Addendum: Just in case anyone's not clear where I stand in the grading wars, I have one foot in Jim Crandall Plastic Fantastic Land and the other in the raw Kentucky swamps of Frank Wakefield. I am not one to lose any sleep or reach for the anti-depressants because my 3
shouldabeen a 4 but I like the fact that grading companies can authenticate cards and quantify value via grading tiers to facilitate cardboard commerce in our slimeball world. I also like the fact that cards are protected from overzealous handling (I remember one of the first fights I had with my wife. She had picked up a raw Obak like it was an English Muffin and I scolded her and she thought I was an idiot). And sometimes they just look good damn good in their plastic coffins, witness Matty below.
Au contraire I like the look of a bunch of raw cards spread out across the table or in a book, naked and glorious as the Lord intended. So I collect both ways.
