I would think the numbers are well higher. It's a big country, and there are probably well more than ten men in each age group-- let's say 30's, 40's, 50's, 60's, and 70's-- who want that card and can afford it at high levels.
If there were only ten men in the entire country in each of those age ranges that would still be 50 bidders.
And of course the number of men goes up a great deal as we go down in price.
Just my .02.
Anecdotally, I remember having lunch with one such bidder, who now owns a 9 I believe. This was a few years before he got into cards. I mentioned to him how cards were my passion and hobby, and he said to me, "I grew up loving cards and intend to get back into it one of these days. One day I will definitely have an amazing '52 Mantle." He would later get into the hobby in a huge way, but I always found it telling that he singled out The Mick from the jump.
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