Commerce Comet's 1952 Topps #311 meteoric rise in value

[Seven]

Originally Posted by brunswickreeves

In 2018 I was on the home stretch of my MBA at Babson. To brain break, I began analyzing the prior 3 years of available sales trend data on the beloved 1952 Topps #311 Mickey Mantle card. I put that analysis away until recently. Wondering what if instead, I dropped out and invested my tuition dollars into a '52 Mantle. Analysis is attached. I could have bought 2 PSA 5.5s at $43K each, which has recently sold in that grade for $124K, each. That's an unrealized PROFIT of $162K. Anyone leave money on the table, or get in at the right time? What's the future hold for this card?!

I have no clue what the future holds for this Card.

I remember getting back into collecting roughly a year and a half before the Pandemic. I was looking at Prices on the 52 Mantle. I believe A's and 1's were going anywhere between 8-12 thousand. Not that I could afford that at that time, but I said to myself "Well even if it doubles in Value over the next decade, I should still be able to swing it by the time I'm in my early 40s, as long as I save properly"

It's gone insane, to the point where I question how much I want one. Sure I would love to eventually complete my Mantle run but now 1's are selling for 30K. I would have to sell a kidney to purchase that. And even then It poses the question of "Would I rather have the one Mantle or a Cobb, Gehrig, Ruth, Mathewson, and Mays?"

I understand the card is iconic, and a staple of the vintage hobby, but I don't understand it. Yes the high numbers are more rare, Yes it is Mickey Mantle but there are thousands of 1952 Mantles out there, hell I'd wager there is more than we think in the hands of older collectors who never got theirs graded. Just doesn't make sense to me.