[jchcollins]

(Preface to the below, which was drafted before I actually had the card in hand. This may be my greatest example yet of the "buy the card, not the grade" maxim. Card looks even better in person - rich, dark colors and print damage - if it is even there - is not noticeable at all from an arm's length. I've seriously seen worse on PSA 7's of this card !!!):

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I usually collect mid-grade or worse, but have always judged based on eye appeal over and above the technical grade. What this means in practice is that sometimes a "mid-grade" card for me is a PSA 6, other times it only comes out as VG or occasionally even worse than that. I picked this one up on eBay over the weekend after having deliberated over it for a while, and it arrived this afternoon. Best I can tell it's a PSA 2 Good only because of the 2 vertical lines / staining on the back. (I think it may have been in an old magnetic album at one point, and this is residue from that based on the way the lines run?) The front of it is probably PSA 5 quality if not better with no creases or wrinkles, and the corners are easily EX quality if not better. Most importantly, at least for me - the picture is nearly totally devoid of the heavy print defect problem which so frequently plagues this particular card even in the higher grades, often distorting Mick and Hank's face. I can more than live with this in a mid-grade collection...

Another of the vintage cards from my childhood collection that got away in the past. Beyond thrilled to have it back. Nearly 1300 home runs flew off of these two bats in 25 years...not too shabby!