The legendary card currently sells for $7.4 million.
A “finest known” example of Mickey Mantle’s first baseball card could break the record for the most expensive sports card ever sold.
The Heritage Auctions is selling a 9.5-grade copy of the Commerce Comet’s 1952 Topps card for $7.4 million, or $6.2 million if the buyer’s premium is included. The total price beats the previous record by $125,000, and with two weeks left in the auction, it appears certain to climb even higher.
The 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle no. 311 is one of the most legendary baseball cards of all time, and it is easy to see why collectors have been anticipating this auction all year. Although it isn’t the slugger’s rookie card, Topps issued it in 1952, a year after he made his New York Yankees debut. This particular example is known as “The Rosen Find,” because it was found in a lot of 5,500 baseball cards that included 75 1952 Mantles purchased by collector Alan Rosen in the 1980s. At the time, it was the world’s most expensive card for a brief period when it sold for $49,500.
“The Rosen Find” unseats a 2-grade T-206 Honus Wagner that sold for $7.25 million in a private sale last week as the most valuable sports card of all time. There was speculation before Heritage’s auction began on July 25 that the auction would reach $10 million. We will now have to wait and see how much the 1952 Mantle beats the old record.
In the past few years, the sports trading card market, like many other collectible markets, has been out of control. Whatever the final price is, it will be interesting to see if this card can maintain its record for a long time. There have been five different records tied or set for the most expensive sports card since 2021, including two 1952 Mantles, two T-206 Wagners, and a rookie card autographed by LeBron James.
