4: 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle

Considered by many to be the G.O.A.T. of baseball cards, the 52 Mantle is one of the most valuable cards of all time. Finding one in good condition is like writing yourself a check for a new house. Mantle was a beloved player in the biggest market, pushing sales up even further. The card is known among sports card circles as one of the holy grails of collecting. Only two cards have ever crossed the million dollar threshold. The card shown above is one of them. Borne in an era when condition wasn’t taken into as big of consideration, and before Topps had a strong foot hold in the collecting community, finding this card requires more luck than most will ever understand.

Random Mickey Mantle Fact: On three occasions, Mantle came in second place for the AL MVP award. In two of those cases, he lost to the same person, teammate and fellow outfielder Roger Maris.