Detecting Trimmed Cards

[rdixon1208]

This topic has been covered in the past I know, and I've done some research on my own, but I was hoping for advice on detecting trimmed cards (primarily T206).

I've only been collecting pre-war for a couple of years. My first purchase on the BST was a couple of T206's that got rejected for trimming by SGC. I sold them, and now I really wish I would have kept them as a comparator. Any way, after that I only bought graded cards...until recently. I finally got the courage to jump back in, thinking that I had learned enough and seen enough cards. That being said, every time I get a new card in the mail I stare at it, put it under a black light, look at it in magnification, and then put it in the box...still wondering if it's been alterred.

Not all of my T206's are the same size, but I know that's not the be all end all. How do you check your raw cards for trimming? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Funny thing is I have been there before. I have bought cards that the seller and I both were sure the card was not trimmed and it came back trimmed and some I thought that were trimmed that were fine. Its a crap shoot.

[T206Collector]

SGC Collector Magazine did a really nice piece on how to detect trimming on T206 cards.

The article described how T206 cards out of the factory do not have sharp edges -- and what I mean by "edges" is when you hold a card perpendicular to you, looking only at the edge so you cannot see either the face or the reverse, you should notice that the angles from face to edge and then again from edge to reverse are not both 90 degree angles. The edges are ever so slightly beveled. On a trimmed edge, you would have 90 degree angles on both face- and reverse-to-edge angles.

Moreover, what you should do with every raw T206 card you buy is examine all four edges without looking at the face or reverse. You will see that the edges are not perfectly flat. You may notice striations and light paper irregularities. On a trimmed edge, the entire edge will look uniform in texture and color.

Finally, obvious trims are evident from things like looking at the flow of the edge while looking at the card's face. When you cut something with a scissor, you will not have a factory-straight line. And, check for even corner wear on all four edges. And note that if you take a rounded corner and trim both edges that form the corner, you will often be left with what is affectionately known as a "bat ear," which is a strangely shaped corner that has strong wear on the tip, but absolutely no wear on the edges leading up to the tip.

Get your hands on that SGC Collector Magazine article. It is really quite educational.

[ethicsprof]

Paul M has given you great help.
i would just add what you were already feeling---
get a trimmed card and spend what seems like an inordinate time with it using the tactile and visual senses again and again.
Day after day.
Then you will be a small part of the way there.
all the best,
barry

[Matthew H]

I thought that t206s only had two beveled edges...

[T206Collector]

Originally Posted by Matthew H

I thought that t206s only had two beveled edges...

That may be true. I have not read the article I referenced in quite awhile.

[lharri3600]

When is a trimmed card a trimmed card? heck, who really knows! i've sent cards to one company the cards came back trimmed, sent the same card to another company and guess what, came back with a grade. that said, i believe that a trimmed card is a trimmed card no matter who grades it. maybe, just maybe, grading companies have a "different" way of detecting trimming?????????

[Jaybird]

That's my understanding as well. Two edges are beveled. One vertical and one horizontal. So if you have three sharp edges, you're probably looking at a trimmed card.

But I'll echo what Andrew said. It's a crap shoot. Ive talked to some very knowledgeable collectors who still get burned. Happens to me and I'm sure it will happen to you again. I think I've learned how to avoid the obvious trims but when I send a batch of 20 into the grader I expect 1 or 2 to come back A.

[T206Collector]

....that takes pride in looking at a framed picture on the wall and knowing when it is not perfectly level, then odds are you have a pretty good eye at identifying trimmed cards.

I've probably sent close to 1,000 raw T206 cards to SGC over the past decade and I believe I have actually a pretty good idea not only which cards will grade and what they will grade for, but also, which ones are trimmed.

Go to a show where SGC has set up a table with a grader present and bring a stack of raw cards with you. Having a discussion about them with the grader is extremely informative and won't cost you a penny.