79. 1963 Topps #200 Mickey Mantle (HOF) - PSA NM-MT 8
Extraordinarily sharp and clean 1963 Topps card of Mickey Mantle, graded NM-MT 8 by PSA. This card has been part of the #4 1963 Topps master set on the PSA Set Registry, and has been part of the core of that set for several decades. Purchased at auction by our consignor in the 1990s, the card was part of a 1963 Topps Presentation Set, and was carefully selected as part of the best cards in that set, and submitted to PSA for evaluation. The card is stunning in its sharpness and clarity, the grade likely speaking to a slight left-to-right centering issue, a few stray fish-eyes that are typical for this set, and some very faint registration issues within the white text that makes up Mantle’s name. The flaws are minor, mentioned here for the sake of accuracy, the card remains one of the sharpest and cleanest we have ever handled from this issue.
MINIMUM BID: $1,500
80. 1963 Topps #537 Pete Rose (RC) - PSA NM-MT 8
Perhaps no card was more responsible for ushering in the hobby’s rookie card craze than the 1963 Pete Rose, the first card we can recall reaching $1,000 in value. As Rose continued to pile up career achievements, chasing Joe DiMaggio’s hitting streak in 1978, winning the World Series with Philadelphia in 1980, and then setting his sights on one of the game’s untouchable records, his rookie card rose in value accordingly. After the ignominious end to his career, the value stalled somewhat, but it has resumed its northward trajectory of late. Culled from the #4 Master Set on the PSA Set Registry, this is a sharp and bright example, lacking most of the print flaws typical in this issue, particularly the examples as saturated with background color as this one is. In this case the printing is quite clean, a testament to its owner, one of the hobby’s legendary eyes for beautiful, high-grade cards. With centering ever-so-slightly to the Southwest on the canvas, and a few very faint touches to the upper corners, the card is as bold and sharp as can be. The key card to a condition-sensitive set, one of the most important of all postwar rookie cards and certainly among the most important Topps cards of the 1960s.
MINIMUM BID: $2,500
SPRING 2024 PREMIER AUCTION − CLOSES MARCH 30, 2024 41
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