Quote:
Originally Posted by Bestdj777
The non-mainstream cards are some of the best cards. Nice pickup.
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Bestdj777 / Chris --- You have spoken accurately, my friend. Speaking from collecting experience during years Mickey was playing, we (my neighborhood buddies and myself) all looked forward to trying to get any Mickey Mantle gum card offered by Topps, in particular his regular standard issue.
Be that as it may, with my discovery of mail order firms such as Wholesale Cards Co. and The Trading Card Company, I was able to procure nearly every mainstream Mickey Mantle I wanted. Those I did not have I purchased at the early baseball card conventions I was privileged to attend. A favorite example was a beautiful centered visually mint 1957 Mickey for, my memory escapes me; it was either one dollar, or two dollars. Believe me; I'm not bragging---that was the going rate in the summer of '73 at the Midwest Sports Collectors Convention in Troy, MI. Does that connote to "easy-peasy"?
It does. However, the organized hobby was just beginning to pick up steam, so "easy-peasy" is not accurate. I feel "ground floor opportunity" best summarizes the matter.
There was a noteworthy exception. There always seems to be. The vaunted 1952 Topps Mantle had eluded me. I had enjoyed meeting Mr. Larry Fritsch at the '72 Midwest, my first show. Shortly after Christmas, 1972, I wrote to Larry. He knew I was serious and sincere in asking for his help. Within a few days, he sent me a very friendly type-written letter. He was pleased to inform me he did indeed have a mint 1952 Topps Mickey---his last one, at that moment. He admitted his price was high, at $25, but he would hold Mickey for me for (either 2 weeks or a month) whist I made up my mind. I put the matter to my dear widowed mother. She read the earnestness in my face, and decided to sacrifice that $25 for me to buy what was then the card of my dreams. True to his word, Larry held that Mantle gem for me. It looked "perfect" to me. Technically, it was centered a bit off to the side and down by the same amount, but the colors were exceptionally vibrant and strong, the picture registry was flawless, and no print spots whatsoever. I was very happy and satisfied. I thanked and hugged and kissed my dear Mom profusely. I knew she wasn't made of money, and this was a sacrifice for her.
As I matured in my baseball card and coin collecting pursuits, I found myself gravitating towards some of Mickey Mantle's regional / food issues -- all non-mainstream. They typically were well-designed with a great photo, and invariably seemed to have a very interesting background story that spelled "hard to get right from the get-go". EVEN IF the regional / food Mick was plentiful, finding one in what we would term "high grade" was often, sadly, the quest for the impossible. As Rob Lifson described them, they tend to have a built-in rarity. These were the original chase cards. You had to buy the product to procure your prize.
By some minor miracles and the grace of God, He enabled me to track down several of these Mickey Mantle chase cards, and were you to ask me, what are your favorite Mickey Mantles, a bunch of the regional / food Micks and one Topps test issue come to mind first (the 1969 Topps Super).
I love my gum cards of The Commerce Comet---most assuredly so; I recognize our hobby would be missing its foundation without the gum cards. The key point is that they're great cards AND AVAILABLE. Nevertheless, my Mantle regional / food gems are definitely the highlights of my Mickey Mantle collection, for by stark contrast the regional / food gems are not available, save for run of the mill examples, or as I like to put it, looking like the inside of a goat's stomach. In all raw honesty, it is a humbling privilege to own each of them, particularly in view of understanding more of the plethora of obstacles and difficulties that stood in the way of a collector trying to acquire a nice specimen. I refer to the year the item was issued during Mickey's career, on to this day. Wasn't a piece of cake then, and definitely not-so today.
I beg your pardon Chris. I hope you don't mind me elucidating most vociferously on your positive words regarding the matter of Mickey Mantle's non-mainstream cards. Long ago, I stepped out of the ordinary, and began my escape to the rare, the exciting, and the unusual.
Mantle gum cards have been in the stratosphere for years and years, whilst the regionals are under-appreciated, and grossly to obscenely undervalued.
That's my hot-dog pack's worth.
---- Brian Powell