Iconic Mickey Mantle Card Authenticated by CSG Sells for Over $10,000

From time to time, there are a handful of cards that go up for auction that the collecting world watches with anticipation. Recently, that card was a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle that received 74 bids and sold on eBay for $11,877.77.

Certified Sports Guaranty® (CSG®) certified this 1952 Topps #311 Mickey Mantle card as Authentic Altered. Frequently cited as one of the most important baseball cards in history, when any of these cards goes up for auction it is a big deal.

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Authentic Altered is a unique designation that CSG provides for authentic cards that were physically altered by a collector. Alterations can include, but are not limited to, trimming, recoloring and other types of modifications. This card has been trimmed down to the small black border around the image and has two holes punched in the top corners. In doing so, the collector cut off most of Mantle’s name and part of his stats. The value in this card is that the buyer knows it is an authentic card, and the cost to own it is much lower than a higher-graded card.

Authentic is a similar designation; however, it is only given to cards that are unaltered, but the condition is below the numerical grades offered by CSG. You can read more about the CSG Grading Scale here.

Mickey Mantle played 18 seasons with the New York Yankees. In that time, he won a Gold Glove, was a three-time MVP and won seven World Series Championships. In 1956, Mantle won the Triple Crown. That season he led the league in batting average, home runs and runs batted in (RBIs). Mantle is widely considered one of the greatest to ever play the game of baseball.

Learn more about the most expensive sports cards ever sold, including a Mickey Mantle that sold for more than $5 millon!