from a guy in canada. might be a psa mistake and is labeled 52t but it might be a "trading card"
* there's a 62 that i balked early on in the project that still haunts me.
* in sheer availability, the 57 was the card i saw the fewest available examples of.
* 64/68 seem to be the most readily available.

Originally Posted by begsu1013 (Post 1571751)

most of them were blue flipped originally.

so i had to pretty much take a gamble on a good bit of them that they would crossover as a numerical grade.
i did not want any altered cards for this project.
was happy even if they came back as 1's. some of them i scored big on.
especially on some of the bowmans, which i'll post later...

but as far as the technically graded 1s:

the 56 has paper loss.

the 53 has some transparent tape on left hand side.
hard to see, but it is there. however, was a relative steal considering overall eye appeal, red corner and centering.
all which were harsh personal standards for me on that one.

so those two are pretty much automatic 1's because of those factors.



the 59 was probably a 3, but considering the oc factor that
probably bumped it down to the 1.

and same goes w/ the 67. i think the severity of the crease
mixed w/ the oc appeal granted it the 1.



as for cards personally signed by mick, i only have one...

and i contemplated for a couple of years on whether or not to send it to get graded/entombed.

ultimately, i decided against it for several reasons...

1. i got it in person. and have heard horror stories about how people
have had items they got signed as a kid get kicked back as "non-authentic".

2. im a psa guy, they are not perfect, but i certainly didn't want to
have a black cloud of that magnitude happen not only to this collection
i was putting together but to such a memorable childhood memory as well.

3. most importantly, i didn't need psa's opinion on this one. my dad was
great about saving my cards and recently got them back. i still haven't
finish organizing them or going thru them. but i have pulled all sorts of cards
that would probably grade pretty high and carry some decent monetary value if graded.
but they never will be sent off. i keep the two collections separate and always will.

so w/o further ado, here is that signed 58 that i mowed countless yards to obtain just so i could get signed.
my dad bought the auto ticket but i had to buy whatever i wanted him to sign...it spent $50 on the 58
which was absolutely huge for me back then and even @ $50 the dealer took care of me. his name was
kit young. still in business i believe and for obvious reasons. i will never forget him.

Originally Posted by Stonepony (Post 1571818)

If a board member won the Tip Top Mantle in Huggins Scott at $24,250.... congrats and WOW!!!!!

Originally Posted by Cooptown (Post 1572898)

The signed Mantle run is probably the most jaw dropping collection I have ever seen. How do you display them?

Did I miss a 1952 signed one or do you have it?

Originally Posted by MattyC (Post 1573607)

It's so hard to find a nice '65, could not resist. One of my favorite Mickeys. I am generally not a corner guy, but the gem mt corners of this card are really striking in hand.

http://www.collectorfocus.com/images...5-topps-mantle

Originally Posted by MikeGarcia (Post 1573802)

..
"Scooped up these two Mick/Berras also. Loved the focus and centering on each. Seems like this one is always blurry or OC or both."http://imagehost.vendio.com/a/204295...900400_NEW.JPG


...

Originally Posted by Stonepony (Post 1575783)

There's no such thing as overpaying for a nice eye appeal Mantle in any grade.

Originally Posted by MattyC (Post 1576855)

We should put that on a line of mugs and T-shirts :) !

Originally Posted by DeanH3 (Post 1577828)

Sweet '52 Jesse. Nice pick up.

Matt - nice auto'd Mick!

Man, I sure wish I had kept at least one of my signed Mantles. Had Mr. Mantle sign 3 cards, '60, '64 and a '69, at a show back in the late 80's. Sold them to fund other purchase but I sure regret it now.

Originally Posted by savedfrommyspokes (Post 1574199)

Centering was my first thought as to why those cards did not sell at the trend prices....a decently centered PSA 3 (old flip, compares closer to a current 2 - 2.5 due to heavy crease) sold last evening on ebay for $23,500.

I think every collector has their peeves, based on the prices, centering is a greater concern than a heavy crease.

For lower grade cards , I do find centered cards with fairly intact corners but possessing light creasing/surface wear much more appealing than a card that is o/c, w/rounded corners, has staining and/or has heavy creasing.

Originally Posted by pawpawdiv9 (Post 1577918)

I missed seeing that one, maybe someone can find the link to it, as I cant find it.
BTW...did you guys see the listing on Ebay for 3 1952 Mantle rookies!!!!
for 120k
http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-1952-Topps...p2047675.l2557
PSA 5, PSA 7oc, and BVG 5.5
I only saw it, bc my g-parents live near by this town.

Originally Posted by tjenkins (Post 1585461)

My most recent Mantle acquisition. I always wanted this card and finally pulled the trigger thanks to "KC Doughboy."

'61 Mantle All Star PSA 4
http://toddjenkins.wikispaces.com/fi...antle%20AS.jpg

Originally Posted by Bestdj777 (Post 1585528)

That's not a PSA 4...

Originally Posted by tjenkins (Post 1585564)

You are correct. Force of habit. I don't know much about GMA but look forward to getting the card.