Mickey Mantle’s rare card sells for $ 5.2 million, a record

A rare Mickey Mantle card has sold for a record $ 5.2 million, the highest price ever for a baseball card, broker PWCC Marketplace announced Thursday. The card was purchased by actor and “Billionaire Boys Club” entrepreneur Rob Gough.

“I’ve always dreamed of owning a 1952 Mickey Mantle Topps ever since I collected the cards,” Gough said in a statement. “This is the Mona Lisa of sports cards and I researched this high profile example by talking to industry experts, dealers, auction houses, friends and I’m so glad to be now the proud owner of this iconic card. “

This is one of six existing 1952 Mickey Mantle PSA 9 Topps cards, PWCC said in a statement. Jesse Craig, Director of Business Development at PWCC Marketplace, praised this unique article.

“Based on our research, this is the nicest Topps Mantle PSA 9 from 1952 out there,” Craig said.

Some of the other cards were discovered by two brothers from New Jersey, who found five in their childhood collection, “CBS this morning” reported in 2018. Two of the Brothers’ Mantle cards have sold for over a quarter of a million dollars. The brothers’ third prized Mantle card – a nearly new version – was on display at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Cleveland – and was receiving offers of over $ 600,000 at the time.

The brothers got the idea to browse their collection when they learned that an ’52 Topps Mantle had sold for almost $ 3 million. Former NFL lineman Evan Mathis has parted ways with this card. CBS News confirmed with PWCC on Thursday that Gough’s card once belonged to the player.

Considered the “holy grail” for collectors of baseball memorabilia, Chris Ivy, director of sports auctions for Heritage Auctions, explained why the cards were so valuable.

“Mickey Mantle is one of the most popular players in a generation, and 1952, because they enlarged the cards, they used real photographs, they had stats on the back. So those are all things that were exciting for the kids at the time, ”Ivy told“ CBS This Morning ”two years ago.

The sale of the Mickey Mantle card broke the previous record held by a rookie Mike Trout card sold for $ 3.93 million at an auction last summer. This particular card received a rating of MINT 9 by Beckett Grading Services, which is the third highest rating a card can receive, according to CBS Sports.