Mickey Mantle Cards Are Still Breaking Records

Mickey Mantle cards are still breaking records because collectors continue to put money into the safest and most iconic names in the sports card hobby. The last Mantle at-bat was almost 60 years ago, but he still is the most sought-after baseball player. According to Card Ladder, Mantle leads all baseball players in total market cap by a wide margin. (Babe Ruth cards are in second place, and Mantle’s market cap is almost 4X that of Ruth: $928 million vs. $216 million).

Somehow, one of the most popular and talked about superstars in baseball history has become underrated by some baseball fans. He is not mentioned enough when discussing the greatest players of all time. His career .977 OPS ranks 12th all time, ahead of Hank Aaron and Willie Mays. His 172 OPS+ ties him for 10th all-time, ahead of Ty Cobb and Shohei Ohtani.

The combination of greatness, popularity, and steady demand has pushed several of Mantle’s key cards to new all-time highs. In recent months, multiple Mantle cards have set records. This is significant because most record card sales occurred during the COVID sports card market boom in 2020 and 2021 when card prices skyrocketed. This article will highlight the new Mickey Mantle record sales that have occurred in 2025.

Record 1956 Topps Mickey Mantle #135 Sale

Record High Sale: $414,800 on October 27th, 2025

Previous High Sale: $104,000 on September 13, 2023

PSA 9 Population Count: 39, with only 5 graded higher

What Makes this Card Special: The 1956 Topps Mickey Mantle is one of the most iconic cards in vintage baseball card history. 1956 was the year Mantle won the Triple Crown (Mantle led the league in homeruns, RBI, and batting average). “The Mick” is the last player to lead the American League and National League in all three categories.

The record-breaking card is one of the highest graded copies in existence, and it also has a small gold sticker on the PSA slab. This sticker is a Mike Baker Authenticated (MBA) “Gold Label” sticker. MBA is an independent grading verification third-party company that evaluates already graded cards to determine how strong the card is for the grade. This is a "Gold Label" PSA 9, not just a normal PSA 9, which adds to the card's value.

Record Autographed 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle #311 Sale

Record High Sale: $1,700,000 on August 23rd, 2025

Previous High Sale: $793,010 on December 17th, 2021

1952 Topps Mickey Mantle Auto Population Count: 17

What Makes this Card Special: The record-breaking sale of this PSA 5.5 / Auto 8 is the highest PSA graded 1952 Mantle Autograph card in existence. It demonstrates the increased demand for Mantle cards and vintage on-card autographs.

Even though Mantle is famous for signing thousands and thousands of autographs, only 17 autos of his most iconic card have ever been graded by PSA. (1,666 non-autograph versions of this card have been graded by PSA.) Up until recently, it was actually a widely held belief among collectors that an autograph was ruining a card instead of enhancing it.

Record 1962 Topps Mickey Mantle #200 Sale

Record High Sale: $488,000 on August 23rd, 2025

Previous High Sale: $314,580 on October 9th, 2021

PSA 9 Population Count: 16, only 1 higher

What Makes this Card Special: Only one PSA 10 copy of this card exists, making this PSA 9 one of the greatest copies of the 1962 Topps Mantle to ever exist. 1962 was an MVP and World Series winning season for The Mick, adding to this card’s appeal.

Additionally, 1962 Topps is extremely condition sensitive. The dark borders of the wood-grain design chip easily. The set also has notorious centering issues, making a PSA 9 extremely rare. Out of 6,479 of these 62 Mantles graded by PSA, only 16 PSA 9 copies exist.

Record Autographed 1955 Bowman Mickey Mantle #202 Sale

Record High Sale: $39,040 on August 24th, 2025

Previous High Sale: $33,600 on August 21st, 2023

Autographed 1955 Bowman Mickey Mantle Population Count: 30

What Makes this Card Special: This PSA 5 Auto 10 version is the second highest graded version of this on-card auto. A PSA 5.5, the best version of this card, sold in 2023 for 33K. The fact that a higher graded version of this card sold for less than this copy a few years ago shows that the Mantle card market continues to get stronger.

1955 Bowman is known for its unique and popular color TV design. It was also Bowman’s last year, as Topps acquired the company in 1956. (Bowman cards made their comeback in 1989.) Mantle had an exclusive rights deal with Bowman in 1954 and 1955, making this the only mainstream Mantle card in 1955.

Record 1954 Red Heart Mickey Mantle Sale

Record High Sale: $35,999 on June 21st, 2025

Previous High Sale: $27,000 on April 24th, 2021

PSA 9 Population Count: 40, only 2 graded higher

What Makes this Card Special: Only 1,419 versions of this card have ever been graded by PSA, making it relatively rare. This card is one of the most popular “oddball” Mickey Mantle cards because of its iconic image of a smiling Mick and scarcity. (An oddball baseball card is a non-standard trading card that was usually produced outside one of the mainstream annual sets like Topps or Bowman.)

The Red Heart set had 33 cards and was a mail-in promotion offered by the Red Heart Dog Food company. A complete set could be collected by sending in labels from different cans of dog food. The record sale of a PSA 9 version of this card demonstrates an increased interest in this oddball Mantle and a red-hot Mickey Mantle card market.