Is Mickey Mantle [Hand Cut] #2 worth grading?

Baseball · Baseball Cards 1961 Bazooka · full price guide →

Worth grading — even a PSA 9 beats raw

A Grade 9.5 Mickey Mantle [Hand Cut] #2 sells for $6,380 against $459 raw: a $5,921 spread, 14× the ungraded price. Even a PSA 9 ($5,800) clears the raw price after an economy-tier ~$25 fee, so a near-miss still comes out ahead. Centering is the usual reason a clean copy misses the 10 — measure it before you submit.

Raw (NM): $459
Grade 9.5: $6,380
PSA 9: $5,800
Gem premium: 14×
As of: Sep 4, 2026

Break-even by outcome and fee

Mickey Mantle [Hand Cut] #2: net result of grading versus selling raw, by outcome and fee tier
If it comes back…	Sells for	Economy / bulk (~$25.00)	Standard (~$50.00)	Express (~$150)
Gem — Grade 9.5	$6,380	+$5,896	+$5,871	+$5,771
PSA 9	$5,800	+$5,316	+$5,291	+$5,191

Net = sale price − $459 raw value − fee. Fee tiers are illustrative; plug your grader's current price into the calculator below.

Expected value — how often does it need to gem?

Mickey Mantle [Hand Cut] #2: expected value of submitting by gem probability
Chance it gems	Expected sale	Expected net (standard fee)
25%	$5,945	+$5,436
50%	$6,090	+$5,581
75%	$6,235	+$5,726

Even a miss (a 9) beats selling raw after the standard fee — the gem rate only decides how much you win by.

Full grade ladder

Raw conditions & history →

Mickey Mantle [Hand Cut] #2 graded prices by company and grade
Grade	Graded
9.5	$6,380
9	$5,800
7	$1,700

Run your own numbers

Should I pay this?

Asking priceGrading fee

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Full set checklist →

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Raw $95.00Graded $259

Eddie Yost [Hand Cut] #6

Raw $6.53Graded $226

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