Detecting Trimmed Cards

[T206Collector]

SGC Collector Magazine did a really nice piece on how to detect trimming on T206 cards.

The article described how T206 cards out of the factory do not have sharp edges -- and what I mean by "edges" is when you hold a card perpendicular to you, looking only at the edge so you cannot see either the face or the reverse, you should notice that the angles from face to edge and then again from edge to reverse are not both 90 degree angles. The edges are ever so slightly beveled. On a trimmed edge, you would have 90 degree angles on both face- and reverse-to-edge angles.

Moreover, what you should do with every raw T206 card you buy is examine all four edges without looking at the face or reverse. You will see that the edges are not perfectly flat. You may notice striations and light paper irregularities. On a trimmed edge, the entire edge will look uniform in texture and color.

Finally, obvious trims are evident from things like looking at the flow of the edge while looking at the card's face. When you cut something with a scissor, you will not have a factory-straight line. And, check for even corner wear on all four edges. And note that if you take a rounded corner and trim both edges that form the corner, you will often be left with what is affectionately known as a "bat ear," which is a strangely shaped corner that has strong wear on the tip, but absolutely no wear on the edges leading up to the tip.

Get your hands on that SGC Collector Magazine article. It is really quite educational.