Mickey Mantle photo that became record-setting card goes for eye-popping $3 million

The most iconic Mickey Mantle image fetched an insane price.Ron Firman of Rye, N.Y., purchased for $3 million the first edition of the non-autographed, PSA-authenticated photo of the iconic Yankees center fielder that later became Mantle’s legendary 1952 Topps card.The picture of Mantle was sold at a private sale brokered by Hunt Auctions.It is a PSA Type 1 photo, meaning it is a “first-generation photograph, developed from the original negative, during the period (within approximately two years of when the picture was taken),” according to psacard.com.That picture was taken by an unknown International News Service photographer at Yankees spring training in Phoenix on March 5, 1951, though the photographer carried no credit so it’s unclear if the individual was a company staffer or a freelancer. “The demand for high-end original Type I photographs from new collectors and investors coming into the space is at an all-time high,” said PSA photo authenticator Henry Yee.“The supply, however, for this material is extremely scarce.When an item of this caliber is offered for sale, often it is sold privately and does not even make it to public auction — such as in this case.”Highly graded copies of Mantle’s iconic 1952 Topps card have fetched obscene prices at auction, including a record $12.6 million in August 2022. That 1952 card is not his rookie card, though.Mantle’s rookie card is from Bowman’s 1951 set, which has sold for as much as $843,750, though that card is not a real picture but a painted image. The 1952 Topps card is a real image on cardboard and one of the most famous images in all of sports memorabilia. In PSA’s pool, there are only 2,075 copies of Mantle’s 1952 Topps card across all grades.

Mantle played for the Yankees from 1951-66 and authored one of baseball’s most legendary careers, primarily manning center field as a left-handed-swinging power hitter from Oklahoma. He tallied 536 homers, but his body began to fall apar...