1952 MICKEY MANTLE (HOF) "FAN CLUB" REAL PHOTO BUTTON.
Bidding has ended for this item.
Thank you for visiting our past auction results. If you have an identical (or similar) to this auction item, please call or contact us to discuss. We look forward to speaking with you.
Winning Bid:
$23,249.78 (Includes 18% Buyer's Premium)
Bids:
32
Bidding Ended:
Wednesday, September 23, 2020 9:00:00 PM (20 Minute Clock Begins At Wednesday, September 23, 2020 9:00:00 PM)
Time Left:
Ended
Auction:
Auction #230 Part I
Value Code:
M - $5,000 to $10,000 Help Icon
Item Description
Few examples known and those are tucked away in private collections and unlikely to see the light of day anytime soon,. 1.5" without maker name but with union bug back stamp. Considered to be the Holy Grail of Mickey Mantle pinbacks, the Mickey Mantle Fan Club button holds the record at auction for any postwar baseball celluloid, when Barry Halper's example sold for $12,650 in the famous Halper Auction in 1999. The pin was available for a very short time by mail only to members of Mickey Mantle's fan club, which was located at 400 Madison Ave., Suite 906, New York, NY, very early in his career. Mickey Mantle began his Major League baseball career with the New York Yankees in 1951 taking over in center field for the living legend, Joe DiMaggio. Widely regarded as the greatest switch-hitter of all-time, Mantle spent his entire 18 year career with the Yankees, finishing with a .298 career batting average average along with 536 home runs and 1,509 RBI's. If not for a gruesome knee injury suffered at the very beginning of his career, Mickey's numbers would have been unimaginable. As one of the core Yankees of the 1950s and 1960s, along with teammates Yogi Berra and Whitey Ford, Mantle led New York to 12 American League pennants and seven World Championships. Mickey was selected as the American League's MVP three times and also finished second in the voting on three other occasions. Mantle was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY in 1974. Light normal oxidation on the reverse. The front celluloid is very slightly concave. There is scattered surface scratching in reflected light with a couple very short scratches a little deeper than normal on the rim edge around bottom of the "B" of "Club". Just above his ear on the left is a tiny sideways "V" shaped air spot, but the arms of the "V" are a mere 1/16" and 1/32" long. The celluloid is stain free and retains its glossy surface. VF. Paul Muchinsky Collection Book Example and featured on his book's front cover. See the following related and more rare "Mickey Mantle Fan Club/Membership Card".

Pictures (click images to zoom in)