PSA authenticated or graded 10 of most-expensive items sold in 2017

Just 10 of the most-notable items in the sports world that were sold in 2017 totaled more than $6.7 million in sales, ranging from the $1.68 million Norman Rockwell piece you see here to high-grade copies of Mickey Mantle‘s iconic 1952 Topps card.

And they all had one thing in common — PSA or PSA/DNA authentication.

“We certified a myriad of incredible items last year, and the list is full of sports history from top to bottom,” said Professional Sports Authenticator VP Steve Sloan. “We’ll continue pushing ourselves toward another great year in 2018, and look forward to what’s in store.”

The Newport Beach, Calif.-based company recently took the time to examine the markets last year and touted its Top 10 for 2017. Keep reading to see everything on the list.

Board Buzz: Must-read threads on the Blowout Forums (May 25)

The Blowout Cards Forums are where thousands of collectors converge daily to discuss, well, a little bit of everything. Here are a few threads about collecting and more that you should check out right now.

What’s Buzzing Today: Big pulls from new boxes, vintage classics, The National & more.

FaceApp and iconic baseball cards? Oh, the possibilities … let’s begin

There’s a new phone app that allows you to turn that frown upside down, get younger or get older all with a click on a screen,

It’s called FaceApp and it’s a free download for iPhone users to have some fun — and naturally this collector instantly thought of baseball cards.

Buzz Poll: Which Mickey Mantle item topped the auction block?

Mickey Mantle dominated the auction block on Saturday night in Dallas as Heritage Auctions‘ Platinum Night sports sale was topped by a pair of Mantles with very different attributes.

Yet both had very high demand.

Both items you see here — one a PSA 8 copy of his 1952 Topps card and the other being Mantle’s New York Yankees road jersey worn when he hit his 535th career home run on Sept. 19, 1968 — are six-figure items.

One went for $660,000 with a buyer’s premium while the other went for $486,000 and with that pair of facts we have these two questions for you.

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Spoiler: Highlight the text after this on this line to learn more. The card sold for more.

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>> Click here to buy baseball cards on BlowoutCards.com.

Al Capone’s fingerprints up for grabs this week via Heritage Auctions

The impressive stash of 1992 Olympic Dream Team memorabilia will probably get the post-sale attention, but there are a few other big-ticket items presently the auction block and ending in the next few days via Heritage Auctions.

The weirdest? Al Capone‘s fingerprints.

In 1929, Capone provided these prints after he was sent to the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia. It’s an 8-inch square document that’s also signed by Capone — and it’s presently sitting at $44,000 ($52,580 with a buyer’s premium) with two days remaining in the sale.

Sure, it’s not a sports item — but there are some big pieces in that world that more than a few collectors would want to get their hands on in this auction. Keep reading for more.

Robert Edward Auctions spring sale leads off with Honus Wagner T206

It’s a low-grade specimen of the most-iconic and expensive baseball card of all time and it’s leading off the action as lot No. 1 in the current Robert Edward Auctions sale.

With 10 days remaining in the company’s spring sale, theSGC 10 (Poor 1) Sweet Caporal T206 Honus Wagner already has attracted 29 bids after an opening bid of $50,000.

What’s it at now?

If this was your only way to own the iconic 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle baseball card, would you buy it?

Buzz did something today that he hadn’t done often in years of collecting — out of curiosity, he searched “1952 Topps Mickey Mantle” on eBay.

Surprisingly (though maybe not given auction prices these days) there were nearly 20 graded copies of the iconic card to be had. On the high-end was a PSA 8 OC copy of the card with a hefty price tag and a PSA 7 copy as well. Not bad price-wise, there.

Buzz flipped over to completed auctions out of curiosity and found nearly 30 more completed sales for slabbed copies of the card before finding the gem you see above.

Mickey Mantle cards sell for more than $750,000 via Memory Lane Inc.

Demand for The Mick continues to be an all-time high.

A run of high-grade Mickey Mantle Topps and Bowman baseball cards from 1951 to 1969 sold for more than $750,000 this weekend in a Memory Lane Inc. auction.

“The Empire State Collection” consisted of 21 PSA-graded cards and, according to the company, 14 of them set new record-highs for their condition.

Just For Fun: Can you identify which years these vintage baseball card photographs were used?

When someone says “1952 Topps Mickey Mantle” there’s simply one image that comes to mind for collectors — the image of the Oklahoma-born slugger looking over his right shoulder where his Louisville Slugger resides.

The blue hues and the yellow bat — the results of colorized images back in those days — are dramatically different than what we often expect from the cardboard of today, yet they are the basis of everything, too.

Seeing one of these memorable card images recently got Buzz wondering whether fellow collectors would be able to identify photographs from memorable vintage baseball card sets — but without the accoutrement that make 1952 look like 1952 or 1965 look like 1965.

PSA 8 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle sets new record with Heritage sale

Heritage Auctions‘ sale of a PSA 8 Mickey Mantle 1952 Topps card set another record for the card in its condition this week.

“The 1952 Topps Mantle rookie is a truly transcendent piece of Americana,” said Chris Ivy, the Director of Sports Auctions at Heritage. “It looms in the collective American imagination like a copy of Action Comics #1, an inverted Jenny stamp or an Abe Lincoln autograph. You don’t have to collect baseball cards to recognize it, so thoroughly is it woven into the national consciousness.”

So, how much for the icon of all post-war baseball card icons?

eBay Buzz: PSA 8 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle sells for $486,100

A PSA 8 copy of the most-iconic Topps baseball card sold on Sunday for what would be a new record for the card in that condition after the sale on eBay via PWCC ended after 78 bids.

The final price for this 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle? A cool $486,100. For the trivia buffs out there, consider this — Mantle made no more than $100,000 a season on the field during his career. Click here for the final view if you need more auction details.

eBay Buzz: High-grade 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle draws attention

A PSA 8 copy of the most-iconic Topps baseball card has hit the auction block via PWCC on eBay and there have been more than 30 bids raising the price to more than a quarter-million dollars.

That’s so far.

The auction for the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle has more than nine days to go before it closes. How much is it presently up to? Click here for the latest view.

A PSA 8 copy of the card sold via Goldin Auctions earlier this year for just over $400,000. Only 32 copies of more than 1,100 graded have gotten a PSA 8 mark. Only nine cards have graded higher — three  of those being PSA 10s.

Follow BlowoutBuzz on Twitter @BlowoutBuzz.

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