[Brian]

I cannot speak about this card, but I can say some (positive) things about the original incarnation of GAI.

When I first started collecting pre-war, I had a bunch of cards graded by GAI (over a decade ago). These were mostly Cracker Jacks, and all I wanted was the protection afforded by a holder. I really wasn't into grading or looking at grading companies under the microscope because I am a collector and had no intention of selling.

My cards were very stringently graded by someone there (I think his name was Baker?), and in fact, I thought they were very conservatively graded. So I took a handful of them over to SGC just for fun.

3 out of 6 actually graded higher than the GAI grade, one did not cross over to a higher grade, and 2 out of 6 remained at the same grade.

So I think that it is a mistake to assume that because it is in a GAI holder, it must have been "messed with." If fact, good deals can be had for this very same reason. Just my opinion.
B.rian D.ynlacht