Mickey Mantle baseball card sells for record £10.8m at auction
- Published
Mickey Mantle won the first of seven World Series with the New York Yankees in 1952, when this record-breaking card of Mantle was published by Topps
A Mickey Mantle baseball card has been sold for $12.6m (£10.8m) to become the most valuable piece of sports memorabilia ever sold at auction.
The previous record of £7.1m was held by the shirt worn by footballer Diego Maradona when he scored the 'Hand of God' goal at the 1986 World Cup.
Maradona's Argentina shirt was sold in May at Sotheby's in London.
A century-old 'T206' Honus Wagner card, sold this month for £6.2m, held the previous record for a sports card.
"An eight-figure auction result was the stuff of fantasy just a decade ago," said Chris Ivy, director of sports auctions at Heritage Auctions, which conducted the sale.
"We always knew this card would shatter records and expectations. But that doesn't make it any less of a thrill."
Mantle was considered to be one of the best switch-hitters - a batter who regularly bats both right and left-handed - in baseball history.
He played his entire Major League Baseball career with the New York Yankees from 1951-68, helping them to win 12 American League pennants and seven World Series, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.
The record-breaking card is from his rookie season and was issued by the collectible company Topps in 1952.
The card was owned by Anthony Giordano, a waste management entrepreneur from New Jersey, who bought it for $50,000 in 1991.
Heritage said it was graded a "Mint+ 9.5" out of 10 by Sportscard Guaranty Corporation, which authenticates and grades trading cards.
"It bears the finest qualities any 1952 Topps can possess: perfect centring, registration and four sharp corners," Ivy said.
"That this Mantle rookie card remained in this condition for 70 years is a true miracle."
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