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Mantle, Gehrig, Bird-Magic & Jordan Rookies from The Mancini Collection

Iconic Cards Belonged to our Late Friend, Dom Mancini

October 16, 2024

A pack-fresh Larry Bird-Magic Johnson rookie, a Michael Jordan rookie, multiple Mickey Mantle cards, and more have proudly been purchased by Just Collect in this very special collection. Each of these cards belonged to our late friend, Dom Mancini. Dom's son, Jace, chose us to sell the collection to, and we can't wait to tell you why!

Dom Mancini was a well-known collector, and friend to us here at Just Collect. Dom enjoyed buying into card breaks with our sister company, . Our owner, Leighton, also owns Vintage Breaks and would frequently open packs for Dom. Sadly, Dom passed away. Dom's son, Jace, inherited the collection. Knowing Dom pulled a 1980 Topps rookie card of Larry Bird and Magic Johnson from a pack on Vintage Breaks back in 2020 (you can find the video HERE), he knew how much Leighton and all of us here at Just Collect would appreciate the opportunity to purchase the collection.

THE MANCINI COLLECTION

The 1980 Topps basketball set is quite unique! The are three mini individual cards on each card. The mini cards were meant to be perforated, and ripped. Of course, in 1980, none of us knew how valuable the cards would be had we kept each in-tact! What a time to be a basketball fan, too. Both Larry Bird and Magic Johnson were rookies in the 1980-81 season, and Topps wisely paired each on the same card! The third card alongside Bird and Magic is the legendary Dr. J, Julius Erving. This trio combines for 9 NBA championships and 7 MVP awards! Dom pulled his Bird-Magic rookie card from a sealed pack with Vintage Breaks. That card was sent to PSA for grading and came back a 9 out of 10! Only 24 cards of the Bird-Magic rookie have ever been given a perfect 10 by PSA grading; this card is magnificent.

Dom also owned a Michael Jordan rookie card. From the 1986 Fleer basketball set, this Jordan rookie is one of the most iconic cards in the hobby. However, back before the six NBA championships, five MVP awards, and being the face of basketball, few collectors knew what they had in 1986. At one point, you could purchase and entire box of 1986 Fleer cards with 36 packs for only $10! The NBA wasn't as popular in 1986. In fact, playoff games were still on tape delay! Yes, you read that correctly; an NBA Playoff game was not shown live on TV in 1986. My how times have changed.

Mickey Mantle baseball cards are some of the most coveted in the collecting world! Mantle won three MVP awards and seven World Series championships while playing for the most famous baseball team, the Yankees. Dom had three stunning Mickey Mantle cards: 1965 Topps graded PSA 6.5, 1961 Topps graded SGC 4, and 1968 Topps graded PSA 7.

Speaking of 1968 Topps, Dom owned a Nolan Ryan rookie card, signed by Ryan himself. Nolan Ryan still owns the record for most career strikeouts (5,714) and most no-hitters thrown (7). How good was Nolan Ryan at striking batters out? The current active leader for career strikeouts is Justin Verlander, and he sits at 10th all-time with 3,416 at age 41. Verlander would need 2,299 more strikeouts to pass Ryan! The most strikeouts Verlander has ever had in one season? 300.

Dom also owned a beautiful 1933 Goudey Lou Gehrig! Playing along side Babe Ruth, Gehrig put up stellar numbers. Gehrig led the league in batting average, home runs, and RBI to win the triple crown in 1934 - yet didn't win the MVP award! He still managed to win the MVP award in 1927 and 1936 to go along with his six World Series championships.

You can see each of these cards from Dom Mancini in our slide show here:

APPRAISAL AND PURCHASE

Dom's son, Jace, came to our Just Collect booth at the National Sports Collector's Convention for a FREE appraisal. We always offer a free appraisal, and are happy to meet you at a convention, in our office here in Summit, NJ, or we can travel to meet you! Leighton and our Vice President, John, carefully reviewed each card. With each card already being graded, providing a value was quite simple. With vintage cards, condition is VERY important. For example, a PSA 9 Larry Bird-Magic Johnson rookie is valued around $13,000. However, a PSA 8 is valued around $2,500. With rarer and more valuable cards such as a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle rookie card, the difference in just 1 point on the grading scale such as a PSA 1 vs PSA 2 can be tens of thousands of dollars! With our expertise and the cards already being graded, we were able to provide Jace an evaluation at the National for him. We then paid Jace how he wanted to be paid! when you choose to sell your collection to Just Collect, we can pay you in cash, company check, or wire transfer.

Thank you, Jace, for allowing us to purchase your dad's collection. Dom's cards will be going to a great home. We send our best to you, your sisters (hello, Nikki!), and your entire family.

We have purchased many collections much like Dom's cards. Recently, we purchased a collection of FIVE Michael Jordan rookie cards that you can see HERE. Just Collect purchased a huge collection of over 800 Goudey cards including 22 Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth cards that you can see HERE. 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. With decades of experience handling and purchasing collections, we take the time to treat your collection with the care it deserves.

WE ARE ALWAYS BUYING

Just Collect is always buying vintage sports and non-sports cards from 1879 to 1979 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.