According to PWCC Marketplace, a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle baseball card has earned the title of the highest-selling sports card in history, breaking all previous records. The record was previously held by a Mike Trout card that was worth $3.94 million.
As reported by ESPN, the Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) gave a rating of 9 out of 10 to the baseball card, and it was bought by Rob Gough, an actor, and entrepreneur, for $5.2 million. Gough expressed that it was his childhood dream to own this card, and he claimed that it was equivalent to the Mona Lisa in the world of sports cards.
This card was a part of the last Topps collection produced in 1952; however, it is one of the few surviving cards, because almost all of them were disposed of in the Hudson River.
According to the director of business development at PWCC Marketplace, this card is the only one from the Topps Mantle PSA 9 from 1952 that is in mint condition.
In July last year, Topps Now announced that the limited edition card they had released, featuring the director of the NIH, Dr. Anthony Fauci, throwing the MLB’s opening pitch, had set a new record.
NEW. RECORD. 💥
Dr. Anthony Fauci's #ToppsNOW card sets an all-time high print run record, clocking in at 51,512 cards! pic.twitter.com/sbZtdVX6MC
— Topps (@Topps) July 27, 2020
The back of the card explains that this pitch was significant because it marked the beginning of the 2020 MLB season. The card also mentioned that Dr. Fauci was a huge fan of the Washington Nationals. Each card was sold for $9.99. It became the bestselling card with 51,512 cards sold.