A CURATED SELECTION OF GREAT CARDS
84. 1954 Dan-Dee Potato Chips Mickey Mantle (HOF) – SGC GOOD 2
82. 1953 Bowman Color #59 Mickey Mantle (HOF) – BVG EX-MT 6
Outstanding example of one of Mick- ey Mantle’s most popular cards, his 1953 Bowman Color issue. Picturing Mantle at the end of a posed swing, a deep blue sky in the background, the photo has captivated collectors for decades. This is part of an original owner collection, the consignor sub- mitted a handful of the more valuable cards to Beckett prior to consigning. This example garnered a grade of EX-MT 6, a wonderfully-centered specimen with strong EX+ corners and a stunning image. MINIMUM BID: $1,000
Vibrant and engaging portrait of the youthful, exciting Mick at age 22. His boyish good looks belied an elite Hall of Fame trajectory, with back-to-back MVP seasons and a string of Yankees championships soon to come. He would reach transcendent levels by 1961, when the race with teammate Roger Maris to break Babe Ruth’s home run record held all of baseball’s attention for months on end. Mickey’s significance to our hobby looms larger still, as he remains the key card in any set that includes him!
Dan-Dee’s scarce potato chip issue provides a key challenge for Mantle and Yankees collectors, given its far lower population counts when compared to 1954 Bowman and other major 1950s gum sets. SGC grades their Dan-Dee Mantle cards at one-tenth the rate of that year’s Bowman issue, and one can easily argue that this close-up portrait is a more attractive card! The luminous surface and paper help his smile pop right off its surface, and its brief biography notes a major concern throughout Mickey’s career, as knee woes would sap his outstanding speed over time, no matter how powerfully he swung that bat. This SGC GOOD 2 offers an ideal photo for color and clarity, with great registration on each side. You can tell Dan-Dee printed their set with great care, and many fans seek out its singles for that quality alone. Its balanced corner wear and surface wrinkles merit SGC’s technical score without detracting from that superlative appeal. A wonderful Mantle from his earliest days as a star.
Outstanding card from Topps’ second major issue, a gorgeously-centered #1 card of Jackie Robinson. One of Rob- inson’s most popular cardboard of- ferings, the large portrait illustration is simply beautiful – in our opinion, among the most attractive of all post- war card issues. This example orig- inates from an original owner col- lection, carefully preserved since the year of issue and recently submitted to Beckett for grading by the consign- or. The EX+ grade is accurate, a tiny bit of edge wear and corner chipping keeping the card from a higher holder. Still, a tremendous card, with outstanding aesthetic appeal. 83. 1953 Topps #1 Jackie Robinson (HOF) – BVG EX + 5.5 MINIMUM BID: $750
MINIMUM BID: $750
Sharp, high-grade example of the most important of all modern hockey cards, the Wayne Gretzky Topps rookie. Border quality proves essential to this set, due to its distinctive blue borders being subject to chipping. This example is nearly perfect, with slightly white-tipped edges responsible for keeping the card from the MINT level. Centering is perfect, the image quality equally strong. One of the hobby’s most widely-recognized cards, an extremely high- grade example featuring the greatest hockey player ever. 85. 1979 Topps Hockey Wayne Gretzky (HOF RC) – BVG NM- MT+ 8.5 MINIMUM BID: $1,000
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