@baseball_cards Well, in reality most were NOT thinking money, most of us fans wanted to complete our set and take the doubles out to the park to chase Sigs. Kept a wrapper for the front page of the set.
How one collector turned $50,000 into $12.6 million
Anthony Giordano took a $50,000 gamble by purchasing a 1952 Mickey Mantle from "Mr Mint", Alan Rosen, who purchased 5,500 1952 Topps cards, including dozens of Mantles, for $125,000 in 1986.
For many decades, nobody knew Anthony owned the 52 Mantle, but his sons decided he should get the card graded and that it was time to finally part ways with it.
In August 2022, Anthony's 52 Mantle sold for $12.6 million, making it the most expensive sports card ever sold, until the Kobe Jordan Dual Logoman, which sold for $12.9 million
Counterintuitively, this isn't even Mantle's rookie card (that distinction belongs to his 1951 Bowman), but it's the more iconic of the two and the centerpiece of what many consider the most important set ever printed: 1952 Topps, the set that introduced color photography, team logos, and stats on the back to mainstream card design.
Per hobby legend, Topps once loaded pallets of unsold 1952 cards onto a barge and dumped them into the Atlantic to free up warehouse space.
Three decades later, that scarcity is why Anthony's SGC 9.5 example — described by Heritage as the "finest known example" — sold for $12.6 million.
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Show them off on @Collectibles 🏆
This is now the most intriguing auction of 2026. What will be the grade of Topps’ 1952 Mickey Mantle in the redemption?
A PSA 8 is $1.5M.
A PSA 7 is $550,000.
A PSA 6 is $275,000.
A PSA 5 is 200,000.
A PSA 4 is $150,000.
A PSA 3 is $125,000.
A PSA 2 is $90,000.
Think market will predict it’s a 5.
A new high for this Albert Pujols rookie auto 👀
This 2001 Bowman Chrome Albert Pujols Refractor Auto /500 PSA 9 just sold for $32.9K at Heritage Auctions 🔥
OTD in 1903 in Starkville, MS, the great James Thomas “Cool Papa” Bell was born. His nickname ranks as one of the greatest of all-time and his speed and base running ability was the stuff of legends, but it was very real!
@MLBNetworkRadio@sn_mlb@KMOXSports@stltoday
🧑⚖️ ALL RISE FOR GPK 🧑⚖️
The 2025 Bowman Chrome Bowman Garbage Pail Kids SuperFractor Gummy Aaron/Aaron Judge 1/1 PSA 9 sold for $27,000.
It is now the highest sale of any Bowman Garbage Pail Kids cards.
This Bobby Witt Jr. Logoman 🤯
This 2024 Topps Dynasty MLB Logo Patch Bobby Witt Jr. Signed Game-Used Patch Auto 1/1 just sold for $52.5K on @GoldinCo
This is now the 10th highest sale ever for Bobby Witt Jr.📈
🔥 BRADY KAIJU SUPER SALE 🔥
The 2025 Topps Chrome Kaiju Superfractor 1/1 sold in a private sale for $350,000.
This is now the most expensive Kaiju card and the fourth most expensive non-rookie Tom Brady card.
🚨 A NEW RECORD for Fernando Mendoza cards 🚨
This 2025 Bowman U Sapphire Chrome Fernando Mendoza Prospect Auto 1/1 PSA 10 just sold for $59.2K on @GoldinCo 🔥
His previous record was a 2025 Bowman U Best Prospect Superfractor RPA 1/1 that sold for $18.6K in February