GAI grading for 50s-era cards
 

Hi All. I am looking at a 1951 Bowman GAI graded card that looks pretty decent to me considering the price. It's definitely overgraded compared to PSA or SGC standards (which of course vary widely), but I haven't bought any of these cards before and wanted to solicit people's opinions. Thanks!

The old silver and black label cards were usually OK w/r/t being unaltered but are usually 1-2 grades overgraded vis a vis today's standards. Anything in the labels that followed is highly suspect.

I have 4 GAI cards in my 53 Bowman color set: Berra/Bauer/Mantle (6); Cass Michaels (5.5); Russ Meyer (6.5) and Stuart (4.5). In comparison to my PSA cards the GAI-graded cards are close; the Meyer might grade at a 5.5, but the grading on the Stuart was conservative, I think it would grade at a 5 through another TPG. I purchased each of these at cheaper prices than those graded by the other companies

Stick with the silver and black labels you should be fine. If the card appeals to you grab it, you can usually get it at a discount because of the label.

GAI Silver and Black
 

Grabbed this guy quite a few years ago to complete a 51B set. The grade did kind of reassure me - even at a cost of 600 smackers.:)