Former Broncos guard Evan Mathis was looking for a way to pay for his family’s dream home. So he put his mint-condition 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card on sale through Heritage Auctions’ inaugural Sports Card Auction.
Well, the auction ended Thursday and Mathis made a nice chunk of change for it. The card sold for $2.88 million at the end of the auction, with the buyer’s premium.
“While technically not his rookie card, it is Mantle’s first appearance on a Topps card and it is considered the most iconic card in the hobby, along with the T206 Honus Wagner,” Heritage Auctions director of sports Chris Ivy said in a video in March.
Of the 1,500 copies of the card graded by Professional Sports Authenticator, only six achieved a Mint 9 status on a scale of 10, according to Heritage Auctions. Mathis’ card was estimated at $3.5 million.
The record price for a card is $3.12 million — a Honus Wagner 1909-11 T206 card that sold in 2016 through Goldin Auctions. It was graded a PSA 5, one of the best-conditioned copies of the card in existence.