Source: Bob Gomel / Getty
Mickey Mantle was one of the greatest New York Yankees of all time, so it’s only right that his baseball card is worth more than you probably expected.
A 1952 Topps card is not only valued at several million, but it was insured for an astonishing $12 million. The holy grail of cards was delivered to the History Colorado Center on Monday via an armored truck for a 72-hour exhibit open to the public, according to the Associated Press.
“I want the community to enjoy looking at the card,” said its owner, retired lawyer Marshall Fogel of Denver. “It’s the finest card ever made, and it just happens to be my favorite player, Mickey Mantle.”
Stepping up the care of the card even more, it was temporarily stored in the same secure case that once held Thomas Jefferson’s Bible and is outfitted with UV-lens protection and temperature-humidity control. Fogel is a baseball memorabilia fanatic, and much of the “Play Ball!” exhibition shows off his artifact collection.
Fogel’s also got a thing for boxing artifacts that belonged to some of the most iconic men to ever step in the ring, including Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray.
“I always liked boxing,” he said. “I used to box as a kid. My dad used to take me to the fights as a kid. So, I have Jack Dempsey’s gloves, Sugar Ray Leonard, Muhammad Ali. I have Patrick Roy’s Stanley Cup jersey, John Elway’s uniform. I have my photo collection, I collect ‘Wizard of Oz,’ Marilyn Monroe. I have one of the original photos of Iwo Jima, the flag raising.”
However, he mainly sticks to America’s game because it’s the fiber of our culture. He keeps a Babe Ruth-signed baseball and a Lou Gehrig’s last signed bat at his house, but he’s extra careful with the Mantle card in a bank safe in Denver.
“I’d go to the bank for other reasons, and I’d take it out and pinch myself,” he shared.
Fogel paid $120,000 for the card back in 1996 and it’s more than quadrupled its worth since.
