Posted By:
Brian Parker When you take on the task of tackling a large swath of Zeenuts, as I have over the past few years, you quickly lower your standards when it comes to condition. Tape, wax, writing on both front and back, corners lopped off, cards cut into ovals, you name the intentionally created defect, Zeenuts have them in abundance. You can imagine that the majority of the people who seriously collect them probably detest the whole concept of slabbed cards like I do. So whether the fact that their tab has been removed (quite often torn off) or not, makes not a bit of difference--it still is a card depicting a player from the distant past that some kid thought enough of to butcher. Of course the ones with the coupons are desirable, but to think that you can complete even a single year of them in this condition would be highly delusional, indeed.
By the way, I do agree with the logic that cards with tabs designed to be removed should not be downgraded if their removal does not affect the portion of the card above the tab. When a type of card is typically found without the tab, such as with Zeenuts, the fact that it has been removed does not need to be stated; otherwise the grade should be accompanied with a statement to this effect. A card like this could be called Near Mint, as long the removal is also stated.
A card that has had a portion of its design removed should of course be mentioned along with the grade. Thus the George Miller card lot with the grade of Vg is ok, but in this case the 'cancelled' description is not adequate, as collectors unfamiliar with this set might not realize that a third of the card's design has been removed.
And finally, Mark MaCrae is the man, bar none.
Brian