Mickey Mantle baseball card sells for record-breaking $12.6 million at auction.
- A Mickey Mantle baseball card has been sold for $12.6m (£10.8m) to become the most valuable piece of sports memorabilia ever sold at auction.
- The shirt worn by footballer Diego Maradona when he scored the goal known as the "Hand of God" in the 1986 World Cup set the previous record, which was eclipsed earlier this year by the card, which sold for $9.3 million (£7.1 million).
The most effective switch-hitter in baseball history, Mantle, is depicted on the 1952 Topps trading card. Chris Ivy, the director of sports auctions at Heritage Auctions, which handled the sale of the artefact, said that it would have been offered at the time in a wax-wrapped pack for either a penny or a nickel.
The previous record for a sports card belonged to a century-old "T206" Honus Wagner card that sold this month for £6.2 million.
According to Heritage Auctions,
" The Mantle card was graded a “Mint+ 9.5” out of 10 by Sportscard Guaranty Corporation, which authenticates and grades trading cards.
"It bears the finest qualities any 1952 Topps can possess: perfect centring, registration and four sharp corners," Ivy said.
"That this Mantle rookie card remained in this condition for 70 years is a true miracle."
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