[tedzan]

I am old enough to tell you of how excited I was to have gotten this card when I opened a 5-cent Topps pack in the Fall of 1952.

I was excited because the sports media hype regarding Mantle as the successor to Joe DiMaggio was riding high, as early as 1951.
And, by the Fall of '52, Mantle was already hitting prodigious HR's and had a season BA = .311 (coincidently, his 1952 Topps card number).

The story now jumps to 1979 when the "Rookie card" craze started. As a lot of things in this hobby, this craze started in Philadelphia
when Pete Rose was traded to the Phillies. Overnite, Rose's rookie card went from a common 1963 card price to $50. Then, in 1980
at a Philadelphia auction, 3 - 1952 Topps Mantle cards sold for a total of $10,000.

This sale was unprecendented in the hobby back then. And, the rest is history. This card was never really rare, but it was touted
as being so. However, it was not his real rookie card. The 1951 Bowman was (and it was tougher to find than his Topps card).
But, for unexplainable reasons, Mantle's Bowman card at that time did not get its deserved respect by collectors and dealers in the
hobby.

Anyhow, you wonder if its value will continue to go up ?

Like anything else nowadays, it depends on the economy. And, that aint doing so well at this point in time.

I hope I answered some of your questions.

TED Z