For anyone who thinks the card market ISN'T the hottest thing going!!!
 

Did anyone notice the 1954 Hank Aaron rookie SGC 5 in Hunt Auctions last night??? Over $5,500+ with the juice!!!

Cards are currently outperforming stocks on some of the key ones!!!

http://huntauctions.com/phone/imagev...=140&lot_num=6

I seem to be saying this more and more often...but that's a 5??

I hope they're ok with my posting the auction image here, as the auction itself has already been linked to. If there's an issue, Leon, please feel free to remove it.

http://huntauctions.com/phone/img140/6.jpg

What's going on with the back? Can't be paper loss, as that would immediately limit the grade ceiling. So, what is on the back that has lowered this down three + grades?

I really must be getting senile, because I see four fairly nice corners for a 60 + year old card. Color and registration are remarkable, the edges are clean for the year, the centering is ever so slightly shifted to the right, and maybe the slightest of tilts. And the borders are nice and white. But, again, considering the age of the card, I'd think this would be a 7 card, without knowing what's going on with the back of the card. This is clearly an example of the card exceeding the technical grade.

Edit: the lower-right corner/edge is slightly touched. But Bobby, this is just a fantastic card, in my opinion.

Wow.

looks like a psa 8 kevin!

Gufaw!!!

Don't forget Jake too.

I have been watching Hunt ever since their beautiful PSA 5 1951 Mantle card sold at $20,000. Never really knew them before that.

Did you see the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle they had last night? It was a killer card and finished at $70,000 all in!

there are just as nice 6's out there with the chance to resale without losing 50% of potential buyers out there because of the grade.....

but always happy to see big bids on cards i collect

A back scan would have helped on this one. My first thought is that the winner requested a scan and there is a mark or something that can be removed, and that the winner is thinking he can get this into a 7 or 8 holder. A dead centered PSA 6 just went for 3,600 through pwcc, so this one doesn't make much sense to me unless someone is assuming it will bump.

A mark on SGC...automatic 1.5

Try again!

Huh?

Ted is saying the card shouldn't have a mark. If it did, it wouldn't be a '5'. Im thinking the tiniest of spider wrinkles.

My guess is the back shows staining, perhaps wax stain, which is the reason for the downgrade.

I interpreted it mean a (bad) mark on SGC (the company).

Not sure what he meant by try again.

Edited to add: I'm thinking the same thing as you, Bobby - a tiny spider wrinkle.

Wait, so they didn't post a scan of the back? I know it's slabbed and all, but I can't imagine bidding on a card for thousands of dollars without being able to see the back. Is this standard for big auction houses?

Not standard at all, but it's how Hunt has always done it. You have to request a scan by email.

My thought was there is a mark, or something that can be removed on the card not visible in the front scan posted on the website. This could also be a stain, wrinkle, etc. Without a back scan it's hard to tell. Most major AHs do post them but I would assume one was available upon request.

If that lower right corner is the only flaw maybe someone thought they could improve it and get a bump. It would be hard for me to justify 5k plus for this card when a great looking PSA 6 sold for about 2k less a couple of days ago. Dead centered.

I looked up SGC grading standards after reading Republicans post, and they mention a 2 can have a mark, and a nice looking 2 can get a grade of 2.5. So he's correct in that this card shouldn't have a mark but incorrect in that a 1.5 is not the highest grade such a card could receive.

It appears to me to be standard for Hunt Auctions. Why anyone consigns good material to Hunt (or some other auction houses as well) mystifies me!

I doubt the consignor on this card is complaining. From what I can tell they do quite well.

The lesson here is consign to Hunt if you have a card that looks much better on the front than on the back.

lol....bingo!

Given all of the conjecture, I thought I'd share that I viewed the card in person during a recent preview and while the card appears stellar in the provided image, the lower right corner was smashed and pressed out -- with a couple of "corner creases" evident in the card. It has great eye appeal in the scan with the look of a Near Mint card, but was not quite as attractive in-hand.

And there u have it folks!

The power of a scan. And a description: Lower right corner has a hint of slight wear. Nice.

I don't see pressed out smashed corners in the grading standards. :eek:

That makes sense and explains the grade. Hopefully the buyer will be happy with the purchase.

It must be one of the unwritten rules of both PSA and SGC. Now they will down grade the card for a pressed out corner--pretty sure they used to reject the card for alteration. They would probably be rejecting 90% of what comes through if they had to reject pressed down corners on cards.

On a positive note the first year or so that SGC was grading far worse happened which is why SGC's guarantee does not apply to the original holders. A down graded card with a pressed out corner is far better than one in an old 88 that is more than an 1/8 of an inch short. :eek: Not that I want to put anyone on the spot.

Niiice