oldschool73- fascinating question. My observations:
1) I'm not aware of a bright line serial number cutoff point for when
standards changed at PSA/SGC. They did change, though.
2) I noticed that, certainly in 2022, SGCs standards for postwar became
MUCH tougher, and across multiple sports. Both SGC and PSA, for
example, went way over the top punishing 50+ year old cards for light
(and I mean LIGHT) creasing. Strangely- and happily- SGC stayed spot on
with tobacco era cards. I always found this strange, almost as if postwar
graders somehow began to think all cards should be as flawless as laser
cut cards released 6 months ago.
3) I don't feel PSA became more strict, I think they simply ignored their
own standards. There was consistency to SGCs grading madness, whereas
PSA was groping in the darkness. I have a low opinion of them because
they routinely fail at their baseline task of accurately grading cards across
the board.
4) I get the sense that most knowledgeable sellers don't leap to the
conclusion that a new PSA 6 is somehow more valuable than an old PSA
6- provided that 6 is actually the correct grade. I do believe the folks
submitting Doncic and Mahomes cards to get 10s are much more likely
to have the opinion that a "new" grade is somehow more valid than an
"old" one. I give those folks a wide berth (if they use the number grade
as a verb, I run away- "I thought that card would ten!"). See ya later
Trevor, "ten" is a noun rather than a verb
These are my impressions, based on submissions, show attendance, and
purchases and trades between myself and fellow enthusiasts.
Trent King