I've been lurking on this thread for a long time and have never posted anything. Since I don't have a recent Mantle pickup, I'll post my original one - this '56.
Circa 1990 at a now long-gone card shop in the mall in Hickory, NC. I walked in and gasped as I saw this beauty under the glass. I was 13 at the time and carried my cards with me on trips (this was to visit my grandparents and my cousin, so I must have had the box of good stuff in the car...) Wound up trading nearly everything I had with me that day (including a nice '61 Mantle #300 and an '89 UD Griffey RC...) but I walked out with it. Still the key card in my modest collection nearly 30 years later. It's only about VG, though might grade lower technically due to the paper loss on the bottom right corner. Other than that though it's got bright colors, near perfect centering, and no creases. Gray back...
This card has survived all of the "holder generations", incidentally. It originally lived in an inch thick lucite screw down, currently lives in a vintage sleeve and a toploader in my closet.
For my money, this is one of The Mick's best cards other than his rookies. Colorful, from an awesome set design, and of course from his triple crown year. I figure mine is not worth more than about $300 or so, but I wouldn't trade it for the world!
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