Please help settle a FB debate. Was the T206 Wagner EVER made with a Piedmont back?

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by 53toppscollector

My biggest issue with the Gretzky Wagner is that the way it is graded is simply not correct. There are tons of T206s available to buy that are clearly hand cut/printers scrap, including all of the Old Mill SL Browns. Everyone knows those cards are printers scrap, they get PSA A or SGC A grades, and they still command an absolute fortune because they are incredibly rare. The Gretzky Wagner should be graded a PSA A, and because of its provenance and story, it would still command an astronomical figure.

Absolutely agree. It would command an astronomical figure today. The problem was that back in 1991, or whenever PSA first slabbed it - professional grading was brand new, and there were a lot of unknowns. There was a lot of speculation that it would only be worth a fraction of the estimate if PSA officially called it altered or only "Authentic", and I think the fears there won out. One grader even admitted that he knew it was trimmed, (hand cut) but he wasn't going to call it that because it would be "bad for the hobby."

It would be interesting to see what PSA would do about that card now if it's owner (Ken Kendrick of the Arizona Diamondbacks...) ever called them on it. The provenance is bulletproof at this point; Mastro got caught admitting on a wire recording that he had indeed cut the card from a sheet. I'm not sure how even PSA today could make a claim with a straight face that it deserves to be in a PSA 8 holder.