In the United States, a new record was spent on a 1952 trading card by former baseball star Mickey Mantle.
The signed Topps card changed hands through auction house Heritage Auctions for $12.6 million.
“It’s the best-preserved copy of the most iconic post-WWII trading card ever,” said Chris Ivy, executive director of sports memorabilia. Its conservation status was rated 9.5 out of 10: almost perfect.
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The card had belonged to the son of a Massachusetts truck driver who sold the basement find to a collector in 1986. In 1991, she went to Anthony Giordano for $50,000, who refused to sell her for decades. Now he did.
Mickey Mantle won the World Series seven times with the New York Yankees, was a 20-time all-star and one of the top hitters in the history of his sport. Especially in the 50’s and 60’s he was an idol.
In the same auction, a bat signed by Babe Ruth sold for $1.7 million. The dollar-euro exchange rate is almost exactly 1:1.
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