I think authentic means its altered or otherwise majorly damaged-- ala a big portion missing--, while a grade poor card has to be whole. With natural but significant wear it's a judgment call whether it falls into the authentic or poor camp, but the powers that be feel that the 1-10 grades apply to cards in their natural state and altered cards fall outside that system.
I agree with with the initial post's take. I think it's fair to call an 'authentic' card, even an altered one, poor. Though I've seen grade 1 cards, and there are different levels of poor.
In the end, any grading system involves arbitrariness.
Last edited by drc; 11-19-2012 at 10:03 PM.
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