There's a Legendary—and Valuable—Baseball Card Out There. The Hunt for Mickey Mantle Is On

Key Takeaways

• Trading-card company Topps hopes to stir up excitement about its latest baseball card set by including a chance to find a card considered a legendary find.
• That’s the 1952 Mickey Mantle rookie, a pristine version of which has sold for more than $12 million. (Other versions sell for considerably less, though they’re still valuable.)

Investopedia Answers

ASK

Perhaps one of your grandparents once opened a pack of baseball cards—and got the legendary Mickey Mantle that would someday be a collectible legend. Now, in a way, you can too.

Topps, the trading-card company owned by Fanatics Inc., this week said a single pack from its new “Topps Series 1” baseball set will include a card that can be redeemed for a 1952 Mickey Mantle, viewed as the Holy Grail of the card-collecting game. A well-maintained version sold in 2022 for more than $12 million; most are worth substantially less, though recent auction data indicates that even in comparatively poor condition they can go for tens of thousands of dollars.

Important

Your odds of finding the Mantle are low. That likely won’t deter collectors who enjoy the thrill of the chase and could spend big chunks of dough for their shot at a highly desirable card.

The set, which is available starting today, marks the 75th anniversary of baseball cards from Topps, founded as a candy company in 1938. The inclusion of a chance of a Mantle is a nod to history and sentiment—and an acknowledgement that much of the excitement around trading cards these days comes less from gathering up cardboard depicting your favorite players than from the “chase” of rare or even unique collectibles, which can spike collector demand until they are found and spur subsequent bidding wars.

“Before anyone panics, the literal card will not be placed in a pack,” Topps said on social media yesterday. “To preserve its condition, one lucky collector will find a redemption card that can be redeemed for the historic original.” (The post did not specify the condition of the card.)

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Topps’ web site offers a “value” box of six packs at around $25 among its range of offerings that, ahem, tops out in cases that run more than $1,000 apiece.

Oklahoma-born Mantle, who died in 1995, played a long career with the New York Yankees. He is widely considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time.

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