Stahl Meyer Mickey Mantle PSA 9

[TUM301]

Always one of my favorite Mantle cards. Young Mick and that purple/gray backdrop really makes his image pop. Final price, no idea but how often do truly “one of ones “ come available?

[raulus]

Should we start taking bets on the final price?

The 54 Stahl Mantle in PSA 8 (1 of 1, none higher) went for $210k in Feb 2022. Things have cooled off a little since then. Also, I'm not convinced that it really makes a difference whether it's a PSA 8 or a PSA 9, when we're talking about the tippy top of the pop charts.

Of course, whenever you get something with this level of rarity (for the grade), particularly for #7, it's really just a question of when the underbidder will finally decide to drop out. So it's anyone's guess!

I'll go bullish here and guess at $250k, simply because the underbidder on the 54 Stahl probably decided he can't live without having the top graded piece on the 53 Stahl, so keeps pushing it up.

[Kutcher55]

I read that the asking price is $2.567M.

[raulus]

Originally Posted by Kutcher55

I read that the asking price is $2.567M.

HA. Guess it helps if I actually read the article and not just assume it’s coming to auction.

Anyone think it will actually get $2.5M?

No disrespect to Howard or Brian, but it seems a stretch, unless you want to assume that the 1953 in PSA 9 should be worth 12x what the 1954 in PSA 8 is worth. While that sort of a multiplier might apply to a standard issue, I’m not so sure it applies here.

But good luck to Howard and Brian. They are both good friends, and great guys. Plus, all it takes is one buyer with deep pockets who really wants it!

[Kutcher55]

It's hard to tell what an albatross will go for. It just takes a couple of people to really want it. But yeah $2.5M seems rather sporty lol.

[hcv123]

Hi all. A paid post will be forthcoming.

Regarding the asking price:

There isn't really a fair comparison to look at - to say a PSA 8 is the same as a PSA 9 will quickly be dispelled by looking at the prices of any Mantle cards (or most other cards) that sell in PSA 8's and 9's.

This card has never been sold since graded.

I used the sale of the 1953 PSA 7 as a starting point. That card sold for $68,125.

I prepared a spread sheet looking at sales of all Topps and Bowman Mantle cards from 1951-1969 in grades of PSA 7 and PSA 9. The price multiple ranged from a low of 9X for the 1965 and a high of 162X for a recently sold 1969 White letter (A PSA 9, POP 4 card (1 PSA 10 higher), sold in December of '22 for $933K). The average multiple across the range of Topps and Bowman Mantles was 39X. There is only a single Mantle card (1956 White back) with no PSA 9 examples. Every other Topps and Bowman Mantle card had PSA 9 populations ranging from 4 (1952 Topps) to 183 (1968). All but 4 Topps and Bowman's also have PSA 10 examples, many multiple PSA 10's.

This Stahl Meyer card is a unicorn. Pop 1 highest graded and a PSA 9 of an issue where PSA 9's "shouldn't" exist. I think it is very reasonable to suggest this card should command a significantly higher multiple than any of the Topps and Bowman issues for all of the above reasons. The 2.6 million ask is at 39X (the average multiple) of the PSA 7 sale. I understand it is in an absolute sense, a lot of $$, but for the right collector, I really believe it is a relative bargain!

[raulus]

Howard - I can certainly understand and appreciate your reasoning.

And I hope you’re right. I’ve definitely been frequently and badly wrong in the past, and the odds are good that my streak will continue in this case as well.

Best of luck with the sale!

[Zach Wheat]

Originally Posted by hcv123

Hi all. A paid post will be forthcoming.

Regarding the asking price:

There isn't really a fair comparison to look at - to say a PSA 8 is the same as a PSA 9 will quickly be dispelled by looking at the prices of any Mantle cards (or most other cards) that sell in PSA 8's and 9's.

This card has never been sold since graded.

I used the sale of the 1953 PSA 7 as a starting point. That card sold for $68,125.

I prepared a spread sheet looking at sales of all Topps and Bowman Mantle cards from 1951-1969 in grades of PSA 7 and PSA 9. The price multiple ranged from a low of 9X for the 1965 and a high of 162X for a recently sold 1969 White letter (A PSA 9, POP 4 card (1 PSA 10 higher), sold in December of '22 for $933K). The average multiple across the range of Topps and Bowman Mantles was 39X. There is only a single Mantle card (1956 White back) with no PSA 9 examples. Every other Topps and Bowman Mantle card had PSA 9 populations ranging from 4 (1952 Topps) to 183 (1968). All but 4 Topps and Bowman's also have PSA 10 examples, many multiple PSA 10's.

This Stahl Meyer card is a unicorn. Pop 1 highest graded and a PSA 9 of an issue where PSA 9's "shouldn't" exist. I think it is very reasonable to suggest this card should command a significantly higher multiple than any of the Topps and Bowman issues for all of the above reasons. The 2.6 million ask is at 39X (the average multiple) of the PSA 7 sale. I understand it is in an absolute sense, a lot of $$, but for the right collector, I really believe it is a relative bargain!

Good reasoning and best of luck.