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Levi Bleam Talks Owning a PSA 9 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle worth MILLIONS

Leighton and Levi Discuss the Rare Card He Once Owned in the 1980's.

August 19, 2025

Levi

In 1982, the value of a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card fell to $1,000. Levi Bleam, owner of 707 Sportscards, sat down with Leighton at the National Sports Collectors Convention to talk about owning the iconic card he purchased in the 1980's which later became valued at MILLIONS of dollars. Levi didn't sell his card for millions, though. Watch the video, hear about the story, and whether Levi has any regrets selling his Mantle before the value became what it is today.

The 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card is The Holy Grail of sports cards. Mantle, a three-time MVP, led his New York Yankees to seven World Series championships, and became a household name. Here we are 73 years later, and the '52 Topps Mantle is still King of the hobby. The story behind the card and why it is so scarce today is what legends are made of - many of the cards were dumped into the Atlantic Ocean. While collectors would try to pull the Mick out of a wax pack, trade, or FLIP for one, few people knew what the card would be worth today.

By the 1980's, the value of a 1952 Mantle rose to over $1,000, but then fell a bit after those in the hobby discovered the card to be "double-printed", meaning on an uncut sheet of cards contained two Mantles. Having more Mickey Mantle cards in population caused the value to be lower. Levi Bleam has been a hobby legend for decades. Setting up at the National Sports Collectors Convention for nearly 40 years running, Levi has seen his fair share of Mantle cards. Levi wanted a PSA 9 graded 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle for his own collection. How rare is a the card in such amazing condition? To-date, 2,055 of the 1952 Topps Mantle cards have been graded by PSA and just 6 have been graded a PSA 9. Only 3 of these cards have been graded PSA 10. Levi bought his card from a dealer well before the value of the card soared to unthinkable heights!

The last recorded sale of a PSA 9 '52 Topps Mantle is $2,880,000.00! Not a bad return on investment for a $1,000 purchase. Did Levi cash in at this price? He did NOT! Does he have any regrets about selling his Mantle before the era of seven-figure cards? Just Collect owner, Leighton Sheldon, talks with Levi at the National:

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We love Levi's mindset! Rather than taking the money from a sale and heading to Las Vegas, he purchased more cards. While not profiting over a million dollars from the sale of one card, he did profit from all of the other cards he purchased with the money he did receive from the sale of his Mickey Mantle. What a beautiful outlook, Levi! Thank you for the time and telling us your story. Leighton also sat down with Pat Quinn at the National and talked about a complete 1933 Goudey set with every card signed - including the Nap Lajoie! You can watch the Pat Quinn interview HERE.

Just Collect is always buying 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle cards! Recently, we purchased a '52 Mantle that was discovered on a farm in Oregon where the card had sat since the day it was pulled from a pack. The retail stores are focused on selling modern products and simply don't have the time or the knowledge to carefully evaluate vintage collections. This is where we are happy to help you! We have purchased thousands upon thousands of collections and bought and sold over 50 MILLION dollars in cards. Here is how you can contact us about selling your collection today:

WE ARE ALWAYS BUYING

Just Collect is always buying vintage sports and non-sports cards from 1879 to 2009 as well as select modern cards. If you have a collection that you are considering selling, contact us today to discuss or get our industry-leading purchase offer. If you have a collection that you want appraised, please contact us and we would be happy to discuss your collection and help you understand the real cash value of your collection in the current marketplace. Check out the Just Collect Buy List.

We always offer a FREE APPRAISAL for your collection here at the Just Collect site. Just click here:

We offer may ways to evaluate your cards other than or using our website, too.

Travel to Us

If you can make the trip here like the son from my hometown did for this collection- we can make a deal at the office. We once met a father-son duo that drove eight hours from Virginia to meet us to sell a Michael Jordan rookie card stored in Tupperware since 1986 - great read here.

Come to convention

We keep a LIST of card shows we'll be attending. Come stop by the Just Collect table and chat.

Meet in-person

If you have a valuable collection and want us to come to you, we'll hop on the next plane out.

Meet in New York City

If you're near New York City and would like to meet in a public place, our owner, Leighton, would be happy to meet you; read all the information here.

SHIP your collection

If you choose to mail your cards for an appraisal, we will evaluate your cards for FREE still. If you choose not to sell the cards, we'll ship them back shipping fees paid by us! We can offer our FedEx account with 2-day shipping, fully insured, all covered by us. Simply contact the office to set up this option.

OUR BUYING PHILOSOPHY

We've run into a wide range of people and collections over the last 25 years. Although Just Collect is known for buying vintage sports cards and especially vintage baseball cards, we are also extremely interested in buying non-sports cards, too!

Every collection and every collector is different and we treat EVERY collection with the respect and attention that we show for our own collections. We understand that many have put their heart and souls into building their collections. So when you're ready to sell, we understand the feelings that you're going through and will work with you to help you reach a decision that is a WIN/WIN, because if you're not happy, we're not happy.