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Posted By: Steve Dawson

Mark,

SCD Grading was Sports Collectors Digest. They sold to another company a couple of years ago and now are known as Sports Cards Direct or something similar. The first SCD (Sports Collectors Digest) seems to be accurate and respected, but the new (Sports Cards Direct) is just trying to capitalize on the name, and is little better than Pro Grading.

Edited to add a little more:

The first SCD's "Claim to Fame", if you want to call it that, was the "Untouched" designation. You could send in an unopened pack or box, and they would open it and slab the individual cards as "Untouched" by human hands. Larry and Jeff Fritsch were big proponents of them (SCD had full-page adds with Larry or Jeff holding their cards in SCD holders.

My guess is SCD never could get enough market share of the grading market, and sold the grading aspect. In hindsight, Sports Collectors Digest grading seems to have graded cards accurately (and perhaps even under-graded slightly). Nearly all indications I've seen are that their cards cross to SGC or PSA at the same or higher grades. Just absolutely stay AWAY though, from the new "Sports Cards Direct" holders.

Steve