In April 1991, Mickey Mantle told Joseph Timmerman he wanted to see him at his hotel on Manhattan's Upper East Side.
When Timmerman walked in, Mantle showed him the gift he made.
It was a piece of white cardboard signed "Mickey Mantle" 99 times, with a very Mickey Mantle-like "These pens suck" among the signatures.
"I want you to someday sell this in the future and put your kids through college with it," Mantle said.
Mantle and Timmerman had been business partners since 1984. Timmerman was founder of Sports Impressions, which in the late 80s and early 90s popularized licensed porcelain items including figurines, cards and plates. Timmerman signed Michael Jordan, Bo Jackson, Dan Marino and Joe Montana, but Mantle was the face of the company.
In April 1991, Timmerman — who at the time was paying Mantle $110,000 a year — sold his company and the new owner re-signed Mantle with a six-figure signing bonus.
Timmerman didn't use the autographs to get his kids through college, but now, at 74, he figures it's time for someone else to enjoy it.
After posting the sheet on Facebook, Timmerman took private offers, but recently decided to consign to Leland's auction house. The auction will open Sept. 29 and close Oct. 19.
Before Mantle died in 1995, his signatures retailed for $80. Signatures like these fall in the $700 range today, which would equal $69,300 for the sheet if that's how it was calculated. But Timmerman thinks that's not the way to look at it.
"You can't find anything like this," Timmerman said. "It's a 1-of-1."
"It's a beautiful piece from a man who signed so well until the end," said long-time veteran autograph agent Harlan Werner. "He once told me that he couldn't believe that he would make more money from one autograph than his dad made in a day in the coal mines and his job was to give fans the best autograph possible every time."
Werner said the likely buyer is Fanatics, with the intent to put the signatures on cards and make a deal with the Mantle estate.
Even though Fanatics might be willing to pay more, Timmerman prefers that doesn't happen.
"That would be terrible," Timmerman said. "If you cut it up, it isn't one of a kind anymore!"
Darren Rovell is the founder of cllct.com and one of the country's leading reporters on the collectible market. He previously worked for ESPN, CNBC and The Action Network.