Posted By:
warshawlawI do know a bit about pencils and erasing. There are eraser products out there that will remove a mark without removing the paper. Artgum is the main one. Many sketch artists use Artgum erasers to fix their work in progress with no aesthetic impact on the medium. If the pencil marking is very light and did not make an indentation into the paper, it often can be erased in a manner that cannot be seen by the naked eye or felt. Whether it would show up under a microscope or black light I cannot say. However, if the slabheads out there think that PSA or SGC or GAI is putting every card under a microscope, you are in for a very rude awakening. I've watched the GAI folks pre-grade cards at shows. Ten seconds out of the sleeve under a regular light and if nothing catches the grader's eye the grade is assigned and the sticker applied. No black lights, no CSI equipment. Just a man, a card and a reading lamp.