Mile High Auction: Item Graded PSA "Authentic" ???

[Robbie]

Reading this post, you may not recognize me because although I've been in the hobby for about 40 years, my participation has been very limited for about the past 10 years (due to unforeseeable life circumstances). I'm very happy that I am finally able to spend a little more time here.

I primarily collect original photos, and have not purchased cards in some time. I would really appreciate your help because I have lost touch with some of the nuances of cards, grading, and everything PSA. :confused:

Well to my point/question, Mile High Card Company is currently having an auction in which they have a variety of Season Passes (i.e. Team Passes, League Passes, Press Passes, etc) mixed in with their tickets. I'm interested in these items.

The thing is... almost every single one seems to be GRADED - "PSA AUTHENTIC." I have researched and can't get a straight or clear answer on what "Authentic" means (especially on a season pass).

Does this mean they have been "altered or "restored"?
"Maliciously"...? ... however that is really defined.

Did the person or AH having them graded pay less for an "Authentic" designation than for a number grade?

Why wouldn't someone prefer a number grade? ...even in the case where there is very severe paper loss and/or creasing and/or writing on the pass?

Anyway...
Would someone please explain what "Authentic" means on these passes, and why you think the passes that were graded, were graded... and why the ones left raw were left raw?

Thank you for your help!
Robert Slatkin

[glynparson]

It means it’s real. Most people
Choose to just authenticate tickets passes and autographs that don’t reach a certain threshold. They are not cards and the collectors seem to view them differently. It is my understanding they’d be labeled authentic altered if they felt they were real but Messed with. Hope this helps.

[perezfan]

Correct. Ticket collectors aren’t as concerned about a numerical grade. It’s just the authenticity that is being verified, as there are many bogus and counterfeit examples out there. Kinda wish the “powers that be” would also grade this way for cards, but unfortunately that ship has long-since sailed.

Post this question/concern on the Memorabilia side, and you’ll get some even more specific answers. Lots of advanced ticket collectors over there. I’m not a “Ticket” or “Slabbing” guy, so that’s about the extent of my knowledge on this topic. Best of luck!

[swarmee]

Agreed. Not everything needs a number grade. And it's been proven PSA is awful at determining the ones that deserve numbers and the ones that don't.

[Johnny630]

Does anyone else think at this point that PSA’s brand has lost its relevance in being able to consistently determine wether a Card has been altered or not?
To me they have ......registry and pop mean nothing to me...their pop report has always been inaccurate. It was a perfect Marketing Campaign to Target Collectors and Rich People whom are super competitive to Chase Being Number 1, it worked For their bottom line.
However in light of the recents discovered by BO
Can we have a New Pop Report Created by Newport Beach Highlighting altered Cards in their holders with number grades
Thoughts and Opinions????

[Robbie]

Thank you Glyn, Mark and John for your replies.

I posted this on the card side because you guys seem to understand PSA better... if that is possible.

There are some rel inconsistencies with this "grading," and I would love to hear why people think the other raw Passes were not graded.

I'm not good with the technology here, but if I can copy this to the memorabilia side, I will. Thanks!

[Robbie]

Does anyone else think at this point that PSA’s brand has lost its relevance in being able to consistently determine wether a Card has been altered or not?
To me they have ......registry and pop mean nothing to me...their pop report has always been inaccurate. It was a perfect Marketing Campaign to Target Collectors and Rich People whom are super competitive to Chase Being Number 1, it worked For their bottom line.
However in light of the recents discovered by BO
Can we have a New Pop Report Created by Newport Beach Highlighting altered Cards in their holders with number grades
Thoughts and Opinions????

@Johnny630

As I initially mentioned, I have not been too active for a while. But, people were warning about PSA 20+ years ago, and nobody listened.

I agree with a good amount of your sentiment. I'm really confused about these Passes because I believe I am seeing trimmed ones numerically graded and ones I would pay more for if they had a "1" or "2" on instead of "Authentic" which look pretty descent. I just don't get it.

In photos, this stuff doesn't matter that much because they are usually part of a working library of artwork.

[Leon]

Only a moderator can copy threads over to other places. I cant imagine if it were allowed by everyone. It would be an immediate disaster, imo. That said it is copied over there now. Also, your title seems to alarm people about something when there probably isn't need for alarm on this one. I am not saying it isn't ever warranted but probably not in this case. TPGs can be inconsistent on their grading sometimes. I doubt it matters (at least it doesn't to me) if they have a numerical grade or not. My only season pass..

http://luckeycards.com/ppass1903al.jpg




Thank you Glyn, Mark and John for your replies.

I posted this on the card side because you guys seem to understand PSA better... if that is possible.

There are some rel inconsistencies with this "grading," and I would love to hear why people think the other raw Passes were not graded.

I'm not good with the technology here, but if I can copy this to the memorabilia side, I will. Thanks!

[Robbie]

Hi Leon,

I certainly did not intend to alarm anybody with my headline. If I did so, I apologize. My sole issue and focus is in trying to understand what PSA "Authenticate" means on a Season Pass. The current Mile High Auction was simply a source of reference for what I was talking about. I apologize to Brian/Mile High Auctions if anyone inferred anything negative. I am asking about PSA's grading standards, and not questioning the quality or authenticity of items in the Mile High Auction.



Leon...

If you only have one pass in your collection, that is not a bad one to have!

[kateighty]

Agree with all of the above and welcome back Robbie. Personally, I've had several items intentionally graded as Authentic for various reasons (mostly T3 Turkey Reds in pretty rough shape). There's a few scenarios that are somewhat related in my opinion. In your case though I wouldn't be particularly concerned in terms of "Authentic" equating to altering or anything malicious.

1. Someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong but I feel like at some point in the last ten years or so certain types of memorabilia (esp those not graded as frequently compared to cards) ping ponged around when it came to grading and "Authentic" was the only option for grading specific items. Wasn't worth the graders time to give it a number.

2. Preservation - Given their age and condition I wanted my T3s to be slabbed to help preserve them. They weren't looking too hot and I wanted to keep them in the condition I bought them in. I knew they wouldn't get higher than a 2 if graded so when submitting I said simply grade as Authentic if it's a 2 or lower. Was probably around 2013. At the time it was merely for my collection and I could have cared less about a particular grade.

3. Grading specials - Over the years there's been grading specials where you can get these things graded at a discount (Authentic or Bust History as I like to call it) particularly with oddly shaped and random items. In the case of my T3s they automatically cost around $75 at a minimum to grade so I jump whenever there's a discount. Could have been the case with your item.

P.S. Thanks Leon for making me literally LOL. Immediate disaster might be an understatement!

[Robbie]

@kateighty

Hi Kat,

Thank you for your very helpful input!

[kateighty]

No worries. Hope it helped!