The 5 Most Underrated Mickey Mantle Cards from the 1960s
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Two things are true about the great Mickey Mantle cards of the 1950s. One is that his 1952 Topps card, rightly or wrongly, stands head and shoulders above the rest. In fact, Hobby consensus considers it the ultimate "grail card" of the postwar era. The other truism when it comes to 1950s cardboard of the Mick is that his cards are largely out of reach for the typical collector. As an example, even his not particularly notable 1959 Topps card is well over $500 in a PSA 4 case.
Fortunately for collectors, Mantle has an entire other decade's worth of playing era cards as he's featured in every Topps set from 1960 to 1969. For collectors unable or unwilling to pony up for the older stuff, these five Mantle cards of the 1960s offer something of a sweet spot in terms of desirability, history, and value.
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1969 Topps Mickey Mantle (Yellow Letters)
CARDLADDER VALUE: $309 IN PSA 4. The Mantle die-hards will no doubt prefer his far tougher "white letter" variation. However, the common "yellow letter" Mantle comes in at around a fourth the price and presents collectors with something quite rare as far as vintage baseball cards go. The 1969 Mantle is a true "career capper" in that it's not only Mantle's last playing era card but includes stats for his entire 18-year career on the back.
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1964 Topps Mickey Mantle
CARDLADDER VALUE: $364 PSA 4. The 1964 Topps Mickey Mantle is nearly a perfect card. Super clean design? Check! Sharp image of the Mick? Check! A great value? Check! All else being equal, this is one of Mantle's best looking cards, hands down.
1964 Topps Giants Mickey Mantle
CARDLADDER VALUE: $100 IN PSA 4. Collectors looking to spend considerably less than what it takes to add a standard 1964 Topps card can look to the Topps Giant-Sized All-Star cards of the same year. Though collectors generally thumb their noses at oversized issues, it's hard to overlook the sharp photography of these cards, not to mention their relative affordability.
1961 Post Mickey Mantle
CARDLADDER VALUE: $183 IN PSA 3. Another bargain that doesn't carry with it the oversized baggage of Topps Giants is the Mickey's 1961 cereal card from Post. True, it's a food issue. Some might even assign it the dreaded "oddball" category. At the same time, 1961 was the year Mantle and fellow Bronx Bomber Roger Maris captivated the baseball world with their pursuit of Babe Ruth's single-season home run record. Though it was Maris, not Mantle, to topple the Bambino, the Summer of '61 is about as historic as Mantle cards come.
1962 Topps Mickey Mantle All-Star
CARDLADDER VALUE: $200 IN PSA 4. For the collector wanting the best of both worlds (Topps and standard-sized), the Mick's 1962 All-Star card is a great way to go. If you hate the woodgrain, keep right on looking, or just think of it as a "bat color match" border! Among other things the card is also a great one where history is concerned as 1962 was the year of Mantle's third and final American League Most Valuable Player award, not to mention his first and only Gold Glove!
Jason A. Schwartz is a collectibles expert whose work can be found regularly at SABR Baseball Cards, Hobby News Daily, and 1939Bruins.com. His collection of Hank Aaron baseball cards and memorabilia is currently on exhibit at the Atlanta History Center, and his collectibles-themed artwork is on display at the Honus Wagner Museum and PNC Park.