PSA-Authenticated 1952 Mickey Mantle Signature Faces Scrutiny

PSA-authenticated 1952 Mickey Mantle autograph draws debate

The authenticity of a Mickey Mantle autograph on a 1952 Bowman card has become a major talking point in the hobby after autograph expert Steve Grad publicly questioned whether the signature was actually penned by the New York Yankees icon.

The card was first reported by SCD in early July and was said to be one of the earliest known period on-card Mantle autographs. According to that report, the signature was obtained by a young collector in 1952, during Mantle’s second season, and later authenticated by Professional Sports Authenticator, better known as PSA.

Grad, who spent years authenticating autographs at PSA before later working at Beckett Grading Service and launching his own company, Grad Authentication, posted an 18-minute video on social media disputing the signature. He said the autograph does not match Mantle examples from the era and argued that it may have been signed by someone else connected to the Yankees organization.

Steve Grad says the signature does not match Mantle

In his comments to SCD and in the video he released, Grad said he compared the 1952 Bowman autograph against dated Mantle examples from 1951, 1952 and 1953. He said he has more than 2,500 Mantle autograph exemplars on file and believes the card contains features Mantle did not use in his genuine signatures.

Grad pointed to the shape of the letters, the spacing in the autograph and the formation of the signature as reasons for his conclusion. He said the signature on the card includes characteristics he has never seen in Mantle’s handwriting, including the way the “a” is formed and the gap between the “M” and the “a” in Mantle’s last name.

According to Grad, Mantle’s autograph from 1951 through 1953 remained relatively consistent, with some changes in 1953 but still within the range of his known 1952 style. He said the card in question does not fit that pattern and suggested it may be a secretarial autograph, possibly written by a clubhouse attendant, bat boy or another team employee.

“I’ll let the autograph speak for itself and everybody can make their own judgement,” Grad told SCD. “As a general frame of comparison, on my video, I showed people ’51, ’52 and ’53 signatures all dated.”

He added that he has never seen Mantle sign in the manner shown on the card and said the autograph does not resemble Mantle’s genuine signature from any point in his career.

PSA and Collectors stand behind the authentication

Collectors, PSA’s parent company, is not backing away from the authentication. CEO Nat Turner told SCD that PSA stands behind the autograph and that Grad’s opinion does not reflect PSA’s position.

“PSA stands behind the autograph,” Turner said. He declined to explain why PSA believes the signature is genuine.

The disagreement has put the card in the spotlight because PSA authenticated both the card and the autograph. According to Walner, the card received a 1 grade while the autograph received an 8.

Barry Walner’s provenance for the card

The card’s history is central to the story. Collector Barry Walner said he pulled the 1952 Bowman Mickey Mantle card as a child when he was about 9 years old. The card originally carried Mantle’s printed facsimile signature, but Walner wanted a real autograph.

Walner said he wrote to Mantle that summer and mailed the card to Yankee Stadium asking for a signature. About five weeks later, the card came back with Mantle’s autograph on it.

More than seven decades later, Walner, now 83, was telling the story to his nephew, Justin Hirsch, who had recently founded Rabbit Hole Auctions. Hirsch recognized the potential significance of the card and helped Walner move forward with authentication and consignment.

Walner said he chose PSA because he viewed it as the most respected sports authentication company in the hobby. After PSA authenticated the card, Walner decided to consign it to Rabbit Hole Auctions.

“My understanding was that PSA is the largest and most respected sports authenticating firm in the world, so it was an easy decision to go with them,” Walner told SCD. “Both the card and the signature came back authenticated, the card a 1 and the autograph an 8.”

Walner also said he does not plan to seek opinions from other authentication companies. He added that if the market cannot rely on PSA’s standards, that would raise broader concerns for the industry.

Rabbit Hole Auctions plans to sell the card

Rabbit Hole Auctions has already listed the card on its website for its next month-long auction, which is scheduled to begin Oct. 11.

Before sending the card to PSA, Hirsch said he did his own research into Mantle’s autograph history and reached out to Mantle autograph specialist Matt Cirulnick, who founded the website Eye Appeal, Inc., to help determine the possible time frame in which the card may have been signed.

The card’s estimated value has varied depending on whose opinion is being considered. Hirsch was told the Mantle card could sell for $100,000 at auction, while Grad said that if the autograph were authentic, it could bring between $250,000 and $500,000.

Grad points to dated Mantle examples from 1951 through 1953

Grad said his conclusion is based on a large body of Mantle material he has studied over the years. He noted that he has worked in autograph authentication for 24 years and spent nine and a half years as the principal authenticator at Beckett Grading Service before leaving earlier this year. He also served as the main autograph expert on Pawn Stars for 13 years.

In the video he posted, Grad showed examples of Mantle’s signature from 1951, 1952 and 1953, including a 1951 Bowman card signed by Mantle in 1952. Grad said he authenticated that card while working at PSA and described it as one of the cleanest and earliest on-card Mantle autographs he has seen from 1952.

He said the 1952 Bowman autograph in question does not align with those examples and that he cannot find evidence Mantle signed it.

“If you go through exemplars, and I know they have my old ones and they have their own, you could not say that Mantle ever signed that,” Grad said. “Could I say a clubhouse attendant or a batboy? Yeah, no problem. But Mantle? No.”

Grad added in his video that he sees no resemblance between the autograph on the card and Mantle’s genuine signature, and that the inconsistencies he identified are not present in Mantle’s known examples from 1947 through 1995.

Why the card matters to collectors

The dispute has drawn attention because period signed cards from Mantle’s early career are highly desirable and difficult to find. A 1952 Bowman card signed during Mantle’s second season would represent an important piece of hobby history if the autograph is genuine, especially given the card’s place in the postwar baseball card era.

At the same time, the controversy highlights how much weight collectors place on authentication when a card carries a signature that could dramatically change its value. In this case, the difference between a genuine autograph and a questioned one could mean a major shift in market interest and price expectations.

Grad said he is aware some people may question his motives because of his past work with PSA, but he insisted the issue is not personal.

“I don’t hold a vendetta against anybody, nothing at all,” Grad said. “I want to point stuff out to people that you have to be careful what you’re doing.”

For collectors following the card’s journey, the next step is the auction itself, where the market will have its say on a piece that now sits at the center of one of the hobby’s most closely watched autograph debates.