Would this kind of grading company interest you?

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by D.P.Johnson

If the new grading company could "prove" their system was able to determine authenticity and detect alterations I would be interested.

I think if the new company was able to show through side by side comparisons (or whatever) their system found altered cards the other TPGs couldn't that could be a huge selling point.

I was thinking the same thing. Demonstrate conclusively how the new system is superior by catching alterations the other companies are currently missing.

Regarding the failings of people and the human eye, I'm thinking if you have 20 graders, at any given time one or two might be new at the job, or tired, or have eye strain at the end of another long day squinting at cards. Machines don't get tired so their performance won't degrade, or vary as, say, from one individual grader to another.

As to pressing before trimming, why not add measuring card thickness too, including thickness uniformity (is the card thinner at the corners.) And it might sound silly, and maybe it is, but even weighing cards might detect paper loss from trimming. Obviously, tolerances for various issues would need to be established, since cards were not produced with rigorous quality/consistency controls.

But yes, if a new grading company came along with the commitment to constantly look for new ways to improve their process, that is what's needed. Black light, or infrared, or whatever........

It might be some years from now, but I believe eventually there will be a tool one will be able to pass over a surface (like a baseball card) and the tool will be able to perform carbon dating without damaging the card at all. So if there is anything modern on a vintage card besides a human fingerprint, someday it should be detectable.