Crazy Idea...
 

I know there are several collectors out there who collect certain back stamps (ex. Lloyd Bolton, Howe McCormick, Big Purple numbers, etc.). I was thinking why a current collector doesn't do the same?; Stamp or mark each card in their collection in a unique way. No doubt it would diminish the value today, but they might be comforted by the fact that some collector not yet born might hunt down "their" collection someday.

What do you think? Is this a neat idea, or blasphemy and deprecation?

I think its an interesting idea.I mean no need to mark up good cards but maybe buy a beater set and stamp that one.Its a good way to be around T206 collecting long after your gone.

Any card worth its weight is going to be graded anyhow. I say, get a little "branding iron" and brand the lower back left / right of the slab. That way you accomplish both - marking your sets and not marring the card.

Cool idea!

That is pedigree slabs: Harris, Lionel Carter, etc.

I like the idea of pedigreeing the slabs more than marking the cards. Good call.

I definitely think various backstamps just add to the interest of vintage cards. The pedigree stamps are not necessarily permanent, and as such, not the same thing. You'd have to be a collector who doesn't care a great deal about the bottom line. Those are few and far between.

I respectfully disagree, I have ~4,000 pre WWII sports cards and ~1500 pre-1930 Nonsports cards and only a hundred or two are actually graded (and that is because I bought them that way). Nothing wrong with grading cards, I prefer to buy more cards with the money but to each his own but to think that any card "worth its weight" is graded is wrong.

I guess I should have clarified. Username's orig. post was about people tracking down collections of what I would consider "legendary" collections (in other words, collections that have a name for themselves) and in my mind, that means cards of significant value (5K apiece, at least). For example, I'm not talking about going out and branding my PSA4 average Leaf set...no one would care unless I became President or something. My set's not worthy of branding. That's what I meant that any card worth it's weight would be graded (in context of the branding argument). Few legendary collectors spend five or six figures on a raw card. There's just too much risk for both buyer AND seller.

Case in point - Look at this data of historical sales: http://www.t206museum.com/page/ne_auct.html ... how many single card auctions wins above 5K do you see with unslabbed cards?

Clarify
 

I am envisioning the guy who has 100 common T206 cards in poor-fair condition who stamps them with his name and maybe the date and sells them off. Again, halves their value at once but in a hundred years there is a collector(s) who hunts them down vigorously (i.e. like Howe McCormick).