With the obvious exception of the 1952 Topps issue the 1953 Bowman Color set is the most popular and iconic of all the postwar baseball sets. Known for its clear crisp color photography and its elegant simplistic design the set features a number of timeless cards from the horizontal Pee Wee Reese to the smiling Stan Musial portrait to the Berra/Bauer/Mantle "dugout" photo. Of all the set's timeless images none is more beloved than the #59 Mickey Mantle the young superstar swinging the bat his eyes following an imaginary ball into the distance. The card's rich blue sky and Mantle's young hopeful face make this one of his most appealing cards. This wonderful example has been signed by Mantle in blue fiber tip marker almost perfectly placed just underneath his face. The signature has attained a grade of MINT 9 from PSA/DNA - the highest grade so attained with a population report that reveals no others at this level (including this one for some reason simply listed as "Authentic" in their cert number database). A simply wonderful card one of the finest quality Mantle signatures we have seen on a vintage card well worthy of the grade.