Vintage Baseball Cards (1948–1969)
1952 Topps #311 Mickey Mantle
The most expensive trading card ever sold at the time. Topps' first true Mantle issue, plus a population of 3 at the 9.5 grade, drove competitive bidding past the high estimate. Set the modern reference price for all 1952 Topps Mantles in upper-tier grades.
- Sale price
- $12.6M
- USD · hammer + buyer's premium
- Sale date
- August 28, 2022
- Venue
- Heritage Auctions
- Authentication
- SGC 9.5 (Mint+)
Provenance
Anthony Giordano collection; consigned 2022 by Heritage Auctions on Giordano's behalf.
Condition
Sharp corners, vivid color, near-perfect centering — graded SGC 9.5, one of only three known at the grade.
Editorial note
The most expensive trading card ever sold at the time. Topps' first true Mantle issue, plus a population of 3 at the 9.5 grade, drove competitive bidding past the high estimate. Set the modern reference price for all 1952 Topps Mantles in upper-tier grades.
Sources cited
Heritage Auctions catalog 50037
auction house
ESPN: 'Mickey Mantle card sells for record $12.6 million'
trade press
SGC population report (1952 Topps #311)
grading service
Reported figures reflect publicly-cited hammer + buyer's premium as of source date. May differ slightly from auction-house internal records. Educational reference, not appraisal.
Comparable comps
Similar items in the Field Index.
Curated by the editors as relevant comparable sales — same category, same era, or same authentication tier. Useful for triangulating value when no single comp answers the question.
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