How important is centering to you? Green Cobb choice
 

I got to thinking that one of the things I really like with vintage cards is centering. I will usually pick better centering over slightly better corners or other characteristics. Which of these T206 Green Cobbs would you prefer? (I don't know either seller at all)

A http://www.ebay.com/itm/1909-T206-Ty...item3f1e80335a

B http://www.ebay.com/itm/1909-T206-Ty...item1c2afa359a





.

Centering is everything. I would go with "B".

Definitely B - that T/B centering would annoy me every time I look at the card.

I've never been a big condition/grade kinda guy...definitely B.

I would much rather have the overall condition of EX but if it's solely based on centering I would go with B

no question, B.

However, I think that something be badly centered top to bottom looks better than something off-center left to right. not sure why.

I would take A. I agree with the above poster - top down centering issues are easier to digest than left/right. Plus I like sharper corners. But that is just me.

T206 Green Cobb
 

Leon

It seems to me that we've had this discussion once before regarding the T206 Green Cobb.

Anyhow, I will reprise what I've said back then....it's my experience that a fair majority of the Green Cobb's with the PIEDMONT 150 backs will be off-center to the top border.

This card's front image with the PIEDMONT 350 back, or the SWEET CAPORAL 150 (or 350) backs, or the SOVEREIGN 150 back will usually be found centered.


http://i603.photobucket.com/albums/t...encobbp150.jpg..http://i603.photobucket.com/albums/t...p150sov150.jpg


TED Z

Ted- I agree that this specific card type has a preponderance of being T/B off center. I think where you got sideways a bit is stating the percentage was super high, maybe 90+%....which is debatable. Interesting thoughts so far.....

I would pick B and take the wife for a few days at an all inclusive in Jamaica with the money I saved. Win/Win, baby.

Isn't the question if the cards were the same cost?...ie: A for $5000 or B for $5000. I'm surprised more haven't said they would prefer A as it is definately in better condition as far as wear.

question doesn't state anything about cost...but since when does anyone pay attention to the question asked anyway?!

I take factory condition issues over owner wear and tear any day. The centering is the way the card was made. It isnt something caused by some previous owner. My collecting habits make me wonder why any one could consider an off centered card to be flawed.

I am only answering which flaws i would rather have. For the cost I would take a common in the set. They come from the same press.

Because one of the main things we look at in acquiring our gems is aesthetics. This card in question, that is top to bottom O/C, is flawed from the mfg, imo. It isn't a man-made flaw but a factory one.
When cards are close in condition I prefer better centering, as most members so far in the poll do.

corrected myself concerning value...I did put it in the question :)

Cobb
 

I love centering, but for vintage cards I would take overall appeal over just centering. In this case I would pick B, but honestly would love to have either because both look great.

Plus sometimes with o/c cards you get the fat borders...but not in this case.

The poll question says: "Which would you take if both were valued the same?" I take value to also mean cost, but maybe I'm looking at it wrong

oh...oopsie...I didn't read the poll question...sorry!!!!

i always find it hard to digest off centering for portraits...especially one as iconic as the t206 cobb

I thought B was nicer, and at less than half the price. No comparison.

I'd take B all day...even if the other card was a higher graded off-center...centering bothers me more than anything else.

Agree with majordanby. When the image is "symmetrical," as in a portrait, bad L/R centering bothers me. When the image favors one side, though, a wider border on the other side can actually sort of balance things out. (Not my card, BTW.)

All other things equal, I'd take B, centering is critical to me.

It's all about eye appeal. B is my choice also.

My current two, based on looks above I would take B but A is also a very nice card.

http://photos.imageevent.com/piojohn...size/Cobbs.jpg

"B" wins for me, altho T-B centering on A does not stress me at all! Bad L-R centering does make me think twice, however.

John, love that 70. LOVE.

Jeff I think I love your Green Cobb more, even though it's a tad O/C. ;)

If the 3.5 and the 60 were equally priced, and you had to buy one, I would be shocked to learn someone would buy the 3.5 ...I don't care how good it looks.

Holding price constant, I'd take the higher TPG every time ...blind.

If I were handed both and was told to take one and keep it I would take B. The corners on the 60 aren't that much sharper and the other displays tons better, for my tastes. To each their own though. I thought the answers would be interesting and they are....

Agreed.

Here's mine. A beauty for a "3" imo.

http://www.collectorfocus.com/images...green-portrait

Tell me this red Cobb isn't beautiful.

I like B better also, but not because of the centering; that centering doesn't bother me. I'd just have a really hard time paying that much more for a card that has very similar eye appeal.

I dont have a problem with off centering top to bottom. As can be seen from my Cobb below. Dont really like if its off from side to side. I dont like cards that are off registration or has creases through the center.
I dont think I have ever bought a card because of the border. I buy them for the picture.

http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/...rait-Front.jpg

Cobb
 

That's a beauty, Bruce! I think you have a great point in that you buy them for the picture and not necessarily for the centering and such. That's what I love about this hobby...there is no wrong way to collect!

PIEDMONT 150 green COBB's
 

Hey guys

As I have said before, and I will repeat....A FAIR MAJORITY OF THE PIEDMONT 150 GREEN COBB'S ARE OFF-CENTER (TO THE TOP BORDER)

There are 6 - PIEDMONT 150 green Cobb's currently on Ebay ..... 5 of them are O/C to the TOP border. Furthermore, at any given week on Ebay
you will find this same ratio (approximately) of O/C PIEDMONT 150 green Cobb's to centered PIEDMONT 150 green Cobb's.

Check this out....here is a great example of what I have been telling you guys.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/T206-Ty-Cobb...item4abddd3f2d



NOTE.....If you desire a well-centered green Cobb look for a PIEDMONT 350, or a SWEET CAPORAL 150 (or 350), or a SOVEREIGN 150 card.

As is evident here, I'm not too picky about centering, so I'm quite pleased with my sharp-looking PIEDMONT 150 Cobb.
http://i603.photobucket.com/albums/t...encobbp150.jpghttp://i603.photobucket.com/albums/t...p150sov150.jpg


T-Rex TED

Ted-- I am really digging that miscut Cobb on Ebay. I would like to add that one to my collection if things work out right. I am waiting for that half bottom half top green Cobb thats on the the forum to pop up on this thread soon. I never get tired of seeing it......

I picked B because of the rounded corners. I think it looks more attractive that way.

Please show it Jeff ;)

Some very nice green Cobbs, especially your's bruce, here is mine, has been posted before.

Joe

I chose "A" because I 'm more lenient on top to bottom centering. If it was L-R centering or skewed, I would probably have chosen "B"

I would take B. Centering trumps corners for me.

"A" for me. As others have stated top to bottom centering doesn't bother me as much as side to side does. Here is the green Cobbie I finally decided on for my collection. I'm very happy with it.........

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a95...eenfront-2.jpg http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a95...reenback-2.jpg

Goodwin may speak volumes...
 

The current Goodwin auction has two Matty Portraits: a PSA 5 that is well centered and an SGC 70 (5.5) that is off-center.

With roughly two weeks to go, the PSA 5 is at $1129 while the SGC 70 is at $368. We'll have to wait until the end to know for sure...

(images from the goodwin site)
http://www.goodwinandco.com/LotImages/35/256a_med.jpeghttp://www.goodwinandco.com/LotImages/35/263a_med.jpeg

One of a few T206's I still have...I've always loved the greenie.

Well, It Depends...
 

Based solely on the two cards in the poll, I'd prefer the better-centered one.

That having been said, for better or for worse corners mean a lot to me for some reason. So, assuming the picture quality was the same if I had a choice between an off-centered card with nice corners and a well-centered card with poor corners, I'd be picking the one with better corners.

In general, I'm not very condition sensitive. So I would almost always go with the cheaper one. NOW while that also applies in this case, I also happen the think that the 2nd one is MUCH more visually appealing, and would prefer that one regardless of price..... B. Definitely B..

Tony, your example just shows how much this is a matter of personal preference. I personally don't like T206's with large top borders and short bottoms; however, the green Cobb that I chose for my collection is almost an exact duplicate of the one Ted posted, and I never was concerned about the short top.

I understand everyone has differing collecting habits, I am just saying from my mindset I can't equate pre-distribution errors (factory flaws) with post distribution flaws.

Leon you seem to be an enigma to me. I am relatively new to the boards but I have seen you show printing freaks (like your multi-printed back t206 Mullaney), but now you talk about the aesthetics and refer to production flaws to be equivalent to post distribution flaws. (Not judging your collecting, but I was surprised to see that you were on the pro centering side of the coin)

Leon is the ultimate type collector...he doesnt discriminate.

Not that Leon is not an enigma, but my guess would be that if there was only one green Cobb with a short top, and through some miracle of technology we could be certain that it was factory-cut, Leon would have to have one.

Hey Scott
 

I had this green Cobb in my 2nd set of T206's (hybrid back set). In 2005, when broke up this set in order to start on my adventure of an all - PIEDMONT set, I searched
for a better centered PIEDMONT 150 green Cobb. That's about the time that I observed that a fair majority of these PIEDMONT 150 Cobb's were O/C to the top border.
Sure, I came across a few that were centered; however, not as sharp looking as the Cobb I have.

Furthermore, I bought this Cobb years ago. I paid only $200 for it. "It don't come easy" (Ringo Starr, circa 1971) anymore to acquire a green Cobb at a price that low :)
http://i603.photobucket.com/albums/t...encobbp150.jpghttp://i603.photobucket.com/albums/t...p150sov150.jpg


TED Z

I love printing freaks and have several more to put in the new pick up thread. However, when they are regular cards I like them to be centered. I know it's not normal but I never claimed to be normal :).

Ted, here's mine - seems to fit your theory. I just cracked it out a few days ago:

I am not heavy on centering, I am more about corners but the 2nd card just looks so much better. Many of my Topps and Bowman sets are EX+ to NM but with several off centered cards which doesn't bother me.

Hey Dan and Scott
 

DITTO.....to what you guys said. And, here is just a sample of some of my O/C cards across the spectrum. Who cares if they were cut off-center ?

I don't.....its the aesthetics of the image that really matters to me.


http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/d...rfranknagy.jpghttp://i529.photobucket.com/albums/d...oftsmcgraw.jpghttp://i529.photobucket.com/albums/d...ieplanke91.jpg


http://i603.photobucket.com/albums/t...doylesgc40.jpghttp://i603.photobucket.com/albums/t...titussmith.jpg


http://i529.photobucket.com/albums/d...zaz/paige2.jpg

http://i603.photobucket.com/albums/t...varyoungoc.jpg


TED Z

so,....
 

So from this tiny experiment I am going to continue to think centering is very important (and maybe more important) than a bit sharper corners. Again, no right or wrong answer and if someone likes pointy corners and doesn't mind O/C then that is wonderful too. Happy collecting!!

So you let everyone else determine what you like? I'm confused :confused::eek:

I picked B, but I'd really be happy with either one. OC doesn't bother me, paper loss and creases are more of an issue to me when buying a card.

Sincerely, Clayton

I was only getting opinions. I could care less what others like for my personal preferences. I collect what I like not what others like. As far as you being confused. You said it not me.

I'm suffering.
JimB

http://photos.imageevent.com/jimblum...green_0001.jpg

Well, since everyone's doing it.... :)

Centered a bit low, with a slight tilt, nice corners, 2 minor surface wrinkles, and low-grade affordability -- just how I like 'em. ;)

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/3...encobbdual.jpg

Lol! You're a sharp one, Leon! I was just messing around but I thought I would call you out since by your post it seemed like this thread affected your thinking and collecting habits....but I've been around here long enough to know that's not true.

Carry on...

Mike- I am crazy all by myself. :) ....I have no earthly idea why I love the print freaks and also love well centered cards. I guess it's because ...well, actually, I don't know.

I can definitely relate. I never used to collect and appreciate vintage cards until I found out about this site. Collecting modern cards are usually about having mint cards where vintage can be on the opposite end sometimes. I have a full appreciation of all cards and conditions...older cards catch my eye because they look "used" and pre-owned...maybe like they should. Like you said before, there is no wrong way to collect. That's the great thing about this hobby!

Keep up the great work, Leon!

Chuck, I love that green Cobb. That is exactly what I am on the hunt for to add to my set. The perfect "low grade" card. Thanks for sharing.

Best,

Andy

Thanks, Trapper.

http://photos.imageevent.com/ineedan...cobb-green.jpg

I am in this camp especially for vintage. Both are nice cards, but if the price was equal I would prefer A which is the cleaner card. On a separate note, I have alway thought that overall, grading companies tend to be a little lenient with Cobb cards. Saying that, I know that there are far more informed people on this board than me.

Thanks for the kind words, Andy. I'm sure you'll get your Cobb sooner or later, and, as we all know, the chase is half the fun.


Regarding the poll that started this thread....

At first glance, I was going to choose the lower grade PSA card, as I put a lot of value on centering. However, after really looking at both cards closely, I noticed the PSA card also has that smudge on Cobb's face, which detracts from the overall eye appeal. If the PSA card were valued about 30% less, I'd go with the PSA card all day. But with both cards valued the same in this poll, I'd choose "A" (the SGC card) due to its superb image, surface, and corners.

If the PSA card did not have the smudges on Cobb's face, I'd have a much tougher time choosing between the two. If the OC on the SGC card was L/R instead of the more acceptable T/B, then I'd also have a tougher choice. I guess this just shows that many factors are to be considered when picking that card for your collection.