Some great looking cards being posted. This Aaron while correctly graded per PSA standards (very tiny wrinkle at the very top of card) it certainly looks under graded.

https://www.collectorfocus.com/image...-aaron-psa-4.5

I love threads like this. I don't have any pre-war items that fit the bill, so here's some vintage. Some wax on the 58 Brooks. I'd put this 57 Kaline up against a lot of 8's and 9's that I've seen from that set. My 71 Kaline shows the drastic change in standards on post-war issues with challenging borders (71 Topps, 62 Topps, 55 Bowman). 10 years ago, I bet that's at least a 6, maybe a 7.

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T206 Cobbs
 

Here is my contribution to this thread. One which is way undergraded and the other well it is a Green, so I'll take it, but comparisons to the red? The Red was sent for review and I was told it is 2.5 because of the corners, still shaking my head....

I guess you could argue that my red Cobb has a correct technical grade due to residue on the back, but I don’t think it would look out of place in at least a 1.5 holder… Likewise with my E95 Plank, back staining and a tiny defect on the front left border account for the grade, but I’ve seen 4s that don’t look nearly as good…

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57T Kaline looks great. I don't think the 71T is a 5 because of the borders. If the Brooks got knocked all the way down to 2 because of the back stains that's brutal.

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I hadn't considered other issues on the 71T Kaline, so I got it out and took a much closer look. I don't see any other issues other than the borders, BUT upon closer inspection the top left and bottom left corners do show heavier touches than the scan would indicate. Based on that, a 5 seems tough, but that's where PSA is currently.

Re: 58 Brooks - I'm not sure on the technical rules of wax on the reverse of cards. But the top right and bottom right corners are dinged pretty well. Given that, it's a 5 at best. Without the wax, it's one of the best looking 5's. As is, it's one of the best looking 2's.

Here is a Broad Leaf card that looks to be completely devoid of wrinkles, creases, or paper loss. The only issues I can find are a bit of staining and some excess printing of some kind along the front border area. Otherwise, it looks like a 5 to me.

Undergraded cards
 

Hi all- I lack your tech expertise to upload here, so I'll just comment that
the most consistent thing I'm seeing from both PSA/SGC is brutal treatment
of cards that have even the most faint creasing. I own a 71 Topps basketball
Oscar Robertson that got a 4 from PSA (new label). I buy the card not the
holder, so I'm happy own it- but it's grotesquely undergraded. Turns out
that, if you hold it against a window at high noon and train the Hubble
telescope on it just right, you can make out a wrinkle that is the size of an
ant. Great...

I wish slabbers would adopt the "call overturn" language from NCAA football
(or is it NFL?). Unless a flaw is "clear and convincing", it doesn't count
against! And, just like with those replay idiots in the booth, if it takes 3
minutes and 6 camera angles to maybe find a problem, it is NOT "clear and
convincing"- no flaw:!! :)

I feel better.

Trent King

Nice BL, Rob. They may have dinged it for tobacco stains and pencil writing? Top right?

To me, grading is for Topps era cards. Here's one I got yesterday in Sterling. Not a bad card for a 3.

Thank you. I got it from a fine member here a couple of years ago. Regarding that mark in the upper right border area, I'm not sure if it's due to ghosting or imprinting after factory production, but I am certain it isn't a pencil, marker, or pen mark. That much I'm sure of. The grade is a real head scratcher, so anyone else can feel free to chime in with their own opinion as well. Should tobacco stains be enough to downgrade it to a "fair" condition? Well if so, then what about all of those multi-stained Polar Bear examples on the market that have graded much better? And it isn't just PSA being PSA either. I bought the card in an SGC 2 holder and decided to cross it over, so the 1.5 is what I wound up with.

And by the way, that Tinker card is stunning! No way should it be only a 3.

Psa
 

PSA seems brutally tough on cards where their review process detects a little glue residue from scrapbook removal. If you can feel the residue with your fingers on the back of a card, you are likely to get a PSA 1 or 2, even if the card has no creases. I've had 3 cards where I've cracked them back out and I could feel some residue I hadn't noticed before. I had a couple of PSA 2's that I thought were likely to get a PSA 6.

I no longer own this card, but I bought it as an SGC 5, busted it (when this picture was taken...) and then sent it to them again and they gave it a 6.5.

Definite NM qualities in terms of eye-appeal; what confused the grade I think was a tiny but definitely there scratch / light cut in the surface of the upper right corner. I don't think you can even see it here. Needless to say, I benefited from the 1.5 bump when I sold it at the height of the bubble. I chalked the discrepancy up to SGC's internal turmoil at the time, and what must have been a lot of newbie graders to train.

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Coming soon to an auction near you.

Not sure how I missed this thread the first time. Some of you posted some great examples of cards appearing 2 grades nicer than their assessed grade...Leon's Cobb, the 57 Kaline and the 54 Aaron 4 are a few that come to mind.

My frustration with the inconsistency in grade and appearance is when no matter how much I look at the cards prior to grading and after grading I cannot figure out why it graded as it did. The assumption is that I missed something which I just cannot believe is the case every time.

Scott, the 49 Paige is a great looking example but I think it is graded right. The two top corners and there is a tiny wrinkle on the right edge just above Paige's shoulder.