Mickey Mantle is back in the record books.
A 1952 Mantle baseball card has become the most expensive sports card of all time, sold for $ 5.2 million, PWCC Marketplace announced on Thursday.
The Topps card, rated PSA 9 based on the card rating system, surpassed the previous record of $ 3.94 million, set in August for a newbie card signed by Mike Trout 2009 – of which only one was created.
As for the Mantle card, there may be only three in good condition.
Rob Gough, an actor and businessman, bought the card.
“The 1952 Topps Mantle is the Holy Grail of sports cards,” said Gough. “I dreamed of having a 1952 Mickey Mantle Topps since I was a kid collecting cards. It is the Mona Lisa of sports cards and I have been looking for this top-notch example talking to industry experts, resellers, auction houses, friends and I am happy to now be the proud owner of this iconic card. “
“Based on our research, this is the most beautiful Topps Mantle PSA 9 1952 there is,” said Jesse Craig, director of business development at the PWCC Marketplace, in a press release.
The high value of the Mantle card is partly due to the fact that, in addition to being the Yankee legend’s rookie card, it is from Topps’ first annual set – many of which were played on the Hudson River eight years later. ‘t sell.
The Mantle record is also part of an explosion of sporting memorabilia that took off last year and continued in 2021.