PC: Forbes
In 1952, a Mickey Mantle baseball card could be bought as part of a wax-wrapped packet for only a penny or a nickel. Seventy years later, one of those cards sold for $12.6 million at auction, setting a new record for sports memorabilia. The 1952 Topps card had already attracted collectors before the record sale. In 1991, Anthony Giordano bought one for $50,000 at a baseball card show at Madison Square Garden. The card was eventually graded Mint+ 9.5 out of 10, with its condition described as exceptional, according to The New York Times. Before reaching its $12.6 million auction price, the card had been owned by Anthony Giordano, the president of a recycling and solid waste business in New Jersey. Giordano said he had bought the card in 1991 while attending a Father’s Day baseball card show at Madison Square Garden with his son. Giordano paid $50,000 for the card in 1991, which was then a record price for that particular card. He and his son had been searching for a 1952 Mantle card, but had not found one they wanted until then. More than three decades later, that $50,000 purchase was part of a $12.6 million auction sale.
Heritage Auctions said Sportscard Guaranty Corporation had graded it “Mint+ 9.5” out of 10. The buyer was an anonymous baseball fan from Rye, New York, according to Heritage Auctions. Recalling the purchase, Giordano said, “When we saw the price on this card, we knew it had to be something special.
Its value then rose far beyond its original price. The card’s condition was a major part of its appeal. The grading organisation authenticates and grades trading cards, and Ivy described the card as almost perfectly centred, with four sharp corners and beautiful colour.