Tracking a PSA Certified Item
 

I have gone on the PSA website and looked around to find an answer to my question but haven't gotten anywhere. I am looking to purchase an item that is inside a PSA tomb. I know that with most items, they rub that "DNA" ink on the item, but does that contain the sequence number for the item as well? Also, does PSA track the original person that obtained the COA? I am asking because the seller doesn't know how long the item has been in the tomb since he bought it in the tomb a few years back. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

the number on the tomb is the only number you can put in the database to see if it is "deemed" authentic. the dna daubed "ink" on the item is ridiculous. best bet is to look at the signature to see if it is real, and if you buy it, bust it out of the tomb and enjoy the card or autograph the way God intended.

"does that contain the sequence number for the item as well?" NO

Also, does PSA track the original person that obtained the COA? NO

Ask them if the tomb is acid free.

So answering the OP question, you can look up the card by cert # on the PSA web site to confirm the cert # matches the slab cert # for the item [e.g., a Mantle signed card on the site should be a Mantle signed card in the slab]. It does not tell you when it was slabbed, who sent it in, etc., nor does it mean that the item is necessarily the item that was sent in. There was a scandal a few years ago over a dealer cracking cases and putting in lower grade cards then sealing and selling them. I suppose the same could be done to a signed item in a slab if a crook was so inclined. If you question the item itself, best to pass on it but if all you are looking to do is confirm that the item listed for the cert # matches the item you are looking to buy, then the site will give you that. As for the ink, as far as I know, it is just a streak and it fluoresces under a special wave length of black light. Pretty much useless for your purposes.

Thanks all, I was just interested in the origin of the item, since the seller had no clue.

What do you mean acid free?

Is it OK that, even though I don't care about PSA/DNA, that I love having my checks tombed by them because it looks attractive and I feel it protects them better than in my top loaders?

Because that's why I use PSA. I consider them my personal framer.

Why wouldn't it be OK? Though that could get to be a pricey service with bigger names, that's your prerogative in your hobby.

And you can always crack them out rather easily. Just PLEASE don't ask them to put a sticker on anything. That's nasty looking (and while people here love to slam TPAs for doing that, it is again at the prerogative of the collector/dealer/hobbyist who sent it in and specifically requested and paid them to do so).

I feel the same way about their plastic slabs for postcards. In fact, I don't understand why the postcard printers didn't originally put an extra border all the way around them, with a red and white label on one end for the recipient to add notes. Not only would it make ALL postcards look so much better - it would be practical as well. You could then laminate the entire thing with some sort of rubber-like laminate so that they would be perpetually protected AND unbendable. Anyone know what it takes to get a patent?

Scott <=== dumbly continues to just put his in top-loaders :(

You are right. It could get pricey. For checks, I wait until they have the 12.50 authentication and slab special for any check valued at $250 or lower and clear out a lot of ones I got during the year. My Cobb and Jackie Robinson are not slabbed due to what you just said, but probably some day.

Agree with the sticker, by the way.

Paper and plastic contain acid which can damage your item over time.
Does PSA use de-acidified plastic for their tombs??

only their hairdresser knows for sure.


i wouldn't encase my collectible in a tomb for any amount of money. why are we entombing our collectibles. you can't hold it, you cant feel it, you cant inspect it.

its just under plastic, to what end? i dont like it.

i bust them out. i dont care how much the original person spent having it encased. they lost that money, not me. i once bought a james jeffries signed index card for 320, encased in psa plastic, i busted it out, and later sold it for about the same 320 unauthenticated. and the market had gone down slightly due to recession. i didnt lose any money, but the person who sold it to me spent 150 dollars to get it plasticized. they lost.

Well, this is where we differ. At least on checks.

1. You can certainly still hold it. It's just now in a cool looking(to me) protective case.

2. I don't want myself, or anybody else, feeling my checks on a regular basis anyway.

For me, I'm not in it for the money. So no matter what the value is in a tomb or not in a tomb doesn't matter to me. It's about what looks good (in my opinion) on display in my self-made museum of autographs.

Having checks "framed" in a PSA tomb looks so much better than in my top loaders. There is a touch of professionalism that really makes the check come to life.

I'm willing to pay a small fee for somebody to provide that service to me.

in a tomb is stupid, you cant hold it, feel it. why not put it behind 4 feet of plastic and enjoy it that way? doesnt make any sense. holding history in your hand is fun. holding a piece of plastic stinks.

I agree w/Baseball Fan, and that is also why I tend to send things to SGC rather than PSA. I like the aesthetics of their holder for display purposes. Plus they do a really nice job on custom items. Here are a few that I am very pleased with:

http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...rd%20front.jpg
http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...20Jackson.jpeg
http://photos.imageevent.com/exhibit...lavin-Hall.jpg

Nicely stated. Enjoy your hobby the way you want to enjoy it.

And feel free to show some of your favorites here; I for one would like to see them.

I can appreciate what appears to be your strong desire to feel a collectable in your hand. But when it comes to my collection, I do not want me or anybody else 'feeling' my graph. You are just going to have to imagine what holding a signed Mantle or Williams baseball feels like, because I'm not ever going to let you fondle my balls once they are encased.

I've been to plenty of museums, including the Baseball Hall of Fame, and I've been quite content looking at all the historical pieces behind glass without having to actually wear Ruth's jersey or swing Pete Rose's bat.

Again, just my take. I'll pick tomb for my checks and enjoy the heck out of being able to handle them in my own way.

I'll second that.

yet you can go down to houston to nasa headquarters and stick your hand in a display and actually touch a moonrock. weird how that works and how they are not snobs about it. good for them.

i am not saying people shouldnt protect their autographs, but to entomb them so you cant take them out without breaking an 'authenticity' seal makes no sense. put them under protection but in a way you can take them out if you want and it is not all of the sudden rendered 'not authentic' anymore because you took it out of its plastic.

point it if you wanted to hold the baseball or the autograph, you can't without wasting the authenticity money. you can get stuff authenticated with an LOA and still put it in a holder that is reversible without "ruining" the authentication.

i just hate those encapsulated holders anyway. they are worthless.

I see what you are saying, but I made the determination that with a paper check, I will never be taking them out of the protective holder in which I am placing them in.

I don't anticpate any reason I will be doing so, as I methodically plan and decide the course of action for each collectible I have so I'm not going in different directions every year or so.

If for some reason I decide in the future to do something else with them, I'll break them without any problem as I don't have them tombed for authenticity. If I keep them encased for a period of five years and somehow take them out, it's not a huge waste of money due to the fact that I got to enjoy that plastic case for a period of five years. Most people would spend more at their local bars in a month than I will spend on my multiple $12.50 'frames' from PSA.

Your opinion is that you'd like the opportunity to easily touch your collectible if you choose. My opinion is that I don't want to ever touch my collectible without it being protected ever again, and PSA provides a nice comfort for me in that regard.

I'm not sure either one of us will be changing our minds any time soon. Which is good, because you are doing what makes you happy and I'm doing what makes me happy. It would suck if we were doing the reverse.