The ever-popular 1952 Topps card #311 features a striking image of a young Mickey Mantle. Most baseball card enthusiasts consider it the "Topps Rookie Card", although a Bowman card of the young star came out the previous year. However, the Bowman card has nowhere near the eye appeal of the Topps card. Yankee fans, card collectors and investors just cannot get enough of this card! It remains one of the hobby's classics and there just doesn't seem to be enough examples to go around. I was fortunate to acquire this particular example, as it has been blatantly under-graded by PSA! The card clearly exhibits every attribute that you would want in a Near Mint/Mint 8, yet it currently resides in a "6.5" holder, the only example such, to date. I doubt that this will always be the case, as I suspect that at some point PSA will do the right thing and find that after careful review of this beauty, it deserves the higher rating of NM 7. It has brilliant color and gloss, sharp corners, a clean reverse and is just slightly off-center. It's only flaw is a tiny thumbnail pinch at the very edge of the bottom border, which is only noticeable upon close inspection and is mentioned only for the sake of accuracy. If not for this small imperfection, the card would surely achieve the "8" status. According to the gentleman who gave the card up, he purchased it directly from Al Rosen when the hoard of 1952 Topps high numbers was discovered by a truck driver in Massachusetts back in 1986 and was sold to Rosen. Being that I owned 7 of the high number runs, including Mantles, I can attest to the beauty of this card being of like quality. It simply blows away every other EX/MT 6 card that I've seen, regardless of the grading company and is nicer than some NM 7's that I've seen! It even presents better than the Near Mint 7 that brought $39k in a recent large Mastro auction. This card is ideal for someone looking to invest in a card that already has equity built-in. Truly a great conversation piece, as this certified gem is free of the usual corner wear, dirtiness and centering problems that most "6's" have. In a word, it's gorgeous! (NOTE: THIS CARD WILL BE AUCTIONED IN THE APRIL, 2009 ROBERT EDWARD AUCTIONS. INQUIRE AT WWW.ROBERTEDWARDAUCTIONS.COM)