Million dollar mantle

[MattyC]

Interesting how we all collect, and yet in so many different ways.

When I was a kid, I would immediately toss all severely OC, tilted, and miscut cards, or ones that were super blurry. Image clarity and centering were always huge for me, even then.

I always viewed corner wear as something intended, due to handling of the card by kids, whereas the card was always intended to be framed evenly and to have a focused picture. My eye was always drawn to the center of the card, as opposed to the corners. And part of what draws the eye to the central image is the intended centering.

As I got older, I would search for a card on ebay and was struck by how few, and in some cases none at all, were perfectly centered. Seeing that this aspect was rare added a new appreciation for it and makes the hunt fun. But again this is just one of myriad ways to view and collect cards.

[1952boyntoncollector]

Originally Posted by MattyC

Interesting how we all collect, and yet in so many different ways.

When I was a kid, I would immediately toss all severely OC, tilted, and miscut cards, or ones that were super blurry. Image clarity and centering were always huge for me, even then.

I always viewed corner wear as something intended, due to handling of the card by kids, whereas the card was always intended to be framed evenly and to have a focused picture. My eye was always drawn to the center of the card, as opposed to the corners. And part of what draws the eye to the central image is the intended centering.

As I got older, I would search for a card on ebay and was struck by how few, and in some cases none at all, were perfectly centered. Seeing that this aspect was rare added a new appreciation for it and makes the hunt fun. But again this is just one of myriad ways to view and collect cards.

finding cards with nice corners is quite a challenge as well...always one banged up corner..

[MattyC]

Yes, I have vivid memories of trying to make a trade with my cousin for a 1987 Donruss Mike Greenwell. He had several of them, but there was a corner touch on each one that bugged me. I can only imagine what the kids in 1971 went through.

[Peter_Spaeth]

As kids collecting in the late 60s and early 70s, my brother and I came into tons of 50s and early 60s cards from various sources, most of which of course were less than pristine. In those days I didn't even notice centering, but corner wear really bothered me (early sign of OCD I think). In fact, sometimes I would snip the corners of the star cards using the little scissors on my Swiss Army pocket knife lol. My mom eventually threw them all out anyway so I don't have to live to regret that I destroyed their value.

[orly57]

Originally Posted by MattyC

Interesting how we all collect, and yet in so many different ways.

When I was a kid, I would immediately toss all severely OC, tilted, and miscut cards, or ones that were super blurry. Image clarity and centering were always huge for me, even then.

I always viewed corner wear as something intended, due to handling of the card by kids, whereas the card was always intended to be framed evenly and to have a focused picture. My eye was always drawn to the center of the card, as opposed to the corners. And part of what draws the eye to the central image is the intended centering.

As I got older, I would search for a card on ebay and was struck by how few, and in some cases none at all, were perfectly centered. Seeing that this aspect was rare added a new appreciation for it and makes the hunt fun. But again this is just one of myriad ways to view and collect cards.

I think you said it better than I could. We as collectors are all a bit OCD, but some things bother us more than others. I can live with creases and corner wear, but bad centering is something I cant live with

[MikeGarcia]

Originally Posted by orly57

I think you said it better than I could. We as collectors are all a bit OCD, but some things bother us more than others. I can live with creases and corner wear, but bad centering is something I cant live with

...there are certain members on this forum who will inquire of my new widow , " by the way , did he leave you a Dick Gernert by any chance.."...

..

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by MikeGarcia

...there are certain members on this forum who will inquire of my new widow , " by the way , did he leave you a Dick Gernert by any chance.."...

..

As someone that does not care about centering and would prefer a card so off center it shows some of another card, those are all my kind of cards. Yes please leave contact info so I can ask about the Dick Gernert card many many years from now. I really love those.

[DBesse27]

Originally Posted by MattyC

Interesting how we all collect, and yet in so many different ways.

When I was a kid, I would immediately toss all severely OC, tilted, and miscut cards, or ones that were super blurry. Image clarity and centering were always huge for me, even then.

I always viewed corner wear as something intended, due to handling of the card by kids, whereas the card was always intended to be framed evenly and to have a focused picture. My eye was always drawn to the center of the card, as opposed to the corners. And part of what draws the eye to the central image is the intended centering.

As I got older, I would search for a card on ebay and was struck by how few, and in some cases none at all, were perfectly centered. Seeing that this aspect was rare added a new appreciation for it and makes the hunt fun. But again this is just one of myriad ways to view and collect cards.

Hi Matty, you and I have had this discussion before. I understand your perspective and I respect it, but here's the counter argument: cards may come off the press as OC or even miscut, but they don't come off the press with rounded corners. Some of us are looking for cards that are as "fresh" as possible.

[ALR-bishop]

As someone who collects full set runs and thus large volumes of cards, I tend to be in Dan's camp. If I was collecting just some players or some sets I might worry more about centering and perfect cards.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by ALR-bishop

As someone who collects full set runs and thus large volumes of cards, I tend to be in Dan's camp. If I was collecting just some players or some sets I might worry more about centering and perfect cards.

And that is how collectors are collecting nowadays, from what I can tell. If a set collector comes to my table at a show I know he isn't looking for my centered stuff as much as "can I knock a card or two off of his want list". On the other hand the guys wanting to collect and "invest" and have fun....and not pursue full sets, want better centering, focus etc....

[irv]

Originally Posted by MikeGarcia

...The crew in the cutting department at Topps didn't like my Nippy Jones either...


...

I wonder what he did or said to them to upset them like that?

Looking forward to receiving these 2 cards, as, aside from the centering, they look to be in really nice shape to me.

[savedfrommyspokes]

If a lower end card is my only choice due to cost, my choice on a higher priced/lower end card would be one with nicely formed corners, some honest wear, reasonable centering, minimal creasing versus a copy of a card with corner wear/rounding, more obvious creasing, and/or some sort of "intentional" front damage.

For these reasons, I prefer the left copy. The centering is consistent between these two copies, but the corner wear is far less obvious and the creasing is less noticeable on the left copy. The left copy's major flaw is the honest front surface wear which would be my preference over the right copy's rounding on corners and what appears in the scan to be light (pencil) marks to the left of Mantle's face.

However, I appear to be in the minority as to what qualities are more appealing (corner wear versus front surface wear), as the copy on the right sold for almost $5k more than the copy on the left.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by savedfrommyspokes

If a lower end card is my only choice due to cost, my choice on a higher priced/lower end card would be one with nicely formed corners, some honest wear, reasonable centering, minimal creasing versus a copy of a card with corner wear/rounding, more obvious creasing, and/or some sort of "intentional" front damage.

For these reasons, I prefer the left copy. The centering is consistent between these two copies, but the corner wear is far less obvious and the creasing is less noticeable on the left copy. The left copy's major flaw is the honest front surface wear which would be my preference over the right copy's rounding on corners and what appears in the scan to be light (pencil) marks to the left of Mantle's face.

However, I appear to be in the minority as to what qualities are more appealing (corner wear versus front surface wear), as the copy on the right sold for almost $5k more than the copy on the left.

Probably has more to do with the location of the surface wear. I don't mind surface wear or creases unless they are on the players face like the card on the left. I don't care how nice the rest of the card is, if the face area has issues I pass.

[brian1961]

Originally Posted by bnorth

Probably has more to do with the location of the surface wear. I don't mind surface wear or creases unless they are on the players face like the card on the left. I don't care how nice the rest of the card is, if the face area has issues I pass.

I have always seen a card the way Ben does. These are picture cards, and the heart of a card is the face of the player. A collector may reassure themselves all day long about how great the centering is, or how you could draw blood with the sharp corners, or no creases, or brilliant color or focus of the picture. Notwithstanding, even if everything else is perfect, if there are problems on Mickey's face, the card is a disgrace, period. ---Brian Powell

[irv]

Originally Posted by savedfrommyspokes

If a lower end card is my only choice due to cost, my choice on a higher priced/lower end card would be one with nicely formed corners, some honest wear, reasonable centering, minimal creasing versus a copy of a card with corner wear/rounding, more obvious creasing, and/or some sort of "intentional" front damage.

For these reasons, I prefer the left copy. The centering is consistent between these two copies, but the corner wear is far less obvious and the creasing is less noticeable on the left copy. The left copy's major flaw is the honest front surface wear which would be my preference over the right copy's rounding on corners and what appears in the scan to be light (pencil) marks to the left of Mantle's face.

However, I appear to be in the minority as to what qualities are more appealing (corner wear versus front surface wear), as the copy on the right sold for almost $5k more than the copy on the left.

We are all different, thankfully, so I would take the card on the right as it presents much better, imo, than the card on the left.

That surface wear is as bad as a bad crease, imo, especially where it is on the card.

Creases, that don't interfere with the portrait, like in the corners, etc are far less bothersome than creases that cross the face/body.

[rats60]

Originally Posted by DBesse27

Hi Matty, you and I have had this discussion before. I understand your perspective and I respect it, but here's the counter argument: cards may come off the press as OC or even miscut, but they don't come off the press with rounded corners. Some of us are looking for cards that are as "fresh" as possible.

I agree with this. I would rather have a card that was a little off centered, but new condition, like the PSA card than a card that is perfectly centered but damaged by a previous owner. Corner wear is something that I want to avoid and creases, writing, etc. are a strict no.

[irv]

Originally Posted by DBesse27

Hi Matty, you and I have had this discussion before. I understand your perspective and I respect it, but here's the counter argument: cards may come off the press as OC or even miscut, but they don't come off the press with rounded corners. Some of us are looking for cards that are as "fresh" as possible.

I don't recall if I was part of that thread or not, but I also said exactly the same thing in a post.

I just purchased these 2 cards about 15 minutes ago. Cards look in excellent shape to me and the centering doesn't bother me anywhere near as much as creases (#1) and dinged corners (#2) do.

[GregC]

I'd happily take either of those two originally posted Mantles. I am more on the centering side of the fence and can overlook corners or creases. I look at my cards as little pieces of art and no one frames fine art off to the left/right/top/bottom!

[MikeGarcia]

Originally Posted by irv

I don't recall if I was part of that thread or not, but I also said exactly the same thing in a post.

I just purchased these 2 cards about 15 minutes ago. Cards look in excellent shape to me and the centering doesn't bother me anywhere near as much as creases (#1) and dinged corners (#2) do.

...The crew in the cutting department at Topps didn't like my Nippy Jones either...


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