A unique Mickey Mantle baseball card comes to auction this month, after being discovered in a flea market.
The early 1950s card was originally included in a promotional tin of Mascot Dog Food.
The promotion seems to have been short lived. This is the only Mantle example to have survived and only two others exist, that of Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Robin Robert and Mantles’ Yankees teammate Yogi Berra.
Little is known about Mascot Dog Food, or its baseball card set
The Berra example was housed with the Mantle in the same photograph album, which was discovered in a Pennsylvania flea market.
Both the Berra and the Mantle will auction at Wheatland Auction Services on January 28. The Mantle is expected to make $100,000, the Berra $15,000.
That’s testament to the greater collectible allure of the Commerce Comet. Examples of his 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle rookie card have surpassed $1 million.
"Finding a one-of-a-kind sports card is a rarity in-itself. But it’s even more exciting when it happens to be two iconic players–Mickey Mantle and Yogi Berra,” commented Stacey Whisman, the auction house’s owner.
"It’s impossible to put a value on a first-to-market Mickey Mantle card that happens to be a regional dog food card, as potential buyers can include Mantle collectors, regional brand collectors, New York Yankees collectors, people who want the rarest cards in existence, and more."
Bidding is already open on the 1.5-graded card (low by collectible baseball card standards). At time of press, the Mantle is selling for $6,000, having received 38 bids.
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