1952 Topps Willie Mays #261 PSA Mint 9....

Description

Only one graded higher!

1952 Topps Willie Mays #261 PSA Mint 9. The PSA population report and The Sporting News share a common theme, as each finds just a single entry surpassing the subject of this enormously important lot. In over 1,500 submissions to the hobby's leading trading card grading service, just a single example of the 1952 Topps Willie Mays card has garnered a superior rating to the spectacular representation offered here. And in the entirety of baseball history, only Babe Ruth is ranked ahead of The Say Hey Kid by the iconic publication The Sporting News.

And, yet again, Mays serves as a Silver Medalist when considering the hierarchy of the 1952 Topps Baseball issue, widely and properly considered the most significant trading card set of the post-war era. Those who have followed the past two years of Heritage auction offerings have witnessed the soaring ascent of the fabled Mickey Mantle #311 card, certainly the hottest commodity in the entirety of the sports collecting hobby at present. Let's use three recent offerings of a PSA NM-MT example to illustrate the point: $179,250 (July 2014), $382,400 (July 2015), $525,800 (December 2015).

For years, Mantle and Mays have been inextricably linked, and many hobbyists believe that Mays is overdue for a surge similar to that of his Big Apple counterpart within the trading card hobby. We would be remiss in failing to report that this card is, in point of fact, considerably more scarce than the NM-MT Mantles that have been blasting through the stratosphere over the past two years. The Mint 9 Mays is almost four times as rare according to the PSA population records.

A physical examination of the card leaves us with little to report but enthusiastic superlatives, as color, registration, gloss, corners--effectively every metric for evaluation--is bordering upon perfection. Verso is as clean and pretty as obverse.

For each joyous consignor that has enjoyed beneficiary status of the 1952 Topps Mantle bull market, we've heard a dozen laments from those who missed an earlier opportunity to invest. We suspect this lot will be very attractive to collectors hoping to make up for past mistakes.

More information about Willie Mays Sports Player.

View Certification and Population Details from PSA