You may want to dig out that old shoebox full of baseball cards hiding in your closets and basements.
According to auction house PWCC Marketplace, a very rare mint-condition Mickey Mantle baseball card sold for a staggering new record high on Thursday.
“This month we had the pleasure of brokering a record-breaking sale on a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle. One of the most sought after cards in the world, sold for $5.2 million dollars setting a new record for a trading card sale.”
One of only nine in existence, this cherished baseball card was purchased by entrepreneur and actor Rob Gough, who also founded the DOPE clothing and CBD line.
“As a kid this card was the most iconic card ever,” Gough said. “It’s always been the face of the hobby, the card that everybody knows.”
Back in 1952, you could buy a pack of Topps baseball cards for a nickel, and you even got a stick of bubble gum to go with them.
Legend has it that one factor driving the value of this card is it’s rarity. After sales of these baseball cards flopped, Topps dumped their entire remaining inventory into the Hudson River.
The $5.2 million broke the previous mark set by a 2009 Bowman Chrome Draft Prospects Superfractor Mike Trout card which sold for $3.93 million last August.
In 1952, 20-year old Mickey Mantle batted .311 with 23 home runs, 87 RBI, and 94 runs scored, and led the American League with a .924 OPS.
When he retired prior to the 1969 season, Mantle finished with 536 home runs, 1,676 runs scored, 1,509 RBI, 1,733 walks, a .298 batting average and a .977 OPS.
Mantle was named to 20 All-Star Teams and won three MVP awards. He has seven World Series rings, all with the New York Yankees, and belted a record 18 home runs in the Fall Classic.
Not too shabby…
