Importance of card registraion

[abrahamrudy]

Hey i'm new here so forgive me if this topic has been discussed already.

I would like to hear some opinions on how important a card's image registration to it's overall condition and to it's value.

I have a few cards (especially the Bowmans and the topps all throughout the 80s) that are in decent condition with the exception that the image is blurred because the ink registration is a bit off, which kinda ruins the card for me. I find it even more disappointing when a vintage card is off-registered (especially Goudeys, since they have the potential to be so beautiful if you can see the image), and I feel like I'd rather a trimmed and creased card that is clear than a perfect card that was blurry. I was wondering what effect registration has on the card's actual grade. Any ideas?

Also, what are your thoughts on the market value of cards that are off-registered? I bought a 55 Bowman Mantle in PSA 1 or 2 condition but with poor registration for about 60 bucks and I was wondering how much more I would have had to shell out for a card with a clearer image in roughly the same physical condition. In the same vein, how big of a difference does registration make to some of you when you look to buy cards, both graded and ungraded?

A penny for your collective thoughts...

[ChiefBenderForever]

It doesn't seem to effect the overall grade very much at all, just the price. Nobody likes a blurry card that makes you feel like you need 3-d glasses to wear to see the image.

[abrahamrudy]

Originally Posted by JohnnyHarmonica

It doesn't seem to effect the overall grade very much at all, just the price. Nobody likes a blurry card that makes you feel like you need 3-d glasses to wear to see the image.

Haha nice metaphor.

[fkw]

If its slightly off registered then it loses value. If its very off registered, then its worth a bit more by the error collectors.

example

[ThoseBackPages]

Great Topic!

do you happen to have a scan of the mantle? $60 seems like a great price imo,
and id like to see how off it is.

[JasonL]

registration is one of my most important criteria when deciding on a purchase. Off-register T206 cards irritate me to no end - I can't enjoy looking at the card, so what good is it? I pass up several ebay auctions because I can't tell if the scan stinks or the card is off-registered...I try to make some judgement call based on the slab's flip lettering, but if it's too close to call, I will go on to the next one. Learned my lesson on a 75 Yount rookie that was PSA 8+ in every way, but got it delivered to find that it looked like a 3-D freakshow...and with the 75 borders, that is quite a tough card to stare at...
To further answer the question...it affects price negatively, but for me, I won't even buy them at a discount...why bother?

[mintacular]

It took me a few years to consider registration on an equal playing field corners, surface, centering and the like. However, I recently bought a 100% focused '57 Clemente lately and it brought to light what was "wrong" with my other one. Registration is now an essential component to a card with "eye appeal" in my book. My only problem is that I have go back thru my '57s and replace all the blurry cards with sharp corners BTW--Does anyone know when Topps corrected this issue? And also, which set do you think suffers the most from this flaw in vintage cards? '57 is my vote...

[ChiefBenderForever]

I don't think it was corrected until they wen't to plastic cards, which don't seem to have any blur issues. The 87 Topps were absolutely horrendus with blur and color issues, the 85 had a lot as well. Some years seem to not have any issues. The 62 Lou Brock seems to have major registration problems on many of them. I once bought a 58 Topps Mantle PSA7 for 650.00 and thought I got a great deal until I noticed how off register it was, luckily the seller had a return policy, his teeth looked so bucked it was unbearable to look at and his ear looked like it was ringing.

[abrahamrudy]

Originally Posted by ThoseBackPages

Great Topic!

do you happen to have a scan of the mantle? $60 seems like a great price imo,
and id like to see how off it is.

Here's the pic from the ebay auction. I have the card and, in my opinion, the surface looks a bit cleaner than it does in that pic, but if you notice the corners, that'll explain the price. But you can get a glimpse of the registration from the name, where a bit of the blue ink covers the white. Also, his left eyebrow looks like a blue unibrow.

[ThoseBackPages]

i certainly see what your saying looking at his nameplate.

Slightly off topic a bit, a thing that REALLY irks me are,
and im not sure this is the right term, but when a card is
"diamond cut". This is a huge issue with the '75 set.

this is an eBay listing that i would have hit the BIN on,
if not for the diamond cut



i know that the card in the slab is tilted, but so is the cut of the card iunfortunately

[abrahamrudy]

I hear what you're saying. I have a beautiful 52 topps Jerry Coleman with the same issue. The card is pristine, except that when you look at it, you feel like something's off. It took me a while before I actually realized what it was.

[abrahamrudy]

Originally Posted by JohnnyHarmonica

I don't think it was corrected until they wen't to plastic cards, which don't seem to have any blur issues. The 87 Topps were absolutely horrendus with blur and color issues, the 85 had a lot as well. Some years seem to not have any issues. The 62 Lou Brock seems to have major registration problems on many of them. I once bought a 58 Topps Mantle PSA7 for 650.00 and thought I got a great deal until I noticed how off register it was, luckily the seller had a return policy, his teeth looked so bucked it was unbearable to look at and his ear looked like it was ringing.

I agree with this, too. My 87s are pretty bad. But the 88s and 89s aren't so bad. And I don't think I just got a bad batch of 87s- I once busted 20 packs of 87s and a majority of them were off-register.

[Volod]

I can empathize with most of these observations. Bowman sets are notorious for poor registration. When I was trying to put together a nice looking 1952 set, I could easily bypass the cards that were obviously out of register, but the ones that really irked me were those that I paid top dollar for in near mint condition, only to later find examples of the same cards that had other minor defects, yet had images that made my near-mint cards appear in soft-focus by comparison.

[brian1961]

Picture registration is far and away one of the essential qualities of whether a card is desirable or not.

Naturally, if there is perfect focused print registration, along with other major problems like severe creasing, stains, rips, writing, print defects, etc., those will ruin a card's beauty.


However, collectors must always keep in mind that these are picture cards first and foremost. Some guys go nuts if the centering is off, or the card was cut with a diamond-cut, or if there is "loving" corner wear. Be that as it may, it is picture registration with the correct amount of rich color that makes a card really stand out and be admired. I recall buying a 1933 Goudey Dick Bartell. I do not remember what the centering was like; all that struck me every time I looked at it was its crisp picture and vivid colors. At one time I owned two 1969 Topps Mickey Mantles; got them both in gum packs. I eventually sold the one with better centering, but which also had the dreaded snow effect, and slightly poorer registration.

When it comes right down to it, most cards made before 1981 that the manufacturer got right---perfect picture quality, centered, perfect cut, lack of print spots, were virtual anomalies. An anomaly is a deviation from the common variety. Before the card companies got their act together, and really hunkered down on quality (all to help compete against each other for the affection of picky collectors, which was why they dropped using gum and wax-coated pack wrappers), most every card had one or two little problems.

Hey, card manufacturers were not the United States MINT that produced our coins, or the Bureau of Engraving that does our stamps and paper money! Cards were chiefly cheap boys' toys used to help sell more of SOME OTHER PRODUCT. During the course of its history, Topps used cardboard that varied in quality from year to year. The 1952s were high quality. I have read that the 1953s will tone after a number of years, which is why it was vital for the 1953 Topps (and especially the 1953 Bowmans for that matter) that were brought to the hobby via finds in the 1980s and 1990s, to get them graded. Grading would do two things--the card would be authenticated and graded, and second, the card would now be in an environment that would allow it to retain its mint, pack-fresh look that makes such an older card like that stand out. Granted, the card must still be housed in central air and so on, as well as kept out of direct sunlight.

Thus, when you have a vintage card, especially prior to 1972, where everything seems to be right, perhaps now you will understand why they fetch such high prices.

However, back to the original discussion of registration, if you have everything right EXCEPT picture registration, you might as well have nothing right.

-Brian Powell