Which is the Better Card?
 

I've always assumed AUTH was lower than PSA2 or even PSA1.

Obviously the AUTH card is mis-cut, but otherwise it seems to be in markedly better condition.
Opinions?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/321722732005...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

http://www.ebay.com/itm/311151949406...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Looks like maybe the bottom is trimmed on the AUTH. The AUTH is a much nicer looking card though.

Although the AUTH is a nice scan and the PSA 2 is a blurry photo. It would be nice to see better pics/scans of the 2.

When there's a difference that great I'd take the Authentic all day everyday. It looks way better !!!!!! The grade is just a number sometimes.

The image on the AUTH is really nice. I don't usually collect cards in that grade, but for that I'd probably make an exception.

authentic
 

Image is way better on authentic.
Really boils down to how you feel about cards with this grade.
Probably not a bad way to go if you just want to have the card, and have a nice eye appeal card at a lower price. They are not for everyone for sure. Certain cards i will only ever hope of owning with the grade of authentic. That being said, if anyone has a 1914 or 1915 CJ Ty Cobb that they want to sell... even in "authentic" grade

Most collectors would take the AUT, as I would. Great photo on that one.

No Brainer
 

No doubt in my mind, the AUTH is the better looking card. Pose, color, sharpness, it has them all.

AUTH all day from this perch as well. One thing I've learned from reading here is that the better card is always what your eye tells you; no matter what a sticker says. I would say numerical grade is not always better than AUTHENTIC grade, just as the higher number graded card is not always better than the lower one. I jumped in the hobby recently assuming it was all grades but the more time I spend talking with collectors the more I believe the core is the baseball card and how it pleases your eye.

I'd take the unaltered.

I'd take the A all day long. Especially with the Old Judges, there is a school of thought that image trumps other issues.

I started a thread about this very topic last month, and it led to some good discussion:

http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=203387

As several people said there, the grading companies have questionable records when it comes to grading Old Judges; they will sometimes give an AUTH grade to a card that is probably unaltered (due to the often erratic way Old Judges were cut), and they sometimes give a number grade to a card that is definitely altered (one of which was posted in that thread). Like just about all Old Judge collectors, I prefer a sharp photo over a faded one any day of the week, and I don't pay much attention to technical grades (though almost all of my Old Judges are raw anyway).

On closer inspection, the AUTH card looks like it's rebacked, which I'm guessing accounts for the grade, in addition to appearing to be trimmed at the bottom.

I'm in the minority here, but I'd always opt for the unaltered card, too. I've got many 'beaters' in my T-206 collection, but that is always better to me than a clean trimmed card. Not sure why, but trimming is the thing that bothers me the most ... even though the cards certainly have more eye appeal.

Thanks for everyone sharing their expertise. However, I decided not to purchase either when I discovered that it was the 'wrong' Jim Donnelly. Guess that was a fairly common name in the 1880's.