I'll take a trim if the price is right.

[Archive]

Posted By: Texas Ted

Each of us has our own idea of the attributes of cards acceptable to us for our collection. Often, the attributes are governed by budget. To me, a card that has a a trim that is only obvious to the professional grader or with some means other than the naked eye, fits fine in my personal collection. Other defects, such as a touch of paper loss, a stray ink mark or a minute drop of cat pee make most cards anethema* to the slabbing crowd, but fit nicely into my budget and top loaders. As long as I know about the defect, and it is reflected in the price, I don't have a problem with collecting that kind of card.

Having said all that, I am very interested in what is such a big deal about a slightly trimmed card. Granted, it is not original and it can't be graded, but so what. It can still be a great authentic example of a nice piece of old cardboard. I believe it is wrong that a card be trimmed with the intent of deceiving and artificially improving the apprearance. But many of the "trimmed" cards that I have found are in purchased lots and who can really tell when, or if, the trimming took place. Could be the card was hand cut at the factory by somebody with Parkinsons. Or maybe a long ago collector trimmed it to fit in a box, or in a plastic page. Does that make the card a candidate for using as starter in the fireplace?

* My offering to Barry's word of the day efforts.

Full Disclosure:

I am Ted Holden collector/dealer or dealer/collector depending on the day and the item. I do indeed live in Texas, after 50 years in Michigan.
I sell on ebay as: OrkDoolian and buy as SonOfOrk.
I have never trimmed a card, nor knowingly sold a trimmed card without full disclosure. I have never sent one of my cards for grading but may start some day as there are those on the board that believe that I should not be able to sell unless I grade. That alone could keep me from grading, just to be cantankerous.


Texas Ted