E-Unc. Ty Cobb slabbed by GAI.

[Archive]

Posted By: warshawlaw

both appear to be derived from Philadelphia Caramel cards (E95 baseball and E79 boxing) and both have different chunks of the ad on the back. I don't think it is caramel, though--the ad looks like it is for a chain of candy/soda shops. Given the fact that the ad loses all utility once cut down, I'd think that the sheet was not initially meant to be cut up, like an advertising poster or A17 page, or Dan's cards that SGC refused to grade. That said, it does look like the collecting community is accepting these items as cards, as in the case of Dan's items.

Given the uncertainty over its origins and its apparent status as a piece of something larger that may not have been meant to be cut up, I am surprised that Global would slab it as an uncatalogued E issue. Des this mean that they would slab a cut from an A & G album page or CJ poster, as to me it would be dangerously close to slabbing a cutout from a Whitmans or Spalding guide and we all seem to deride those "Huffenstein's" Monster items. Of course, that (re)opens the entire philosophical issue of whether there is really an appreciable difference between slabbing such an item accurately described and slabbing a page from a Spalding guide accurately described, what is it, and why is it a problem. And before everyone jumps on me about "now you are taking Huff's side", no, I am opening up the idea of where to draw the line. Should we be concerned if a slabbing service says tomorrow "hey, let's authenticate magazine ads since some people like and collect them"--which they do? Could they perhaps slab or authenticate a Harper's woodcut or a leaf from Edwards' 1895 boxing book (which is often found cut up because the large-sized leaves from the book look so great framed; I have one in my office)?