Card Backs

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>Little Lee</b><p>Hi Everyone, <br /><br />I have a question about the back of the cards.<br /><br />If the front of a card grades say a strong VG-EX, and the back would rate a lesser grade, how would the card be graded over all? And how much damage would you all put up with on the back?<br /><br />I'm speaking of the T tobbaco cards in general, put would be interested in your views of any cards in the same situation.<br /><br />Thanks, Little Lee<br><br>"Of all the things I lost in life, I miss my Mind the most" "Smith's Law, Murphy was and optimist"<br />

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>barry arnold</b><p>I find this issue to be one of the most frustrating for me as a collector<br />of the T206's. I've had over 200 graded by SGC,GAI, or PSA and have found<br />that, if the back has any damage at all, the card grades no higher than<br />good. This has been the toughest for me with HOF's when the front is easily<br />sgc 50 or better and the back damage puts it in the good range.<br />I finally learned, after too long a time, to make sure the backs are clean and in<br />good shape so as not to perpetuate my frustration at the 'lowered' grades.<br />Certainly, it makes sense that the back should be clear and clean to merit<br />a high grade, since the cards as a whole is being graded.<br />Still, the frustration lingers.<br /><br />Hope this helps.<br /><br />all the best<br /><br />Barry Arnold<br /><br />

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>dennis</b><p> in grading back is equal to front. i agree w/barry's post above,but when buying it's good!

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>Julie</b><p>Even if the back is not rare and worth a premium on that particular card, grading companies (and I think most of us, too) think that seriuous back damage to a deadballera card brings the value way down. I had a T206 Griffith portrait posted on my website--common back--Piedmont, I think, and decided I had to get rid of some T206s, because I was running out of space. Although the card has a great front and sharp corners, it was the first card I thought of removing, because there was a 1 1/2 inch of missing Piedmont back, where a piece of tape had been removed.<br /><br />As for blank-baked cards, I agree with a great collector named Buck Barker--a blank back is a great place to store information about the player, be it a Zeenut or a N172. Grading companies, and many collectors, however, disagree with me (Masatro, I notice, makes no distinction between N172s with marked backs and those with unmarked backs--ungraded, or course). Some backs are treasured by some of us because a famous collectior wrote career details on them--but I have a N172 Smiling Mickey Welch, with his w-l record scrawled all over the back in fountain pen, which I find particularly interesting, because it doesn't quite match his record in the Baseball Encyclopedia, and it wasn't written by anyone famous, either.<br /><br />However, you'll find, when itr comes to grading, even completely blank-backed cards (no color of any kind)--the grading companies do not go easy on them. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.network54.com/Realm/jphotos/BN172Dsb002.jpg"> <img src="http://www.network54.com/Realm/jphotos/BSMcM15b001.jpg">

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>Colt McClelland</b><p>I think the original post is accurate for the most part - even a small amount of back damage seems to mean a card is Good at best as far as a professional grading company is concerned. However, I view this as a positive when I am buying a card that has already been graded a "2" and the only problem with the card is some minor back damage. I have several E cards in my collection that look like a 4, 5 or even 6 from the front, but they are in a 2 holder based on back damage. Sometimes the back damage is significant (which probably deserves a 2 in my opinion), and other times is is very minor (which probably deserves a small adjustment to the overall grade but not an automatic 2 in my opinion). My main point is this - it's a great way to pick up a very attractive card at a low price when you are buying these cards in 2 holders. <br /><br />As a side note, I have noticed that GAI seems to be much more lenient on this issue. I have several GAI 3 cards with some minor paper loss on the back, which would never get a 3 grade from SGC and probably not PSA either.<br /><br />

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>warshawlaw</b><p>I bought an N29 with a gorgeous (nm to nm-mt) front and a back stain. Got a vg-ex from SGC. <br /><br />How badly you are penalized really depends on the level of disparity and level of damage.