A mint-condition 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card sold for a record $5.2 million on Thursday, January 14th, making it the most expensive sports card ever sold. The card was purchased by Rob Gough, an actor and entrepreneur most known for his role in the film “Billionaire Boys Club.”
The 1952 Topps Mantle card is one of nine known to be in existence graded as a PSA 9. The card was sold by PWCC Marketplace, who called it “The nicest looking 1952 Topps Mantle PSA 9 in existence.” Mike Trout’s 2009 Bowman Chrome Draft Prospects Superfractor (1/1) had set a new record back in August when it sold for $3.93 million two years after it was purchased for $400,000.
The T-206 Honus Wagner had long been viewed as the holy grail of sports cards. Fourteen years later, the Mantle sale nearly doubled the $2.8 million price tag hockey legend Wayne Gretzky sold the card for back in 2007.
These six and seven-figure sports cards have been viewed as an investment for many entrepreneurs, but Gough said he was just fulfilling a childhood dream. “I’ve dreamt of owning a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle since I was a kid collecting cards,” Gough said. “It’s the Mona Lisa of sports cards, and I’ve been searching for this high-graded example talking to industry experts, dealers, auction houses, friends, and I’m ecstatic that I’m now the proud owner of this iconic card.”
As for the “more affordable” versions of the card, a PSA 4 sold on Friday for $48,500.
