Top 6 Mantle cards

[brian1961]

Originally Posted by cbrandtw

I'm looking for opinions on what you believe are Mick's top 5 most iconic cards besides the obvious #1. My 2 cents listed below.

2) 51 Bowman
3) 53 Topps
4) 56 Topps
5) 52 Bowman
6) 62 Topps

CBRANDTW-----Just what exactly, precisely do you mean by "iconic", I should like to know?

Trying to decipher "iconic" might mean:

Your favorite.

Best-looking / Most attractive / Best eye appeal / Most beautiful

Most valuable

Most recognizable by the mainstream hobby

Most wanted by the mainstream hobby

Most wanted by the wealthy connoisseurs

Best potential investment (please, with the current PRE-WAR thread about the investment potential of a T206 Cobb versus the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle, I hope this is not the road you are directing us towards)

Also, in your mind when you created the thread, were you merely referring to "The 21 Gum Salute" to Mickey Mantle rendered by Topps and Bowman, or all period Mickey Mantle cards? Or are we including post-career, too?

At one time or another, I have owned most of the Mickey Mantle cards mentioned, including the 1952 Topps. That dazzling '52 was amazing, and I dearly loved it. In my own personal collecting life, only one card topped it---by a huge margin, and it was another Mickey Mantle. I really don't want to mention that one, but I'm not trying to be mysterious and elusive either. Nor do I wish to make this a doctorate dissertation.

The '53 Topps has spiked well, when Mantle collectors grudgingly conceded they could never get a decent '52. A similar thing is happening with the '53 Bowman, the '56 Topps, and the '57 Topps as well. All of these Mickeys are well-known, by sight, to the average vintage card collector. All would elicit well-earned respect. I have always loved the the basic 1960 Topps #350, and the #563 All-Star. Back in the late 60s, early 70s, these were the mainstream Mantles that I was sure attracted to, and sought out fiercely.

Be that as it may, during my first several years in the organized adult hobby, I discovered there were some rare, hard-to-find brooks, located way upstream. It was there the exotic, dazzling, gorgeous Mickey Mantle gems were. Relatively hard to get in the year they were issued; harder to come by today. Unfortunately, they were located by brooks too broad for leaping, a homage to the title of a favorite motor racing book, beautifully written by the late Denise McCluggage, herself a tough-as-nails racer. These, the avant-garde Mickey Mantles, are extremely prized by advanced collectors---to such an extent that nearly anyone who seriously pursues those gems will read your thread closely, but they won't breathe a word to post an honest response. They prefer to play silent, knowing full well to be on their guard for the guy who owns one, or some, but does not know what he has.

To quote the "card player" (or slayer) who relishes gutting someone who does not know what they have, "Congrats on taking advantage of the unsuspecting!"

You know, my recently published E-book on a CD, NEVER CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN, was written to put the spotlight on the avant garde cards of Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Sandy Koufax, Henry Aaron, Willie Mays, Johnny Unitas, Jim Brown, among many others, to help level the playing field. It will help collectors who have them, those who ravenously pursue them, and those who have no knowledge of these babies, and wonder, what's all the fuss about? At this point, I've only sold 26 copies, and those who took the plunge seem to love it. The many who should have jumped on it to buy it, and have thus far ignored it, have missed a great opportunity. Oh well, their loss; my books are all paid for. I haven't lost a dime. I'm not forced to sell any of my collection I have to pay for anything. I was simply trying to help, because I cannot afford them anymore. Since I cannot afford these prized gems anymore, I am now willing to tell all that I know, along with what other key hobby people shared with me over the years and in interviews for the book.

I also note the OP has not answered my simple question as to what exactly he means by "iconic".

---Brian Powell