Quote:
Originally Posted by Runscott
To me, the entire thing is incredibly ironic.
The following, of course, is all theory 
- An amazing card is 'found' by a businessman ($$$-driven) who loves cards
- The card is oversized, so he has it made 'normal' size, realizing it will look even better and be worth even more $,$$$,$$$,$$$
- But he also realizes that altering cards is still sort of frowned upon in the hobby. So a plan is formed, and here is where the irony is born:
- A grading company is created for the express purpose of grading this one amazing card, therefore authenticating that it is unaltered. You are wearing blinders if you think anyone involved didn't understand 'the plan'. But maybe everyone was just incredibly naive?
- Hobbyists knew nothing about grading companies or slabbed cards, because this was the only one of either in existence (But I'm sure they could relate it to stamps or coins)
- Now, the irony: This card in its new-fangled plastic slab, created the importance that we, as collectors, have put on card-grading and plastic slabs.
- ...so, if the Feds had gotten involved as soon as this card was slabbed and sold, everyone would have laughed. The perpetrators created a future hanging for themselves that could only occur if they were hugely successful.
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Coin grading goes back well before PSA/PCGS. The ANA used to issue certificates that included grades at least in the 70's maybe before. Of course, swapping certs was common so they added pictures which didn't help much since excited buyers are often a bit blind. So slabbing began in the 80's
Stamps have a very long history of certificates indicating authenticity, since at least the 1930's. Expert marks were used before that and still are. (Yes, they stamp a symbol on the back) Only recently did PSA attempt slabbing stamps, an idea that seems to have failed. They did get oneother authenticating service to begin adding grades to the certificate, and that seems to be getting some support, although with exactly the same sorts of arguments about the grading itself. The stamp grades and authentication are much more reliable than for cards.
It will be interesting to see if the Wagner ends up in an A slab. I suppose the current owner or some future owner would have to request that?
Steve B