A 1952 Mickey Mantle baseball card sold for $12,600,000 early Sunday morning, according to a Heritage Auctions press release shared with CNN. The auction house said the sale makes the card one of the world’s most expensive collectibles.
The Mickey Mantle card is especially valuable because it is well preserved. The card is rated “Mint + 9.5” by Sportscard Guaranty, according to Heritage Auctions.
For the auction house, selling represents the growing allure of sports collectibles.
“The outcome of the eight-figure auction in the sports market was a fantasy only a decade ago,” Chris Ivey, director of sports auctions at Heritage, said in the statement.
“We always knew this card would break records and expectations. But that doesn’t make it so exciting to be part of the auction in which a single item breaks the eight-figure threshold for the first time. It’s an extraordinary feat for our amazing team of sports experts at Heritage Auctions. We wouldn’t have done it without our dispatcher, Anthony Giordano, who put his trust in Heritage to bring this wonderful card to market.”
Anthony Giordano bought the Mantle card for a record price in 1991: $50,000. According to the statement, he kept it hidden for three decades before bringing it to Heritage Auctions.
“She carries the best qualities any 1952 player could have: perfect positioning, scoring and four sharp corners,” Ivey said in the statement. “That the Beginner’s Mantle Card has stayed in this state for 70 years is a real miracle.”
“Travel aficionado. Infuriatingly humble reader. Incurable internet specialist.”
More Stories
Cardinals acquire pitcher Eric Fedde from White Sox in three-way deal with Dodgers
Detroit Tigers trade Carson Kelly to Texas Rangers
Rafael Nadal wins Olympic singles tennis title, sets up Novak Djokovic next round