Grading stategies (T206, T209, T205, etc)??

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Posted By: <b>Roberta</b><p>Hi. I’m new here and to baseball cards, and I hope some of you experts won’t mind giving me some advice regarding the grading of my cards—whether I’m doing things correctly now and how I should proceed going forward. I am dealing with my grandfather’s boyhood T & E card collections that we recently discovered in an outbuilding (used for storage) at my parents’ home (at least 790 cards):<br /><br />T206470 cards<br />T205160 cards<br />T209-1 17 cards<br />T209-2111 cards<br />E90-1 2 cards<br />E91B 10 cards<br />E91C 9 cards<br />E95 7 cards<br /><br />My grandfather was not a collector (so, no sentimental value there) and neither is anyone else in the family, so I will be selling them (although I have really enjoyed learning about these very interesting cards and have actually become quite attached!). So, for a variety of reasons, I made the decision to have the cards graded and took 760 of them out to PSA several weeks ago. So far, I’ve received 275 cards back, and I’m unhappy with only a few:<br /><br />Evid of trimming:Well, none of these cards have been doctored in any way at any time. They have been in this cigar box ever since they were placed there—we guesstimate not long after they came out—1912-1915. I suspect that there may be a few where a child played with them (at that time) and perhaps cut upon them—but they are fairly obvious, and I did not submit them. The ones that PSA graded measure properly, look terrific and simply were given that designation in error—I suspect it’s that vague (to me, anyway) criteria of “feeling the edges” for “trimming.” At any rate, whatever they’re seeing or feeling is misinterpreted. I feel strongly about that. So far, we’re talking about 4 cards (3 T206s and 1 E95). (Also, I have received plenty of 7 grades and some 8s as well—these cards in question look at least as good, but the point is that the graders didn’t suspect “trimming” on those that were graded, and it’s proof that really good cards can and do exist in this collection.)<br /><br />Miscut (not holdered): Does this mean that the card does not measure the right size, having been miscut at the factory—and that the MC qualifier means that the card is the right size, but has been cut so that the front and/or back are off? Why wouldn’t the card at least get an AUTH? And holdered?<br /><br />MK qualifier: Given to 7 of the 8 209-1 Contentnea Colors—for the factory stamp on the back, which is obviously an ink stamp that was stamped on the card at some point prior to packaging. I did find one of Leon’s online (hi, Leon), which confirms to me that the stamp was not added after the package was opened. Does anyone else have one of these stamped cards that has been graded without the MK qualifier? If so, who graded it? <br /><br />So, what do I do? I think that since I’m a complete unknown in the hobby, I do need to have these cards graded and authenticated to sell them.<br /><br />I will probably be making a submission to SGC next for certain cards and wonder if I should submit these cards in question to them and forget the “review” thing at PSA which seems unlikely to produce positive results from what I’ve been reading on these boards. <br /><br />If you think that’s a good idea, what about the very, very few cards whose grades just look way off to me. I do want those resubmitted, but again, should I just bag PSA on this and send them in to SGC as a crossover?<br /><br />I really value your expert opinions—I’ve been going back and reading the boards and have learned a lot from you folks.<br /><br />Thanks for any and all help!<br /><br />Roberta<br /><br />PS sorry if TMI<br />

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Posted By: <b>Denny Walsh</b><p>Greetings Roberta,<br /> Just My Humble Opinion...<br />"Send them ALL to SGC!" <br />Life's Grand,<br />Denny Walsh

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Posted By: <b>Eric B</b><p>Skydash, is this you?<br /><br />Did you mean to say 470 cards of T206?

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Posted By: <b>Roberta</b><p>"Skydash, is this you?"<br /><br />I wish!! And my cards were found in South Carolina. Alas, I don't have any of the those rare biggies, although there are some of the desirable cards (Cobbs, Mathewsons, Young, etc.)<br /><br />"Did you mean to say 470 cards of T206?"<br /><br />yes. I'm tired. I'll try to figure out how to edit my post.<br /><br />Roberta<br /><br />

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Posted By: <b>Rob Fouch</b><p>Wow. Congrats. Why couldn't my grandfather or great-grandfather have been a collector? Amazing to hear these stories.<br /><br />Did you say you ended up with several PSA 7's and PSA 8's? I'm sure in your research you discovered that those would be worth some big bucks, particularly if they're Cobb, Young or any of the biggies. Or if they're "low population" cards (only a few existing in high grade). If you get a couple of set registry types fighting over them, they could go through the roof.<br /><br /><br />If PSA rejected a few, I'd go ahead and just send those to SGC. Personally, I wouldn't mess with getting them "reviewed." SGC is highly respected. Hopefully they'll come back with high grades. Just my two cents. <br /><br /><br />Congratulations again. Amazing that these collections keep popping up.<br /><br />Rob

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Posted By: <b>Tim Newcomb</b><p>Hi Roberta,<br /><br />Sounds like an amazing collection! Congrats! I'll look forward to seeing all those T209s especially.<br /><br />As far as the T209 colors go, I have one ungraded card that has the factory designation stamped on too. Scan of the back is below-- is this what yours look like? <br /><br />I was planning to take this card to be graded this weekend at the Reading show, and if I can talk to someone knowledgeable I will ask him about how SGC handles this. (Unlike PSA, they don't give "MK" grades, they factor in marks to the single numerical grade.) In my opinion, if the stamp is part of the original production process, it should not be considered a flaw, but I don't know what they will say. <br /><br />Does anyone else know anything about these factory stamps, and why they only appear on some cards?<br /><br /><img src="http://www.network54.com/Realm/tmp/1192079124.JPG">

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Posted By: <b>Brian Weisner</b><p><br /> Hi Tim,<br /> I don't want to hi jack the thread, but I believe that SGC has stopped downgrading T209-1's due to the stamp. A friend recently had one graded a solid 60 a few weeks ago, and it did have the stamp on the back. Check the search function on the numbers, as we had this discussion a month or so. I think we found that there are slightly more with the stamps than without.<br /><br /><br /> Hi Roberta,<br /> Congrats on the find, it sounds like another amazing collection.<br /> LMK if I can be of any help. Be well Brian

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Posted By: <b>Tim Newcomb</b><p>for filling me in on that. I remembered a recent T209 discussion but forgot to use the search function <img src="/images/happy.gif" height=14 width=14>

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Posted By: <b>Roberta</b><p>Even after searching, I apparently missed the earlier thread on the T209-1 discussion--but now I have it and this is great information! This is why I've learned so much from this board. Also, I have one of those BE Thompson cards and was wondering about him, too. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.network54.com/Forum/153652/thread/1182241305/last-1187540983/T209-1+Contentnea+survey" target="_new" rel="nofollow">http://www.network54.com/Forum/153652/thread/1182241305/last-1187540983/T209-1+Contentnea+survey</a><br /><br />Thanks for all of your responses. I continue to welcome your opinions. <br /><br />Regards,<br /><br />Roberta<br /><br /><br /><br />

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Posted By: <b>T206Collector</b><p>Get the whole lot of them graded by SGC. If you have any questions about any of their grades, you can actually call them and talk to them. Plus the cards look great in their holders and they guarantee the grades and authenticity. <br /><br />However, any PSA 8's (and to some extent the 7's) should be left in PSA holders to the extent there are any population scarcities, which drive the market for those based on the Registry game. But, again, to the extent we're not dealing with low PSA Registry population grades, then you ought to have them all graded by SGC.

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Posted By: <b>boxingcardman</b><p>They tend to know much more about factory nuances than PSA. For example, with Obaks and Pet and Kopecs (the latter two are boxers), SGC realizes that there are factory stamps on some cards and will slab them without deduction. <br /><br />Sounds like a hell of a find; keep us posted!

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Posted By: <b>Sean</b><p>Here is the card Brian was talking about(I no longer own it <img src="/images/sad.gif" height=14 width=14>), SGC noted the factory stamp on the flip:<br /><img src="http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g193/hanksta3/T209stubbeF.jpg"><br /><br /><img src="http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g193/hanksta3/T209StubbeB.jpg"><br /><br />Sean bh<br /><br />

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Posted By: <b>Paul S</b><p>The forum's next contest is how many private emails Roberta will receive by midnight tonight.

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Posted By: <b>dstudeba</b><p>Congrats! I see no reason to crack the already graded cards out of PSA holders that you are happy with. In many cases they will sell better in those holders. The ones you are unhappy with feel free to send to SGC, but they will not necessarily sell better in an SGC holder. Check out vintagecardprices.com for comparisons.