UGH! My vent regarding PSA, 4sharp corners, and Topps Desert Shield

[4reals]

So, anyone who's familiar with the Topps '91 Set knows about the F. Valenzuela ERR & CORR variations. What isn't entirely clear is whether both of those variations found their way in the Desert Shield set. Without a shadow of a doubt the CORR variation (with a diamond after the 104 earned runs in the 1990 stat line) exists. I own a few, they're everywhere. I have yet to actually see an ERROR version (no diamond) in all my years of searching. Frustrated with my search about three years ago I contact Topps and actually get to speak with one of their historians who say no errors should exist in the desert shield set because it was produced later after all the corrections had been made. Great! I had an answer! And I subsequently crossed it off my want list for good - or so I thought. One day about a month ago as I'm perusing the PSA pop reports I discovered this little tidbit in the Desert Shield pop report:



Apparently, according to PSA, the Valenzuela error does exist and they have graded and slabbed 27 of them. Well this threw me for a loop...was the Topps historian wrong? Did I even speak to a Topps historian? Perhaps it was just the Topps janitor having a little fun with me. So, back on my want list went the error card and my hunt began again. It only took me three weeks to find one this time around, and who of all people had one? 4 sharp corners of course! It was graded a psa8 (which didn't matter to me - I was just happy to find one) and in all its glory it read there in the label - NO DIAMOND!



So I swooped it up last week and got it in the mail today...only to discover...PSA freakin' labeled it incorrectly! What?! There on the back of the card, very clearly, is that blasted diamond, ugh!



What's up with 4SC? Don't they inspect their cards before selling? So now I'm left wondering if all 27 were labeled incorrectly by PSA or just this one? I called them up and of course they couldn't tell me one way or the other. All I can do is shoot them some scans, return this card to 4SC and decide whether or not I'm going to keep this relentless search alive.

[4reals]

I know it's kinda lame to respond to your own post before anyone else does but another thought just came to mind. PSA doesn't put notations like NO DIAMOND on their labels unless the submitter requests it on the submission form, right? It appears as though PSA is grading cards too fast to meet their deadlines and isn't double checking the accuracy of what is being written on the submission forms.

[cardinalcollector]

I think it would be very unusual for Topps to make both variations of ANY card in the Desert Shield set. They didn't even make checklists with the Desert Shield emblem on it. I would bet all of the PSA cards listing the variations are in error.

[HasselhoffsCheeseburger]

Something tells me there isn't as much scrutiny applied to a 4SC submission as there would be to someone who doesn't send them a billion cards a year. They probably just go straight from the box to the slabbing process.

[4reals]

Originally Posted by HasselhoffsCheeseburger

Something tells me there isn't as much scrutiny applied to a 4SC submission as there would be to someone who doesn't send them a billion cards a year. They probably just go straight from the box to the slabbing process.

You said what I was thinking.

[DaClyde]

If SCD's reported production numbers are correct, PSA has graded more 1985 Chong Modesto Mark McGwire cards than were actually produced in the first place. Like Beckett, they'll grade anything you throw at them.