A 1952 Mickey Mantle baseball card sold for $12.6 million early Sunday morning, according to a Heritage Auctions press release shared with CNN. The auction house said the sale makes the card one of the most expensive collectibles in the world.
The Mickey Mantle card is especially valuable because it is well preserved. The card is rated “Mint + 9.5” by Sportscard Guaranty Corporation, according to Heritage Auctions.
For the auction house, selling represents the growing allure of sports collectibles.
“The outcome of the eight-figure auction in the sports market was a fantasy only a decade ago,” Heritage Sports Auctions Director Chris Ivey said in the statement.
“We always knew this card would break records and expectations. But that doesn’t make it so exciting to be part of an auction in which a single item breaks the eight-digit threshold for the first time. It’s an extraordinary feat for our amazing team of sports experts at Heritage Auctions. And of course, we wouldn’t. That without our dispatcher, Anthony Giordano, who has put his trust in Heritage to bring this wonderful card to market.”
Anthony Giordano bought the Mantle card for a record price in 1991: $50,000. According to the statement, he kept it hidden for three decades before bringing it to Heritage Auctions.
“She carries the best qualities any player could have in 1952: perfect positioning, scoring and four sharp corners,” Ivey said in the statement. “That this beginner’s card has kept in this state for 70 years is a real miracle.”
“Alcohol enthusiast. Twitter ninja. Tv lover. Falls down a lot. Hipster-friendly coffee geek.”