Posted By:
MWBrian,
I don't mean to offend you, but your post above reflects the same type of general (feigned) ignorance that many charlatans and scalawags use to sell reprinted and altered vintage material on eBay. To suggest that it is difficult or impossible to tell if some vintage issues have been trimmed or altered is not only ridiculous, but logically bereft.
<< 1. I can only know for certain it was trimmed unless I saw it happen.>>
Say what? That's analogous to saying that you don't know if a bank has been robbed unless you see the masks, handguns and bags full of money leaving through the front door.
<< 3. Just because someone(something) told me that there was evidence of trimming doesn't mean it was so ESPECIALLY with the cards most of us collect which weren't exactly cut in mass quantities in high tech factories with laser beams. >>
You're right. They weren't. But that fact makes vintage issues EASIER to examine for evidence of tampering, not more difficult. Anyone can duplicate a modern cut, but it is much more difficult to deceptively trim a vintage issue and fool an experienced collector. Vintage issues nearly always have very specific cuts (angle of cut, cross-section) unique to the year of issue; and in those cases where an abnormal factory cut is suspected, a host of other clues, including those that relate to consistent wear and the age of the card, can easily be collected and applied to determine the likelihood of tampering.
<< 4. For this reason (and to my certain economic detriment) I note in descriptions when I think that a card may not "grade" even when I am all but certain that it was not trimmed. >>
If a card does not grade there is usually a very good reason for it. Experienced and legitimate grading companies (i.e., SGC) do not reject cards unless there is clear evidence that they should not be encapsulated. These reasons include: tampering or alteration, authenticity, hobby legitimacy or signs of restoration.
The bottom line is that a card is either trimmed or it is not. Those who list vintage cards on eBay with the disclaimers "may be trimmed", "sold as is", "no returns for any reason", "looks good to me but I'm not sure", "Is 100% unaltered but no one will grade it" are confused; for what they really meant to write was, "I'm selling altered cards but please ignore this fact when bidding."