I can only speak from cards I have seen ink added to or altered in some way. What I have noticed is the ink actually forms a layer over the adjoining ink and is identifiable under magnification. When holding it back and looking at the card from arms distance these spots sometimes show up as surface marks, wax stains, halos, or scuffs and passed off as such. If the person reviewing does their due diligence they will review the spots individually. Stop to think about the time it will take a person to review that much data. How many cards will go by before one is legit altered? There are a lot of ink altered cards out in holders old and new simply due to the variable ratio schedule. BUT, Such high end cards should be given to a couple of specialized graders that are given ample time to review regardless of turn times.
I am amazed at how much focus is being made on the inks dots when the biggest tell its altered is blatant. Never in the history of ever did these cards come from the factory clean shaved. The paper cutting guillotine machines didn't allow for it to occur. The real collectors know this and so do all the graders familiar with this time frame of cards. Yes some are prettier than others but all have fiber pull and none will ever come off razor sharp without the factory rolled edge. The card has been altered for a while and its a shame it made it back this far.
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Andrew
Member since 2009
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