1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle #253 SGC NM/MT 8....

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Only seven finer!

1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle #253 SGC NM/MT 8. Argue all you'd like that the 1952 Topps card is Mickey's true rookie - our calendar tells us that the '51 Bowman was actually the first. We'll also take issue with anybody who claims the Topps rookie is a prettier card, as we're of the opinion that Bowman's designs of the early 1950's represent one of the high water marks in cardboard aesthetics. It surely shows on the brightly colored image of the nineteen-year old legend in the making, who stands at batting attention before a cloud-dappled sky on this high-grade rarity.

Educated collectors will understand the difficulty in achieving a NM-MT assessment on any 1951 Bowman, particularly those from the high-number series, which is led off by the Mick. Gum and wax stains plague the issue, and the total graded population of the set is less than half that of the 1952 Topps breed that serves as its primary competition. But this glorious slab of cardboard has overcome the steep odds against it to climb almost to the pinnacle of the SGC population report, exceeded in quality only seven times in nearly 600 attempts.

Bright colors, clean surfaces and solid centering provide the good looks here, and the sharp corners suggest a long and uneventful life free from young hands. An investment-quality specimen.