Mickey Mantle is often regarded as the greatest switch hitter of all time. He played over 2,400 games in his career, finishing with a .298 batting average, 2,415 hits, 536 home runs, and 1,533 RBI. He made 16 All-Star teams and won seven World Series with the New York Yankees, becoming one of the most popular players on the most recognizable MLB team. As a result, some of his memorabilia has skyrocketed in value.
For example, a mint condition Topps Mickey Mantle card from 1952 sold for $12.6 million in 2022. Most of us don't have a spare $12.6 million lying around, but another Mantle investment could be a bit easier to manage: shares in his boyhood home.
The collectibles company Rally purchased the home where Mantle learned to hit and is offering up to 47,000 shares in the house for $7 each. The company is valuing the Commerce, Oklahoma property at $329,000.
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The Mantle family sold the home in 1993, and Mantle died in 1995. Rally purchased the house for $175,000 in 2022 and plans to convert it into a museum. The company bills itself as an "alternative investment" platform, offering fractional shares in memorabilia like classic cars, vintage comics, and rare trading cards. Rally has listed fractional shares of sports memorabilia, though this is the first time it's dipping into real estate.
Beyond a museum, Rally has hinted at other ways it can utilize the property. They've suggested short-term rentals, like Airbnb or Vrbo, building a little league field in the yard, or creating trading cards that feature a piece of the home in them.
The earliest baseball cards were produced in 1868, and sports collectibles have only evolved from there. Billionaires such as Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay have amassed impressive collections, and the pandemic generated renewed interest in the market.
However, those collectibles are usually trading cards, shoes, jerseys, or other equipment. Homes don't really generate the same interest. In fact, Commerce's city administrator and former mayor, Michael Hart, said people come every day to visit the Mantle home, and they often leave unimpressed.
Rally's valuation seems quite lofty, too. Hart estimated similar homes in the city would sell for $10,000. Mantle, known as the "Commerce Comet," was beloved by millions of fans. But does he make a house in his hometown city 329 times more valuable?
This investment is a good example of just how wild the sports memorabilia market has become. It'll be very interesting to see what kind of interest Mantle's home generates and what kind of return — if any — investors will receive.
If you happen to live in Commerce, Rally will give you shares for free. They're setting aside 2,200 shares, about the same number of people who live in the city. Everyone else will have to fork over at least $7.
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