Danny I feel your pain brother a thousand plus cards later and 5k+ lighter in the pocket and I too am left scratching my head on some of the grades.
Look I get it I’m sure under any loop little tiny wrinkles can be seen but….have we really come to this that we are now picking cards based upon microscopic flaws unseen to the naked eye? I know I’m not…I challenge you to find better examples of these cards below. Flip or not these are some of the most pack fresh cards you will see in regard to Obaks especially the 1909’s.
Now don’t get me wrong I got lots of 7’s and 6’s and 5’s but I have to chuckle when I have 3’s & 4’s that are nicer than the 5’s and the 6’s that were returned.
I agree harsh grading isn’t good grading. I think holdings cards 100+ years old to standards of modern multi produced cards is and has always been a bit silly.
This whole wacky system has only amplified the trimmed card phenomenon. Look I know trimming has been going on awhile to guys like Copeland back in the day. But once grading came in and opened up the world to a bigger buying pool for crazy graded cards then it was razors away.
Don’t believe me for those of you who are newer to the hobby how often do you see oversized cards like below now?
Not often but they were very common when I collected now they are the black rhino of the card world.
When I think of all the amazing specimens that have been hacked, soaked and shucked over the years in the pursuit of a flip it makes me kind of sad.
Cheers,
John