Posted By:
Josh K.T206- The distinction is not exactly accurate - as I dont believe anyone would condone retouching a card or rebuilding a card to return it to factory condition.
But I do agree that erasing a stray pencil mark is not altering the card. If anything, the pencil mark itself was an alteration to the card.
I also agree with Greg completely. There is nothing here to suggest that SGC missed an alteration that would prevent grading. We can only guess as to how the mark on the back was removed, how big it was, etc. Finally, as Ive repeated, unless they missed an improper alteration, there is no reason to expect that they would immediately recognize this card as one they have previously graded. I mean, sure, they may recall grading another yum yum keefe, but to remember what it looked like, how it was cut, or what distinctive marks were on the card - you got to be kidding.