What exactly IS high grade?

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Posted By: Ryan Christoff

I can understand why a collector would want to collect the best cards in the highest grades, but I was thinking about this idea that "high grade" has to mean PSA or SGC graded 7 or higher. My question for high grade collectors is, do you really only collect cards in no less than 7 (or 8 or whatever), or is there room in your collections for cards that are 3s and 4s when that's the highest grade that exists for that particular issue?

I have no problem with someone only wanting cards in 7 or better, just like I have no problem with someone collecting William Orsatti cards. This post is not meant to judge the way anyone collects. I am actually just curious because there are many great issues that are either so rare, or so condition-sensitive, that no card could ever meen the minimum grade requirement of some collectors. Does that mean they would never collect a card from that issue?

Obviously, just because something is graded 7 or higher, it doesn't mean it's high grade. Just like it doesn't automatically mean it's trimmed.

The concept I'm talking about is a pretty basic one that I'm sure we can all understand. Certain cards aren't hard to find near-mint or mint examples of. And certain cards are literally impossible to find even EX examples of, making VG-EX the highest possible condition. I would argue for cards to be viewed on a "curve," so to speak. Normally, a 9 would be an "A". But when there are no 9s, the next highest example would become the "A" since there isn't anything above that.

I guess this is a long-winded way of asking high grade collectors, do you view it in a similar way, or do you have absolutes such as "NOTHING less than a 7, no matter what."?

I make no judgement either way, but am interested in the subject matter since most of what I personally collect is impossible to find in grades like 7 or 8.

To be clear, I'm not particularly interested in hearing from low grade (a.k.a. "true") collectors who collect low grade because they can't afford high grade. It seems like some people have a lot of bitterness about the collecting habits of others, and I can't help but wonder if there isn't more to that, like maybe being envious of the wealth and means some guys have to spend on cards. I can't afford that stuff either, but it doesn't bug me that others do. I wish I had that kind of cash, but I don't. Not accusing anyone specifically, so no need to post here to defend yourself. I'm really not attacking anyone. Isn't it sad that I need to put all those disclaimers in there in order to give this thread a shot at staying on-topic? That's a rhetorical question.

Here's a better illustration of what I'm talking about. One of the cards below is high grade and one is not. In fact, one is the highest graded example from that particular issue. Which is which?



-Ryan