Do grading companies punish for printing errors?

[Louieman]

Hey, I was curious what you all think when it comes to printing errors and the way grading companies like PSA grade them. When I was 16 I bought this John McGraw T206, and sent it in a few years later to grade it. Maybe I'm wrong about my evaluation of the card's condition, but I was always surprised that this received a VG 3. I thought it would be a VG+ 3.5 at worst, but more likely a VG-EX 4. The centering is outstanding, the back is really good, the corners are not sharp but they're worn nicely. There is a slight crease on the right side, but it's very slight, and not deep into the card at all.

It might be a bit hard to tell on the images, but there's a printing flaw on the front of the left side of the card. You can see the faint sweet caporal border printed in red on the lithograph. So it makes me wonder, how much do these types of printing errors go into the factor of a grade? Again, maybe it's a fair grade and I'm overvaluing this particular card. But what do you guys think? Any experience with harsh grades as a result of printing flaws?

[Louieman]

here's the back as well

[T206.org]

I think that's a wet sheet transfer and I don't think it would come into play much for the grade. The crease is the likely culprit. I agree it does look nicer than the technical grade though.

[Jantz]

Louie

Your McGraw got a VG 3 because of the crease & corner wear not the wet sheet transfer, which is common on most McGraw (Glove at Hip) Sweet Caporal 350-460 f#42 cards.

Something else interesting about McGraw's 4 T206 cards. The two T206s that he's wearing a black cap there is a space between the Mc and the rest of his name (Mc Graw). While on his other two cards his name is spelled with no space (McGraw).


Jantz

[Louieman]

Jantz, very very cool info! Did not know either of those things, especially with the wet sheet transfer on that particular factory for sweet caporal. Good to know that it doesn't affect it that much, or at all. How did you come across the fact that the wet sheet happens at f#42 very often? I'd be curious to know if there's a story behind that

[swarmee]

Also, when did they start adding half grades? You may have gotten a 3 because they didn't offer 3.5s at the time.

[glynparson]

Card looks absolutely properly graded. Tough to get any better than a 3 with that high level of corner wear add any creasing and a 3 is absolutely the best you should expect.

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by swarmee

Also, when did they start adding half grades? You may have gotten a 3 because they didn't offer 3.5s at the time.

IIRC, the half grades were incorporated after they started designating the advertising back on the flip. Since this card doesn't list "Sweet Caporal" on the flip, it was graded prior to the half grade system.

That said, I agree with the others that this probably wouldn't get the half grade bump if resubmitted because of the crease and corners.

[Jantz]

Originally Posted by Louieman

Jantz, very very cool info! Did not know either of those things, especially with the wet sheet transfer on that particular factory for sweet caporal. Good to know that it doesn't affect it that much, or at all. How did you come across the fact that the wet sheet happens at f#42 very often? I'd be curious to know if there's a story behind that

Well since you asked.

Years ago when I started collecting T206s, I purchased a group of raw nice looking commons with a DeVore being one of them.

At first I didn't notice the wet sheet transfer until months later when I purchased a nicer condition graded DeVore. While switching the two cards out in my storage box and had them both side by side, I noticed the transfer.

So that led me to doing a little research on some of the other cards with this back. After a while a pattern started to emerge on 9 player's cards.

With some help from other board members (Thank you Scot!), I was able to find 3 more players with the Sweet Caporal transfer bringing the total up to 12 players which I believe were printed on a sheet together.

Another interesting trait about these 12 players is that some of their cards with a different back (Tolstoi) also show wet sheet transfers. I will post a couple scans below to show you.

I should probably list the players.

Crandall (Portrait with cap)
DeVore
Duffy
Ford
Gandil
Geyer
Hummel
McGraw (glove on hip)
Pfeffer
Sheckard (glove shows)
Tannehill (Chi. no "L")
Wheat

Crandall is the hardest to find with the transfer. The red background makes it difficult to spot and only shows up on his jersey.

That's how I came across the transfer. I would like to note that other board members were very helpful. That's probably one of the best aspects about this board. Member's willingness to share their knowledge and experience.

Hope this answered your question Louie.

This might be the longest post I've ever typed.

Jantz

scans - McGraw (SC 460-42 wet sheet transfer) & McGraw (Tolstoi transfer)

[Louieman]

Definitely did, Jantz. Appreciate the long post! It's one of those things I've never really given the time of day to really think about, but hopefully I won't be able to help but notice/look for it in the future.

[ethicsprof]

great work, as usual.
thanks for sharing.
all the best,
barry