Card Backs

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Posted By: Little Lee

Hi Everyone,

I have a question about the back of the cards.

If the front of a card grades say a strong VG-EX, and the back would rate a lesser grade, how would the card be graded over all? And how much damage would you all put up with on the back?

I'm speaking of the T tobbaco cards in general, put would be interested in your views of any cards in the same situation.

Thanks, Little Lee

"Of all the things I lost in life, I miss my Mind the most" "Smith's Law, Murphy was and optimist"

[Archive]

Posted By: barry arnold

I find this issue to be one of the most frustrating for me as a collector
of the T206's. I've had over 200 graded by SGC,GAI, or PSA and have found
that, if the back has any damage at all, the card grades no higher than
good. This has been the toughest for me with HOF's when the front is easily
sgc 50 or better and the back damage puts it in the good range.
I finally learned, after too long a time, to make sure the backs are clean and in
good shape so as not to perpetuate my frustration at the 'lowered' grades.
Certainly, it makes sense that the back should be clear and clean to merit
a high grade, since the cards as a whole is being graded.
Still, the frustration lingers.

Hope this helps.

all the best

Barry Arnold

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Posted By: dennis

in grading back is equal to front. i agree w/barry's post above,but when buying it's good!

[Archive]

Posted By: Julie

Even if the back is not rare and worth a premium on that particular card, grading companies (and I think most of us, too) think that seriuous back damage to a deadballera card brings the value way down. I had a T206 Griffith portrait posted on my website--common back--Piedmont, I think, and decided I had to get rid of some T206s, because I was running out of space. Although the card has a great front and sharp corners, it was the first card I thought of removing, because there was a 1 1/2 inch of missing Piedmont back, where a piece of tape had been removed.

As for blank-baked cards, I agree with a great collector named Buck Barker--a blank back is a great place to store information about the player, be it a Zeenut or a N172. Grading companies, and many collectors, however, disagree with me (Masatro, I notice, makes no distinction between N172s with marked backs and those with unmarked backs--ungraded, or course). Some backs are treasured by some of us because a famous collectior wrote career details on them--but I have a N172 Smiling Mickey Welch, with his w-l record scrawled all over the back in fountain pen, which I find particularly interesting, because it doesn't quite match his record in the Baseball Encyclopedia, and it wasn't written by anyone famous, either.

However, you'll find, when itr comes to grading, even completely blank-backed cards (no color of any kind)--the grading companies do not go easy on them.

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Posted By: Colt McClelland

I think the original post is accurate for the most part - even a small amount of back damage seems to mean a card is Good at best as far as a professional grading company is concerned. However, I view this as a positive when I am buying a card that has already been graded a "2" and the only problem with the card is some minor back damage. I have several E cards in my collection that look like a 4, 5 or even 6 from the front, but they are in a 2 holder based on back damage. Sometimes the back damage is significant (which probably deserves a 2 in my opinion), and other times is is very minor (which probably deserves a small adjustment to the overall grade but not an automatic 2 in my opinion). My main point is this - it's a great way to pick up a very attractive card at a low price when you are buying these cards in 2 holders.

As a side note, I have noticed that GAI seems to be much more lenient on this issue. I have several GAI 3 cards with some minor paper loss on the back, which would never get a 3 grade from SGC and probably not PSA either.

[Archive]

Posted By: warshawlaw

I bought an N29 with a gorgeous (nm to nm-mt) front and a back stain. Got a vg-ex from SGC.

How badly you are penalized really depends on the level of disparity and level of damage.