The official Mickey Mantle Pickup Thread. All Mick, all the time!

[irv]

Originally Posted by Bigdaddy

Picked up this raw '53 Mantle recently. My oldest Mick.

Love that card! Nice P/U!

[CW]

Nice card, Tom! Iconic.

looking back on this page, I guess the same could be said for Jerry's sweet PSA 2 and Johnny's PSA 7. Something about that '53 Topps.

[swarmee]

Grabbed these on COMC during the Black Friday sale in November:
Had to reload some cash onto COMC when I saw this pop up (cost $260); paid $2 for them to give it a condition review and they consider it Near Mint. RECEIVED PSA 4 VG-EX; ARGH!

1964 Hasbro Challenge the Yankees - [Base] #MIMA - Mickey Mantle [Near*Mint]
Courtesy of COMC.com
Exhibits batting - should be an upgrade RECEIVED PSA 5 EX

EX+ Bronx Bombers - might be an upgrade?

1963 Exhibit with red stats on back RECEIVED GOOD 2

1952 Exhibits Yankees Team card RECEIVED PSA 4 VG-EX?

[robsbessette]

Don’t know a ton about this other than my father owned it in the 60s. He never hung it up, and it remained rolled until we unearthed it from his childhood home. There is some staining, but it’s a really awesome piece. It measures 44 inches tall and 30 inches wide. If anyone has more info, I’d love to hear anything about it.

[Bestdj777]

Originally Posted by robsbessette

Don’t know a ton about this other than my father owned it in the 60s. He never hung it up, and it remained rolled until we unearthed it from his childhood home. There is some staining, but it’s a really awesome piece. It measures 44 inches tall and 30 inches wide. If anyone has more info, I’d love to hear anything about it.

That’s a fantastic piece. I have the same poster as does another member of the board. You know the photographer, obviously, but other than that I’ve never learned much in the way of details on it. I may have heard at some point that they were sold at Manny’s, but can’t recall for certain whether that was about this one and, even if so, don’t know if there is any truth to it.

[brian1961]

I just thought a few of you Mickey Mantle connoisseurs might enjoy seeing this.

1) The original Sports Collectors Digest ad from the January 15, 1988 issue, when Mr. Mint announced the purchase of the Barbara Grossman collection of New York Yankee cards and all sorts of other items devoted to her beloved Bronx Bombers. Mr. Mint devoted two photo arrangements of some of the marquee items, among which was a mint 1962 JELL-O unfolded box of Mickey Mantle.

2) I devoted chapter 1 of my book on immediate post-war regional / food issues, Never Cheaper By the Dozen, to this intriguing set, the few, BUT STRONG, childhood memories I have of them, and the occasion when I purchased this very same box from Mr. Rosen at the fall 1988 Philly Show. Back in the spring of 2016, Sports Collectors Daily editor Rich Mueller kindly ran the chapter in his fine net hobby magazine. Here is the link.

3) I present to you the image of the '62 JELL-O Mantle box from my book. In preparing for the photo-shoot, I will always remember when my dear wife beautifully recreated how the apple JELL-O would have looked. Doesn't it make your stomach ah... turn for the worse?

Anyway, Hope you enjoy it. Thanks for the many things you all have shown and taught me. Happy new year. ---- Brian Powell



https://www.sportscollectorsdaily.co...ey-mantle-box/

[jfkheat]

I picked up these two in the last couple weeks.

[Bestdj777]

That’s awesome Brian. Always knew you had that beauty but awesome to know a bit more of the history of it. The photo is a bit difficult to see but looks like a 1960 Post and a 1959 Home Run Derby. Can anyone make out the others?

Ps. I’ve enjoyed hearing your collecting stories, both buy phone and through your terrific book. Your knowledge is an asset to the hobby. And, I would have loved to see your collection back in the day.

[AustinMike]

Originally Posted by Bestdj777

That’s a fantastic piece. I have the same poster as does another member of the board. You know the photographer, obviously, but other than that I’ve never learned much in the way of details on it. I may have heard at some point that they were sold at Manny’s, but can’t recall for certain whether that was about this one and, even if so, don’t know if there is any truth to it.

Chris, you may have heard that from me. I remember looking through an old baseball magazine a year or so ago and seeing a Manny's ad with that poster being offered. I've looked through a few old magazines with Mantle on the cover this morning hoping I could find it again, but I haven't found it. As you know, I've moved recently and have stuffed a bunch of items in a closet. I'm hoping that's where my non-Mantle old magazines are at. I did get rid of my Street and Smith magazines (at least the non-Mantle covers) and am hoping it wasn't in one of them. I'll keep looking.

[hcv123]

Originally Posted by Bestdj777

That’s awesome Brian. Always knew you had that beauty but awesome to know a bit more of the history of it. The photo is a bit difficult to see but looks like a 1960 Post and a 1959 Home Run Derby. Can anyone make out the others?

Ps. I’ve enjoyed hearing your collecting stories, both buy phone and through your terrific book. Your knowledge is an asset to the hobby. And, I would have loved to see your collection back in the day.

61 Dice Game
48 Leaf Ruth
38 Heads up Dimaggio
69 Topps Super Mantle?
67 Maris proof

[brian1961]

To confirm and identify the other tantalizing cards The Mint Man chose to photo, I believe that Howard has indeed nailed the 1969 Topps Super Baseball Mantle. The others are an O-Pee-Chee "Baseball Stars" Set A 1937 Joe DiMaggio, 1941 Play Ball DiMag, and a 1960 Home Run Derby Mickey Mantle. The year I've given for the latter is not a misprint on my part; rather, the conclusion of my research into this amazing black 'n white set. I devoted chapter 8 to the Derby set, and this happens to be the other set that Rich Mueller ran on Sports Collectors Daily. I'm rather certain those adroit among us can Google it, and find the saved article/chapter. Rich was rather taken with my findings, and he and I were hoping to drum up a little business. Didn't work, but he gave it the old college try, for which I am grateful to him.

By the way, there was one major card the Mint Man chose not to include in the photos, the Piece de Resistance of Barbara's collection. When Alan Rosen had the celebratory photo snapped of buying Barbara Grossman's massive Yankee collection, a smiling Barbara was holding thick wads of hundred-dollar bills, while Mr. Rosen had one arm at his chest holding three of the cards, and, with his other arm around Barbara, he held up one card, the crown jewel---the subject of chapter 13 of my book, a Mickey Mantle card so beautiful, so fascinating, and so profoundly rare in high grade, I gave it the deserving name, THE MALTESE FALCON OF BASEBALL CARDS. If you're fortunate to own a copy of Mr. Rosen's second and last book, TRUE MINT, you will find this celebratory photo on page 63. Not to be flagrantly coy, but if someone wishes to load up a scan of the photo, I'd be grateful. My tech expert is away, and I figured Mr. Rosen won't mind anymore, and there might be a few curious Mantle connoisseurs out there who might enjoy this photo from the fall of 1987...... ---Brian Powell

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by brian1961

1) The original Sports Collectors Digest ad from early 1988 when Mr. Mint announced the purchase of the Barbara Grossman collection of New York Yankee cards and all sorts of other items devoted to her beloved bombers. Mr. Mint devoted two photo arrangements with some of the marquee items, among which was a 1962 JELL-O mint unfolded box of Mickey Mantle.

Thanks for posting, Brian. That's an incredible Jello box.

No disrespect, but how cheesy is the bottom of that ad where Mr. Mint does himself up a la Mantle's '53 Topps card? I've never seen that before. He was an um...interesting guy.

[brian1961]

Originally Posted by jchcollins

Thanks for posting, Brian. That's an incredible Jello box.

No disrespect, but how cheesy is the bottom of that ad where Mr. Mint does himself up a la Mantle's '53 Topps card? I've never seen that before. He was an um...interesting guy.

John, you are quite right about the cheesy caricature of Alan Rosen appearing as Mickey Mantle's '53 Topps. However, this was really an attractive self-indulgence, and at this time, Mickey Mantle mania had exploded in the hobby. Alan knew a thing or two about timing.

Also John, prior to the "'53 Topps Alan Rosen", The Mint Man used a rather hideous caricature of himself in his bi-weekly SCD ads(when the hobby's premier periodical was bi-weekly). It was a side profile drawing of his head, with Alan sporting an over-the-top gargantuan nose. I chuckle and wince at the same time. During this era of the hobby, nobody, and I mean NOBODY, did as much grandiose self-promoting as Mr. Rosen. Just as I wrote in the '62 JELL-O chapter I linked, those flashy expensive ads desiring to buy your cards, showed up in nearly every issue SCD, and they most assuredly got every collector's attention. Anybody wanting to cash in their cards would inevitably think of contacting "the Marquis de Wad", "the crowned head of lettuce", to see how many $100 bills they would soon be holding!

Yeah, John, an interesting guy...... But you know, many of the crown jewels in my collection may be traced directly, or indirectly, to Alan "Mr. Mint" Rosen. Again, as I wrote, I try to keep an attitude of gratitude. I have my own Rosen horror stories, and it's better for my health that I dwell on the ups, rather than the downs.

Oh yes, I'm glad you liked the Mantle JELL-O box. Take care, friend. Have a swell day. --- Brian Powell

[Sportscards1086]

Was hoping for a PSA 6, but oh well.

Great stuff in this thread!!!!

[MarcosCards]

Wow, this thread was started back in 2016! It’s probably not a Net54baseball record — but still - wow!

I have a somewhat humorous story to tell about this 1960 Mantle card. A former New Yorker lived a few doors down from me in my previous mid-Michigan neighborhood. I never saw any visitors at his house — so I don’t think he had many friends. He had also recently gone through a sad divorce. He’d often wander down to my house when he saw me working in the front yard. I enjoyed chatting with him because I loved hearing his Bronx accent.

One day our conversation turned to sports — and then to baseball cards. I brought out this 1960 Mantle card, and, of course, his eyes light up. He proceeded to tell me about his great childhood collection (that included this card) that, alas, his mom threw out when he went off to college.

The funny thing is, as he continued to watched me do my front yard work, and we continued to talk baseball, he slipped the card into his shirt pocket. I noticed it — but didn’t say anything. But, when my wife called me in for lunch, and he started to head for home, I had to tactfully remind him to return the card. For a moment I thought that maybe I had somehow conveyed to him the false impression that I was giving him the card. But the sheepish look on his face told a different story.

I’ve since moved to a different Michigan city, but when I see this card, I often think of him. Sometimes I wish I had just given the card to him — rounded corners, severe creases and all.

[Sportscards1086]

Here's my new pick up

[sflayank]

Picked up another mantel color that had not been seen before. I now have every color mantel (coin on right..color is solid like the rese..bad picture)
Known to exist except 2..another weird green and silver
And mantel in gold that's never been seen
19 colors

[sflayank]

Picked up another mantel color that had not been seen before. I now have every color mantel
Known to exist except 2..another weird green and silver
And mantel in gold that's never been seen
19 colors

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by sflayank

Picked up another mantel color that had not been seen before. I now have every color mantel
Known to exist except 2..another weird green and silver
And mantel in gold that's never been seen
19 colors

He spelled it "Mantle."

[sflayank]

He spelled it mantle
But armour spelled it mantel
Do your homework

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by sflayank

He spelled it mantle
But armour spelled it mantel
Do your homework

It's a bit odd to see it misspelled 3x in one post, no? Point taken on the armour spelling, thanks.

[sflayank]

The corrected version is much rarer and I believe only available in 10 colors of which I have 8

[cardinalcollector]

Nice find Larry.

[sflayank]

Thx

[brian1961]

Originally Posted by brian1961

By the way, there was one major card the Mint Man chose not to include in the photos, the Piece de Resistance of Barbara's collection. When Alan Rosen had the celebratory photo snapped of buying Barbara Grossman's massive Yankee collection, a smiling Barbara was holding thick wads of hundred-dollar bills, while Mr. Rosen had one arm at his chest holding three of the cards, and, with his other arm around Barbara, he held up one card, the crown jewel---the subject of chapter 13 of my book, a Mickey Mantle card so beautiful, so fascinating, and so profoundly rare in high grade, I gave it the deserving name, THE MALTESE FALCON OF BASEBALL CARDS. If you're fortunate to own a copy of Mr. Rosen's second and last book, TRUE MINT, you will find this celebratory photo on page 63. Not to be flagrantly coy, but if someone wishes to load up a scan of the photo, I'd be grateful. My tech expert is away, and I figured Mr. Rosen won't mind anymore, and there might be a few curious Mantle connoisseurs out there who might enjoy this photo from the fall of 1987...... ---Brian Powell

My dear son kindly edited a scan of the aforementioned TRUE MINT, page 63, to the requisite KB limit a jpeg is allowed to have on this forum. Here we have the celebratory photo being snapped upon the occasion of Mr. Mint's purchase of Barbara Grossman's collection. As you read The Mint Man's remembrances, and study the accompanying photo, note carefully what he's holding in his right hand, the card I have given the name, THE MALTESE FALCON OF BASEBALL CARDS, the most profound Mickey Mantle gem of all. Early in the millennium, this particular 1953 Stahl-Meyer Franks Mickey Mantle was graded by PSA. When the registered mail box was delivered to its owner, and he unwrapped the layers of bubble wrap to see PSA's verdict, he began weeping uncontrollably with utter joy, for the label said, "PSA 9 MINT"! A verified flawless, priceless, and king-sized blue diamond or ruby of a Mickey Mantle baseball card, this.

I trust you will find this more than a bit intriguing... --- Brian Powell

[WWG]

18 year old Mick with the 1950 Joplin Miners.

[IgnatiusJReilly]

Originally Posted by WWG

18 year old Mick with the 1950 Joplin Miners.

That’s awesome!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[irv]

Originally Posted by WWG

18 year old Mick with the 1950 Joplin Miners.

Wow, is that ever nice! I take it it is yours, WWG?

[swarmee]

I rarely buy from PWCC, but had to when 1960 Topps Tattoos came up:

A very high percent of these have paper loss like shown due to being pulled open at the glue point. Writing on the back says "New York Yankees" in script, so not too bad for a MK. I actually had a much higher snipe set, so it went cheaper than I expected ($355). Image is really strong.

Got this to send in for grading; not centered, but clean. 1961 Topps Stamps single at $59:


This Holiday Inn Matchbook ($30) took 2 weeks to arrive from Canada:


Another one for Bobby's bulk submission.

[brian1961]

Originally Posted by swarmee

I rarely buy from PWCC, but had to when 1960 Topps Tattoos came up:

A very high percent of these have paper loss like shown due to being pulled open at the glue point. Writing on the back says "New York Yankees" in script, so not too bad for a MK. I actually had a much higher snipe set, so it went cheaper than I expected ($355). Image is really strong.

Another one for Bobby's bulk submission.

John, I distinctly recall in the late 80s when Mr. Mint Alan Rosen announced to the hobby in the pages of SPORTS COLLECTORS DIGEST that he had just purchased several boxes of the rare 1960 Topps Tattoos. In actuality, one could not help tearing the tattoo paper at the top when he opened the pack, because of the way it was put together by Topps. Really, SINCE IT WAS PACKAGED IN SUCH A SURE-TO-DAMAGE FASHION, THE TATTOO SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRADED MUCH HIGHER BY PSA, AND IN POINT OF A STRONG POSSIBILITY, APPEARS SO FRESH AND OTHERWISE UNMARRED TO PROBABLY TRACE TO MR. MINT'S FIND. Just my 2 cents.

For what it's worth, I think it's a cool mark of respect to your Mantle collection!

Well done, mate. --- Brian Powell

[swarmee]

Yeah, for a 1, it's really nice. I had no problem paying up for it since it's such a rare item. The fact that it was graded many years ago (prior to the FAIR grade) may increase the chance it was from a Mr. Mint find. There is an eBay seller who still has a lot of the unopened packs, and continually lists them at high prices.
It's funny, I could jump ahead of some people on the registry for this card if I sent it in for review and it got bumped to FAIR 1.5 (MK). As of right now, 2(Q), 1(Q), and Auth all count for 1 point in the registry, but 1.5(Q) actually counts for 1.5. Never figured out why they added that loophole when they changed the point values 2 years ago.

[jchcollins]

eBay mailday today on this card that I’ve wanted for quite some time. Very cool to finally have it in-hand. If this thing isn’t dead nuts centered, it’s damn close. Always thought this concept for AS cards was neat, the bursting out of the headlines - and think on the whole this is an underrated Mantle card.




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[stlcardsfan]

Great card John. Looks under graded. I agree it is an underrated Mick card. Tough for us set builders as a high # '61.

[sflayank]

1 of only 3 known in this color found in a large group of rare colors

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by stlcardsfan

Great card John. Looks under graded. I agree it is an underrated Mick card. Tough for us set builders as a high # '61.

This is just a detail, but another thing I love about this card is it list him as "CF" instead of just an oufielder. Only the AS cards did that because they were by position for each league.

[Bagwell-1994]

I'm a new collector, really just started this past summer, but here are my 3 mantles so far. I hope to build a nice set of all of his vintage cards some day.

[MattyC]

Originally Posted by jchcollins

eBay mailday today on this card that I’ve wanted for quite some time. Very cool to finally have it in-hand. If this thing isn’t dead nuts centered, it’s damn close. Always thought this concept for AS cards was neat, the bursting out of the headlines - and think on the whole this is an underrated Mantle card.




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Great looking example of that card. Agree very underrated and hard to find centered like that. The design really stands out; when my son was old enough to start checking out cards that was his favorite Mantle along with 55B, because of the creative designs.

[MattyC]

Originally Posted by Bagwell-1994

I'm a new collector, really just started this past summer, but here are my 3 mantles so far. I hope to build a nice set of all of his vintage cards some day.

Phenomenal example of the 52T right there; huge eye appeal for the technical grade. Congrats.

[pawpawdiv9]

Originally Posted by MattyC

Phenomenal example of the 52T right there; huge eye appeal for the technical grade. Congrats.

^^Totally agree. Nice card. I think i'll spend some time alone this weekend with my Micks. Been contemplating on adding a few more.
What ya think? A 53 or 56. Have a hard time with the 56 tho, if the white back matters more than the grey back.

[AustinMike]

Originally Posted by sflayank

1 of only 3 known in this color found in a large group of rare colors

Congrats on the rare color. There are sooooo many different color schemes for the Armour coins that I have avoided going after them. I have at least one example of each and multiples of a couple of them, but I think trying to get each color variation is a daunting task. Congrats on this one and on every one that you have.

[AustinMike]

Originally Posted by pawpawdiv9

Have a hard time with the 56 tho, if the white back matters more than the grey back.

Don't worry about it and just get both.

[MattyC]

Recent Heritage pickup. Good God does that sales tax sting, though, LOL! Sometimes their scans are brighter than the card in hand, yet this card shocked me when it arrived; such white borders and the centering and corners are fantastic. Best 59 I've held or owned and definitey should've gotten the .5 love when it was graded.

[Popcorn]

Can’t go wrong with the mick

[IMG][/IMG]

[whiteymet]

Hi Gang:

Not a Mick collector per se.

Saw this tray at the Philly show. Was told it is exceedingly rare. Especially autographed. Is that so?

Cool item none the less.

Fred

[clydepepper]

Union Novelty Postcard:

Union Novelty Postcard- MICKEY MANTLE.jpgUnion Novety Postcard- MICKEY MANTLE b.jpg

[Promethius88]

3 raw Micks I picked up today. 69 is more oc than I would like but I actually didn't have one, the color was appealing and the price was right. The 58 AS has a crease and there is some wax staining on the back but the price was too good to pass up and most of all...it's well centered! The 67, well, it speaks for itself. Beautiful card, nm corners and decent centering. I just don't know how PSA is going to feel about the tiny, pink print dot at the top. Might have paid a tiny bit too much for his one but no regrets!

[swarmee]

Nice cards; I only won 1 last night in the Small Traditions, the PSA 5(MK) Holiday Inn postcard. I was bidding on a bunch of the picture pack cards, but you guys wanted them more.
Also, I just opened up a glass display case in the Smith's Antique Mall in Destin, FL. Has 20 of my PSA graded Mantle duplicates along with a whole host of other cards and autographs.

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by swarmee

Nice cards; I only won 1 last night in the Small Traditions, the PSA 5(MK) Holiday Inn postcard. I was bidding on a bunch of the picture pack cards, but you guys wanted them more.
Also, I just opened up a glass display case in the Smith's Antique Mall in Destin, FL. Has 20 of my PSA graded Mantle duplicates along with a whole host of other cards and autographs.

Nice display...but you aren't worried about that blinding fluorescent light directly above your cards?

[stlcardsfan]

Originally Posted by Promethius88

3 raw Micks I picked up today. 69 is more oc than I would like but I actually didn't have one, the color was appealing and the price was right. The 58 AS has a crease and there is some wax staining on the back but the price was too good to pass up and most of all...it's well centered! The 67, well, it speaks for itself. Beautiful card, nm corners and decent centering. I just don't know how PSA is going to feel about the tiny, pink print dot at the top. Might have paid a tiny bit too much for his one but no regrets!

Tim, I have a '67 with the exact same red print dot. Mine came back a 6. Doesn't look as nice as yours, however. Nice Mick pick ups!

P.S. I never thought the dot might be recurring until you posted yours. Might we have found a new print variation?

[swarmee]

Originally Posted by jchcollins

Nice display...but you aren't worried about that blinding fluorescent light directly above your cards?

Yes, and I had already asked them to remove the bulb. If they can't, they're going to call me and I'll rearrange the booth a little to put some different stuff up top and move the cards/autos further down.