19639

1959 Mickey Mantle All-Star Game Used Bat

Currency:USD Category:Sports - Cards & Fan Shop / Sports - Game Used Memorabilia Start Price:9,500.00 USD Estimated At:15,000.00 - 20,000.00 USD
1959 Mickey Mantle All-Star Game Used Bat
<B>1959 Mickey Mantle All-Star Game Used Bat.</B></I> While clearly any bat once owned and operated by the great Mickey Mantle is worthy of glowing praise and careful curatorship, educated hobbyists understand that those special issue bats related to All-Star Games and World Series belong in a class unto themselves. We are very pleased to bring to the collecting community one of these scarce and monumentally important artifacts, the Adirondack 113A issued to the superstar New York Yankees center fielder for his participation in the '59 Midsummer Classic. As this was a season that featured an All-Star doubleheader, with games at Pittsburgh's Forbes Field and Los Angeles' Memorial Coliseum, we cannot be certain which of the two games saw Mickey use this bat. But based on the "significant" use, as stated by the authenticators at MEARS, one could reasonably expect it was used in both, and then beyond into the second half of the regular season. The brutal impacts caused by Mantle's crushing swings have left the barrel to take on a mottled look, with use that you can feel as you turn the bat in your hands from light deadwood on the back of the barrel. "1959 All-Star" in simple block lettering leads to a slightly larger "Mantle' between the words "Adirondack" and "Personal Model" on the barrel's heart, setting our own hearts to fluttering. Weight of thirty-one and a half ounces and length of thirty-five inches were the favored specifications of the Mick at the time. The authenticators note that the stamping on the bat has since been traced over in black ink, and that there appears to be some use not related to Major League play, but these factors will only be apparent to particularly eagle-eyed experts. They do not materially affect the display of the bat, and certainly not its important heritage. Very faint traces of an ancient autograph further links this bat to its former master. MEARS A4, with points lost only due to post-Mantle alterations. <I>LOA from MEARS.</B></I> <BR><BR><B>Important notice:</B> Heritage usually auctions material at the rate of 200-250 lots per hour. On some occasions eBay Live bid software or the Internet may not be able to keep up with the pace of the auction. We recommend placing a realistic absentee bid now as insurance to avoid disappointment. Occasionally the auctioneer may eliminate or reject an eBay Live bid, and the auctioneer may also reopen a lot after the close of the eBay live bidding (usually because we missed an audience bid), and may reject your bid even if it shows you as the winning bidder. By bidding via eBay Live, you agree that Heritage may award the lot to another bidder at its sole discretion under the circumstances described above or any other reasonable circumstances. Since eBay bids are not shown to us until we open the lot on the floor, we treat those bids just like floor bids. In most cases the floor responds before the eBay bid is presented to us, due to Internet lag time, so for consistency we have made it a policy that floor bids are always considered first over tie eBay live bids. Also please note that all Heritage lots purchased through eBay Live carry a 22.5% Buyer's Premium. Please make sure you read the Terms and Conditions before you bid. This lot is being auctioned in conjunction with a live floor auction by Heritage Galleries & Auctioneers. All final auction and invoice information will be supplied by Heritage Galleries & Auctioneers, and all other information should be considered preliminary. Lot:19639 <BR><BR><B>Winning Notification and Billing:</B> After the FINAL session in this auction is complete, Heritage will send e-mail and snail mail invoices. This process normally takes several days. All final auction and invoice information will be supplied by Heritage Galleries & Auctioneers, and all other information should be considered preliminary. <BR><BR>This auction will be conducted on a live auction floor and over the Internet through eBay Live. If you choose to place an absentee bid, please take a moment to <font color='#0000ff'><u><a href='http://pages.ebay.com/liveauctions/help/before/laabsentee.html'>learn how eBay Live absentee bidding works</a></u></font><font color='#000000'>