Trimmed or Worn?
 

The thread on the PSA A vs 1 discussion is the inspiration for this poll.

Would you prefer a card that is sharp all around but slightly trimmed on one side, or a card with major creasing, worn corners, soiling, etc but grades a 1 numerically?

probably in the minority here, but I prefer the eye appeal of a sharp slightly trimmed card over the unaltered beater. There is a certain charm to those beaters though...

Hi Matt-

Can we get a "Neither" option added to the poll?:)

I appreciate the collectors who like and collect beaters, but can't bring myself to spend $$ on them myself.............the same way I can't bring myself to spend $$ on trimmed cards.

Thanks,Clayton

i would go with whichever has the best eye appeal, and in most situations, slightly trimmed.

There is a certain amount of "What if...." with a slightly trimmed card. Being an avid submitter, I enjoy the hunt for the hidden gem as much as the final result.

Clayton - imagine you need a card for your collection and only two instances of that particular card exist - they cost the same - which one do you take?

I would take the beater, although trimmed can be nice I would rather have the complete card. Much like having a real card opposed to a reprint, I know it's not the same but kind of is.

You could be missing just as much card on a beater, say a corner is torn off or there is heavy paper loss on the surface.

OK Matt, since you put it that way,I would definitely go with the card that would grade numericaly :D

Sincerely,Clayton

Good point, I don't mind true damage as opposed to intentional but sometimes you don't have a choice and take what you can get !

I have purchased great looking raw cards on ebay, BST and also from different online auctions which have come back SGC A because of slight trimming. It is always disappointing but the beauty of the card helps ease the pain. I would rather have an SGC 60 or 70 looking pre-war card which has no apparent trim problem to the naked eye of the collector (but not the grading company) than a beater 10. That said, not all 10s are created equal. I also have very nice cards in 10 holders because of back paper loss which is minor or 1911 and 1912 Zeenuts with writing notations on the blank backs.

Agreed. When you are trying to complete a very difficult set (E94 master set for example), you can hardly reject an SGC A of a card when it is the first specific color/player combination you have seen in years and you need it. Some cards are so tough that finding them graded even though in an authentic holder makes them very desirable. You can always upgrade to a numerical holder later down the line.

Trimmed is trimmed. Too often someone selling a card will write "slight trim." maybe aesthetically it makes a difference but the card is worth the same to me whether 1/64 of an inch is cut off or an 1/8 of an inch is cut off. We are talking about cards, right?

I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Plenty of trimmed T206s residing in PSA 8 and 9 holders and plenty of cards rejected for trimming when they aren't, just size differences coming off the presses.

Trimmed T206's
 

I agree with tbob. It seems like PSA slabbed some trimmed T206 cards, especially in their early days. Some of the lower cert numbers, such as with 3's to 5's at the beginning of the cert numbers. Some of these look very small in the holders to be getting 7's and 8's from PSA.

Another example of how it's better to buy the card, not the slab.

Ron R