PSA Grading of Strip cards

[RayBShotz]

Anyone have any experience with PSA lately in grading strip cards; W examples specifically.
How are they generally treating cards:
1. Torn from the strip
2 uneven edge cuts
3 oversized

Trying to avoid authentic grade if possible if I were to submit.
I’ve seen plenty of older PSA slabs with one or more of the above features in holders with numeric grades.
Is it fair to say their tendencies are still the same on obviously hand cut cards or have they been opting for more often now the authentic designation?
Thoughts (other than don’t submit in the first place and leave them raw)😉
I’ll look forward to your thoughtful comments on your experiences.
Thanks
RayB

[bigfanNY]

Ray I have had a number of Strip cards graded by Both PSA and SGC both have very different standards now vs years ago. I think 2006 was the first batch I sent in W510 W514 W519 etc with most of not all of the cards having "Hand Cut on the Flip. Another fairly large batch in 2013 - 2015 Mostly W514's and W519's and a couple recently including a W519 Ruth. In order to receive a number grade now the card needs to match up ( or be bigger ) than the listed standard size for the issue. Or if dotted lines are part of issue they need to be present. Rough edges are going to hurt grade but shouldn't cause an Auth grade on their own.
This is VERY different from years ago but good luck, nice examples are still treated fairly but rules are much tighter now.
J

[gunboat82]

Originally Posted by RayBShotz

Anyone have any experience with PSA lately in grading strip cards; W examples specifically.
How are they generally treating cards:
1. Torn from the strip
2 uneven edge cuts
3 oversized

Trying to avoid authentic grade if possible if I were to submit.
I’ve seen plenty of older PSA slabs with one or more of the above features in holders with numeric grades.
Is it fair to say their tendencies are still the same on obviously hand cut cards or have they been opting for more often now the authentic designation?
Thoughts (other than don’t submit in the first place and leave them raw)😉
I’ll look forward to your thoughtful comments on your experiences.
Thanks
RayB

I've complained about this elsewhere, but I'll gripe here too. PSA is very inconsistent with its grading of strip cards. A couple very general observations:

1) The old standards were looser than the current standards.
2) Even under the current standards, numeric grading of strip cards is arbitrary and depends on which underpaid, overworked graders you happen to draw.

The 1926 W511 Unnumbered set doesn't have dotted lines and the individual cards are smaller than some of their numbered counterparts. The Lindbergh below received a PSA 6; the Ruth didn't qualify for a numeric grade (minimum size not met).

lf copy.jpeg
1926 W511 Ruth PSA Front.jpg

For the W512 panels below, the first one has vibrant color, but received a 3 even though the upper right corner is torn, leaving very little border. The second one is faded and received a 4, presumably for its sharp corners, but the bottom border was cut unevenly, encroaching on the border that separated the Ruth from the row beneath it. Another grader could easily have slapped an Authentic grade on this one.

W512 PSA 3.jpeg
Busted PSA 4 W512 Strip.jpeg

[Leon]

I sort of shake my head at highly graded, true strip cards. To each their own. It's all good.

Here are a few raw ones. They would probably grade AUT because they are Authentic. Even ones with pointy corners, still AUT to me....but again, to each their own.
That all said, of course, nicely cut ones without creases look better than ragged ones. Here are a few ragged ones. The cards are about the same size but one scan is a lot larger than the other. I like ones with the Decalco print ads on them too....it's the little things...

[Vintagedeputy]

I can’t speak to what PSA is doing these days, but I can show you recent examples from SGC.

[RayBShotz]

Interesting. That tear actually bites into the frame of the image so authentic seems right in that case.
RayB

[Vintagedeputy]

Originally Posted by RayBShotz

Interesting. That tear actually bites into the frame of the image so authentic seems right in that case.
RayB

That was my first submission of strip cards to SGC so I used those two cards as a test to see how they would view cards in similar condition.