W502 "game backs" strip cards (&W516's)
 

This is ultimately a grading question, but aren't all individual strip cards "hand cut" ?
Just curious if anyone has any insight on why some of these W502 cards receive a number grade and some are designated authentic ? Actually a quick scan of eBay shows way more W502s with number grades than "authentic"

Same question with W516's although it looks like there may be more Authentic grades than number grades for these.

I purchased the W502 10 years ago already entombed, and the W516 was graded "authentic" by psa within the last 2 or 3 years.

Here is a poor picture of my uncut strip of the 1922 W573 blank back cards as they were sold, 10 in a strip and then cut afterwards

Common sense is, when the cards are issued in their original form such as strips,panels and or on boxes,etc (non peforated) and then these are cut into individual cards , automatically they should be classified as authentic as there is no defined size for each card after being cut. Professional Graders (TPG) have not grasp this concept and that is why there is range from Authentic to Number Grades. Your W502 has a defined size but maybe the grader was stumped on the size or maybe it was trimmed(Altered)and they labeled it hand cut for Authentic

PSAs website actually has a detailed explanation on hand cut card grading.

"PSA will grade virtually any card that has been hand-cut off of a panel, box, etc. (Post Cereal, Hostess, Bazooka, Strip cards, etc.) keeping the following information in mind. This service does not include traditional sheet-cut cards. PSA will not grade cards cut from sheets that can be obtained in a normal fashion. For example, PSA will not grade a 1979 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky card cut from a sheet because that card was issued in non-sheet form. On the other hand, PSA will grade a 1959 Bazooka or 1961 Post Cereal Mickey Mantle because those cards could only be obtained in one fashion - removed by hand from a box or panel.

In order for PSA to actually assign a grade to any of the cards that possess visible/defined borders on all four sides, evidence of that border must be present or the card must exhibit virtually-full borders based on the design of the specific issue. If the cut exceeds the visible border for the card in question, PSA will encapsulate the card as "Authentic" only. If the card is severely undersized and suffers in overall eye appeal, the graders may deem the card not suitable for authentication or reject the card as minimum-sized altogether.

Keep in mind that, for cards that do not possess visible/defined borders, the cards must still fall within a certain size requirement for that particular issue in order to qualify for an actual grade. In other words, the borders must be virtually full in order for a grade to be rendered. Otherwise, as stated above, a label of "Authentic" will be assigned or, in some cases, the cards may fall short of the size requirement altogether. This is not an exact science. PSA will do its best to provide consistent guidelines for these types of cards.

In addition, PSA will allow cards that have had a coupon or tab removed from the original card to be submitted under this service. For example, if a 1952 Red Man Tobacco card is cut at or outside of the established tab line, the card would be eligible to receive a numerical grade. On the other hand, if the 1952 Red Man Tobacco card is cut inside of the line (the line where the tab meets the interior of the card), then the PSA graders will be precluded from entering a numerical grade. Cards that are cut within the limits established for a particular issue will be encapsulated and designated as "authentic" by PSA. All of the cards eligible for this service will be designated as "Hand-Cut" on the PSA label to distinguish them from the intact, "with tab" or "with coupon" examples.

PSA suggests that, in order to achieve the highest grades, the cuts of the cards should be relatively close to the visible borders without exceeding the limit. Cards that exhibit a clean, accurate and properly shaped cut have the best chance at achieving the highest grades. Eye appeal is very important. When it comes to excess paper or cardboard around the edges of the visible borders, the graders will place significant importance on overall eye appeal. Keep in mind that all cards of this type will be designated as "Hand-Cut" on the PSA label for accuracy. In addition, if the customer chooses, PSA will grade and encapsulate entire panels if those panels will fit in any of our current PSA holders. With the exception of the aforementioned items, normal grading criteria will apply."

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This still does not explain why PSA labels W502s, W503s, and W575-2s as handcut, when they are not.

PSA's practice of labeling W502s as hand cut appears to be company history they're unwilling to let go of. I _think_ it stems from their resemblance to earlier American Caramel issues that _could_ appear in strips or sheets. There do not appear to be any similar strips or sheets for W502 and its siblings.

1927 York Caramel
1928 Greiner's Bread
1928 Harrington's Ice Cream
1928 Sweetman Candy
1928 Yeungling's Ice Cream
1928 Tharp's Ice Cream
1931 "Game backs" (one bagger, two bagger, etc.)

While these late 1920s and 1931 sets all contain 60 cards, the 1931 version replaced 19 of them and renumbered the rest. See OldCardboard's checklist comparison.

https://www.oldcardboard.com/w/w502-...-1931-list.asp

Since you asked about their "hand cut" mistake on the flip, an ideal outcome would always be to accept them for free corrections and reholdering. I expect to be cold and in the ground before that starts happening! :-)

CGC doesn't. I spoke with Andy Broome about it recently. He said they aren't hand cut so why would they put that on their holders?
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