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Posted By: barrysloate

The discussion on this thread and others- and I would be remiss if I didn't say Scott Gaynor answered all the questions honestly and is one of the top people in the business- still makes me wonder why collectors pay gravity defying prices for the so-called set registry quality cards. Having been in the hobby for a very long time, I have to tell you that when I first began there weren't really that many pristine cards around. Over the years, an enormous number have entered the marketplace. That in itself is not necessarily suspicious but I've always had a gut feeling that many of the high grade cards we see today have been recently manufactured. I do know for a fact that there are paper restorers who make a living rebuilding cards to virtual mint levels without having any intention of revealing their work. There are cards that I know of that reside in holders that have five-figure SMR values that have been put together with a front and a back from two different cards. I agree with Scott that most people, including myself, don't know the half of what's been done to many of these cards.