Golf legend Fred Couples sold his 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle ‘rookie’ card on Friday, April 3rd for a record price. Couples sold his PSA 2.5 Mantle through Heritage Auctions for $158,600, a record for any 1952 Mantle at that grade. Prior to Friday’s sale, the highest selling PSA 2.5 sold in 2022 for $89,249 and another sold for $72K in August of last year.
A PSA 2.5 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle #311 | Card Ladder
One interesting note from the Heritage Auction sale was the inclusion of “From the Collection of World Golf Hall of Famer Fred Couples” on the card’s description. Which begs the question, what else is in Couples’ collection?
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1952 Topps Mickey Mantle #311
Baseball collectors are very well versed with the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle (#311), since its one of the most sought-after and most expensive cards in the hobby. One of the most hotly debated topics among baseball card collectors is which card is the more important and iconic: the T206Honus Wagner or the 1952 Topps Mantle.
The 1952 Topps Mantle was the first time the Yankees legend appeared on a Topps card, but its not his first card. The first card to feature Mantle was the 1951 Bowman #253.
1951 Mickey Mantle Bowman | CardLadder
However, it’s the 1952 Topps Mantle (not the Bowman) that holds the top spot for most expensive baseball card of all time and the third most expensive sports card of all time, just $300K behind Kevin O’Leary’s Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant Dual Autograph Logoman. The record price paid for the 1952 Topps Mantle was $12.6M through Heritage Auctions in August 2022.
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Couples and Mantle golfed together in the ’80s
It only happened once, but if left a lasting impression:
“It was set up. I played a round of golf with him, and it was like a very, very, very cool full day, and we had lunch,” Couples said in a video compiled by PGA Tour Champions in 2020. “So that was starstruck. Mickey Mantle. But that was in 19 … maybe 88 or 89.”
Highest selling Fred Couples card
Despite being a former world number one golfer, winning over 60 titles including the 1992 Masters and the 1984 Players Championship, Fred Couples cards are nowhere near as expensive as the Mantle card he just sold. Only one Couples card has sold for over $2,000, and that was the BGS 9.5 Upper Deck Player’s Ink Gold autographed card serial numbered to 25 seen below:
A BGS 9.5 2001 Upper Deck Fred Couples Player’s Ink Gold Autograph #FC (/25) | Card Ladder
Couples will be participating in his 41st Masters Gold Tournament this week down in Augusta, GA. At the age of 66, he’s the oldest player ever to make the cut. With the sale of his Mickey Mantle, maybe he’ll have some advice for the younger players he’ll be teeing up with on the best vintage cards to collect.
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Bringing together people of all ages and walks of life is one of the many special aspects of the hobby.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/collectibles as Fred Couples Sold This PSA 2.5 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle for Record.
