Centering preferences - Poll
 

Coming off of the heels of the '52 Mantle thread I think it would be a good topic to see where folks stand on "centering" of our beloved cardboard. For this thread lets assume that both cards hold equal value and all other characteristics are the same. Personally, I like better centered cards but it will be interesting to see the sentiments of our members. And for all of those that are averse to plastic just play like these are raw....IT's the cards we are talking about!! best regards


ps...Have I mentioned lately how much I love this board software we use? :)

You beat me to it, I was going to post a poll after my comment about the Mantle. I'm guessing I'm in the minority (as usual), but I really don't care about centering. As long as the card has all of the borders that it's supposed to, it doesn't matter to me if it's 50/50 or 99/1.

too funny
 

So if I lock the poll right now it would be tied :D.

I have a feeling that would be about the only chance of it staying that way. :D

I'm a stickler on centering
 

I always look for a card with really nice centering.

I would prefer a lower grade card with perfect centering, over a higher grade card with poor centering any day.

Just my opinion.

Tony

+1

One other point - I care much more about L/R centering than I do Top/Bottom.

Centering is nice, but on older cards the overall preservation of the edges and corners seems a bit harder to find. So I'm not very picky about centering.

Even on newer stuff I'll sometimes go for a miscut card over one with average centering.

Steve B

I like the poll but it is a difficult question for me to answer. A lot depends on the issue, how tough it is to fine a well-centered example within that set, whether I am trying to complete the set at a consistent grade (physical characteristics like centering, crease free, gloss, etc.), etc. So for me, academic that I am, the question is complicated.
JimB

What JimB said.

Centering is important to me also as I prefer PSA's stricter grading on centering (w/ NQ) than SGC's.

Centering is important to me as well so I voted for the 50/50 option. However, IMO, centering should play no part in the numerical grade of a card. The grade of a card should be determined solely on the condition where the card is evaluated/graded based on it's own environment – good or bad – not the lack of quality control from the factory. PSA don't even follow their own standards. Taken directly from their website, "the experts are asked to grade the condition of the card on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being best." Centering is not a condition. PSA's O/C qualifier is a joke! Anybody that needs to see an O/C qualifier to tell them that the card is off center probably shouldn't be in this hobby.

It Depends
 

Being tied almost exclusively to the Old Judge issue these days, centering means almost nothing to me. If I can find a card that is on my want list and has a nice picture, I am not going to be concerned about centering at all.

Even when I was collecting other pre-war and post-war issues, poor centering did not detract from the aesthetics of the card for me as much as bad edges, bad corners and a bad image did.

I think the centering should still be part of the grade, basically b/c you can't see scans sometimes. For example, if someone is selling a set of say 7's and 8's, you would have a certain level of expectation there, and you might not be able to get the seller (or auction house) to show you 200 scans.

I find myself leaning more toward better centered card than higher grade ones recently. although I am working on a 1962 mars attacks which is really tough to find centered

however
 

Jim- it is probably scientifically impossible to have a perfect poll :eek:.

Centering is important
 

:)I have put together several sets from the 50' and 60's with centering being the most important feature for me when purchasing cards. If its centered then I'm interested in looking at the other conditions the card will have like corners,gloss ect. My centering range is 35/65 or better. IMHO the cards are meant to be 50/50 all around so anything less than that means they are "off manufacturers spec's". My 40 years in the printing industry (25 yrs. production manager) tells me however that perfect cutting of any item is almost impossible even with todays best equipment,let alone the cutting challenges printers faced from the 20's thru the 70's. The Mantle card looks great because it's well centered but I'm not sure if I could say that about it at 10/90. Just my old printer opinion. Jim

I would prefer the lesser grade, better centered card and, like one of the prior comments, attach more significance to L/R centering than top-bottom.

"Would you prefer a card that is NRMT-MT with 85/15- L/R centering, or an EXMT card that is 50/50- L/R?"

Hmmm... which one's cheaper?

poll
 

what JimB and Jeff said.

best,
barry