Condition Defects on Ur Pre-War Cards
 

In general, which of these are possibly acceptable condition issues and which ones do you refuse to tango with?

1) Ugly crease
2) Small writing or marks (intials, stamps etc)
3) Badly miscut edge/terrible centering
4) Punchhole/staple hole
5) Border Tear/Rip
6) Out of Focus Image
7) Trimmed Edges
8) Heavy surface staining
9) Major Loss of surface gloss/wear
10) Noticeable Paper loss back

The only ones I will do the two-step with is: 2, 3 and MAYBE 4. Feel free to add a few major defects to the list.

I only collect mid-grade. A small crease or wrinkle is fine. Moderate corner wear is fine as well. I have no problem with centering issues as they were caused by the factory and not subsuquent collectors.

none of those are deal breakers for me, heavy stains probably bother me the most though or if a chunk of the card is missing.

For me a lot depends on the particular issue and the rarity of the card. For example, back damage is a non-issue for me with N172s, but is very important on T206s. If the card is extremely rare (only a few known), I will take what I can get. I have been collecting N167s and that is certainly the case with them. On cards that are not that hard to find like CJs or T206s, centering, staining, creases, and extreme corner wear are a bigger deal. Generally, the overall eye-appeal of the card is very important to me.
JimB

The #1 thing that bugs me and that almost certainly excludes cards from my collection is clipped corners. I'm not sure why my brain hates them so much but apparently I'm octagonally challenged!

A crease through the player's face is usually a deal-breaker for me.

I can take the rest of the defects mentioned - but it really depends on overall eye appeal of the card.

Personally
 

I can deal with all of the above, but major paper loss on the front is my deal breaker.

Couple of weeks I spent on Ebay trying to win a pre-war card or two, just to have something diff for display(couldn't win anything I wanted darn it :D). But, I eliminated from consideration cards that had a ugly crease through the pic of the player right off the bat along with the bad miscuts. Paper loss would or is another factor. I'll try later in the summer to pick up a card or two(would love a Mathewson or Shoeless Joe). But, before I bid on anything else pre war i'm consulting some collectors on here for advice. And, i'm not ashamed to admit that :D

Major paper loss on the front, is a likely deal-breaker for me. Most repugnant however, is anything marring/obscuring the player's face.

I'll Play
 

1) Ugly crease - Deal Killer
2) Small writing or marks (intials, stamps etc) - OK on back
3) Badly miscut edge/terrible centering - NO
4) Punchhole/staple hole - NO
5) Border Tear/Rip - Maybe if doesn't affect image
6) Out of Focus Image - the worst
7) Trimmed Edges - if it's a tuff card, I can live with it
8) Heavy surface staining - no
9) Major Loss of surface gloss/wear - no
10) Noticeable Paper loss back - OK on blank backs

Clipped corners, even for coupons, like a number of the 1928 PCL Exhibits in the current Mile High auction. Unless the card was extremely rare and had enormous significance TO ME, I just wouldn't want to own a card like that. They kind of reminded me of the 1907 Wolverine News Cobb (batting pose) which recently made several appearances on e-bay, with no takers even at $450. Now this is a rare Cobb rookie, so why no interest? The card was literally in several pieces!

I also generally steer clear of creases if possible; however, with a really tough, desireable card, such as the '23 Lections Ruth (where most of the very, very few that exist are in poor grade) or even the '47 Tip Top Bread Warren Spahn (true rookie, a short print in a rare set to begin with) or similar cards, I'll accept creases. In fact, I almost passed on one graded PSA 1 (Mk), until I checked the pop report and saw that of the mere 6 that had been graded, the HIGHEST graded example was a PSA 1!

Regards,

Larry

It depends on the set for me. For my Ruth Master set, I will accept everything and anything. All of the defects on that list, I will take for a copy of one of his playing days card that I don't currently have. However, I am also working on a 33 Goudey set, and for that set, I will not take any of those defects, other than fillers that I would eagerly look to upgrade.