Posted By:
MWT206collector,
Good point. While SGC's treatment of back damage may be seen as too severe by some, take a look at other antiques and collectibles as a point of reference. Generally speaking, when an item is "incomplete" (i.e., something is missing) the value (and grade) are substantially lower. In the same way that an 18th century antique desk is worth less (and graded much lower) if each of the legs have had 1" sawed off or if a mural has been removed from the surface, an early 20th century baseball card is worth less (and graded much lower) if there is paper loss on the reverse side.
(I should note that exceptions sometimes occur if an item is extremely rare or unique).