Question from a vintage neophyte…how much does card back centering matter?
 

The title says it all. Just starting my first vintage project (postwar). I know how much weight is given to centering on the front, but does the back matter at all? Within reason, of course.

I don't care much about the back at all. I actually target cards with back "issues", but otherwise really nice fronts. Whether its off center, miscut, or wax issues, the only real downside to cards is the technical grade.

Not post-war vintage, but this T206 McGraw fits the bill with a miscut back. And the 58 Brooks looks like a 5, but there's a bit of wax on the back.

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Depends on the set, but PSA allows for even Mint 9 cards to have up to 90/10 back centering, and 10's can be as bad as 75/25.

Some sets (like 1955 Bowman) have such narrow back borders that even miscut cards will not usually get miscut qualifiers.

Personally, the more miscut the better. I'll pay a premium for a terribly miscut card because they are cool.

Investors don't read the back and grades care less, it matters less when it comes to $$$, but not completely irrelevant.

LOL Sometimes a thing can be so bad.........it's good!

That’s the perfect description of my pile of beaters, miscuts, misprints and other cardboard travesties!

I call those mullet cards. Business in front, party in the back.

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A good set to look at to judge how much back centering matters and affects the cards grade is 1951 topps. You can find 7s and 8s that are flawless but have terrible back centering. I’m not sure if this is exclusively tough for 51 but I think its a good indicator.

lol. +1

Depends on your goals. If you are picking nits over condition, or trying to get a raw card into a PSA 8-9-10 slab, you have to be concerned. If not, it is purely whatever you find appealing. I look for minty o/c cards with the o/c being the back. Some of my favorite cards are like that and I bought them for far less than their better centered cousins as a result.

Wait a second............, a 9 grade can have 90/10 centering while a 10 grade can have 75/25 centering? Am I missing something, or do you possibly have that backwards?

Thanks for the solid input, everyone.

Focusing on mid-grade PSA (5-7). I am not overly particular with the back, but after seeing some gorgeous copies on the front only to see 90/10 or even 95/5 on the reverse is a bit of a letdown. Can’t unsee it, really.

The goal is to build a mid-long term PC, but the day will come when I’ll probably want to sell. Just thinking about how much (if any) deterrent rough backs would be. All depends on the buyer, I’m sure.

Thanks again!

It matters what you care about. Most 5-7 grade collectors I have come across, including myself, don’t care much about back centering. In fact it can even benefit you because the grader will slightly impair the card for being off center and the card might otherwise be strong for the assigned grade. It really comes down to what defects you prefer because unless you are buying 8-10 your cards will be flawed. Even the 8-10s will be flawed much of the time.

90/10 is worse than 75/25.

75/25 means that one border is 3x the width of the other side's border.
90/10 means that one border is 9x the width of the other side's border. So 75/25, while ugly centering, is much better than 90/10.

Here's a good thread:
https://forums.collectors.com/discus...e-to-centering

I don't know about registry bait type cards, but I know for upper midgrade or even like PSA 7, they sometimes ignore the rules on back centering. I have a '66 Koufax that should have gotten the MC qualifier because of the back - PSA gave it a straight 6. Personally as long as the back is mostly there, I could give a flip about back centering.

Ugh! You're right, I'm the one that's off. Brain cramp on me........

If
 

If the back is going to bother you and make you think about it, don't buy it. I don't like major wax on back or poor centering back. And def. not writing or paper loss.

The back caused this beautiful Yogi to be deemed o/c, which caused me to (very happily!!) pick it up at a nice discount...

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None.