Miller & Miller Sports Auction Generates CA$680,020, Led by Mickey Mantle Card

Miller & Miller Auctions generated CA$680,020 in gross sales at its October 25 online auction of pre-1980 sports cards and memorabilia, led by a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card that sold for CA$90,750. The New Hamburg, Ontario-based auction house sold 99 percent of the sale’s 288 lots. The event attracted 580 registered bidders, who placed 7,848 bids through Miller & Miller Live and LiveAuctioneers. All reported sale prices are in Canadian dollars and include buyer’s premium. Material from single-owner collections accounted for several of the leading results. The auction house reported that 54 percent of the top 50 lots exceeded their estimates. The top-selling Mantle card, a 1952 Topps 311 graded PSA 1 PR, surpassed its CA$40,000–CA$60,000 estimate. Recently discovered in a single-owner collection and newly graded, the card begins the baseball set’s scarce high-number series. A 1979-80 Topps Hockey wax box containing all 36 packs brought CA$48,400 against an estimate of CA$10,000–CA$25,000. The box, from Wayne Gretzky’s rookie year, had remained in a collection since the early 1980s. Although the box was not sealed, ICert authenticated it and verified its contents as authentic and unaltered. A 1952 Topps 312 Jackie Robinson card, graded PSA 2 Good, sold for CA$39,325, exceeding its CA$8,000–CA$12,000 estimate. Also a recent discovery with a new PSA grade, it belongs to the same high-number series as the Mantle card.