A Robert Stack, Unsolved Mystery....
 

I am a collector of t206 baseball cards. I have never sent cards in to be graded. I have over 30 raw t206's that I plan to send into to SGC in the upcoming months.

As a newbie to the grading game, I understand a few of the things that can make a card ungradeable. I have looked and searched the archives here and have looked on SGC, but is it just because the particular card is trimmed that makes it not qualify for a numerical grade? Or, are there more factors involved?

Off the shoulder Cobb lookin so perfect, but cant get a number grade?
http://cgi.ebay.com/T206-Ty-Cobb-Det...item230bc5066c

Why? Can the only thing to hurt a card to get the "A" classification is a trim job, or is there more???

I guess the question I have is, "Is the A grade all about the trim?"

In most if not all cases....
An "A" Authentic grade is for cards that fall below a SGC-10, and also for cards that have been altered.

The Cobb "bat on" was altered.
IMO top/bottom is short and both were trimmed slightly to sharpen corners.

whoever did it ruined a very nice card IMO

Greed

Isaac

Agree with Mr. Ward. SGC is grading Authentic altered as well as unaltered cards. The unaltered would be generally in poor shape such as a card missing the back advertisement, or large amts of damage. I have had cards rejected by SGC due to "too much of card missing". Interestingly enough, had one card from a tough prewar set rejected because of "color added". Resubmitted the card over a year later and given an SGC 10 designation. It actually wasn't color added but some odd color fading on the card.

PSA has rejected apparently trimmed cards before for me but I have also seen cards listed as trimmed for other collectors in an authentic holder.

Beckett has an authentic service also for tough shape cards.

In general, poor shape cards probably should not be graded unless you want to protect them or you simply like their appearance in a holder, or they are valuable(i.e. Hall of Famer). Reason not to grade otherwise would be that it would not make the card much more valuable than raw.

Good luck

Frank

"Is the "A" grade all about the trim?"
 

"Is the "A" grade all about the trim?"


The "A" grade could be about any alteration, not just the trim.

Here's an example of an 'A' not due to trimming - someone decided to play artist and paint the green background:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_pAhpQ3jIX9M/TO.../PC0015015.jpg

Cobb authentic, not trimmed
 

Sgc will also holder a card that has been deemed too small to give a numerical grade.

And if you don't indicate that altered or merely undersize cards should be slabbed as an "A" then they send it back with a flip that includes a rejection code.

Steve B