Goldin Elite Auction Ending May 22-23
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/22/2021
This lot closes on May 22nd, 2021 at 10:00 PM EDT for initial bids.
Graded GEM MT 10 by PSA. Hall of Famer, in an extremely scarce "rookie year" depiction. This is the lone example at its lofty tier among a total of barely eighty copies that have been validated by PSA. Only a handful of these delicate, black-and-white photo cards of "The Mick" are known to exist. The 5" x 7" glossy piece was issued by Wheaties as part of a twelve-card premium set (nine of which were baseball players) in Mantle's debut season of 1951. According to a retired executive who worked for General Mills/Wheaties, the cards were produced by the cereal company as a "test issue" to determine the popularity that such a set might inspire if introduced to the public. After a brief period, the cards were pulled from prospective circulation because the company was not able to come to terms with two of the pictured players, one of whom was Mickey himself.
This copy boasts an exceptionally crisp image, with no discernible traces of circulation at the oh-so-fragile corners. Printed on photographic-style paper, the blank-backed card is captioned "Mickey Mantle" along the bottom, with a code number ("A8491G") in the lower right corner. It was only within the last twenty years or so that the origin of this rare premium came to light in our hobby. Although few specimens have been encountered, advanced collectors typically filed them under the "Anonymous" category before the Wheaties employee came forward. Extremely desirable for both its scarcity and its significance as a Mantle rookie-year card! Maximally splendid Gem Mint condition.