A 1952 baseball card sold for a staggering $12.6 million dollars early Sunday, as reported on CNN.
The sale makes the card the most valuable sports collectible in the world, according to Heritage Auctions.
The price nearly doubled the previous record when a Honus Wagner card sold for $6.6 million last year. And it also broke the record for any sports memorabilia, topping the $9.3 million sale of the famous Diego Maradona jersey he wore when he scored the ‘Hand of God’ goal.
The card Mickey Mantle is especially valuable because it is so well preserved. The card was rated “Mint+ 9.5” by Sportscard Guaranty Corporation, according to Heritage Auctions.
Mantle passed 17 years playing for the New York Yankees team and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame at 1974. The record-breaking card is from his rookie season and was produced by trading card company Topps.
For the auction house, the sale represents the growing appeal of sports collectibles.
“We always knew that this card would break records and expectations. But that doesn’t make it any less exciting to be part of an auction where a single item breaks the eight-figure threshold for the first time. It is an extraordinary achievement. for our wonderful team of sports experts at Heritage Auctions. And of course, we couldn’t have done it without our consignor, Anthony Giordano, who trusted Heritage to bring this amazing card to market,” said Chris Ivy, Director of Sports Auctions for Heritage.
Anthony Giordano bought the Mantle card for a record price in 1991, which was $50 thousand dollars and then kept hidden for three decades before taking it to Heritage Auctions.
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