A different take on centering

[GeoPoto]

I expect the trend to be toward prizing cards with more (overall) border ahead of perfect centering. For example, two cards same grade: Card 1 is perfectly centered with medium to narrow margins all around; and Card 2 is centered a little high and right. But Card 2 has two sides that have borders very similar to Card 1 and two borders that are bigger, hence the off center. Wouldn't you suspect Card 1 is perfectly centered because it was trimmed,
making Card 2 more attractive because it wasn't?

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[LincolnVT]

I agree that centering does and should bring a priemium. Many of the BSF E98s that were untouched for over 100 years can even be found with severe off-centering / issues. That said, a few appear to have perfect centering, corners and registration. Very rare to find pre war cards with these attributes.

[HercDriver]

If one of my cards is off-centered, I just move over a bit. The registry thing usually goes away after I wake up and take the bottles out to the recycling.

[gawaintheknight]

Maybe this is just me, but: my thing has always been that if it's a flaw that happened before it came out of a pack, like wax stains or centering or print lines, then it's less concerning to me than if it's a flaw that happened afterwards, like creasing or writing or surface wear. I'll take better centering over worse if that's the only difference, but as a general principle that's what I work with.

[ValKehl]

Originally Posted by gawaintheknight

Maybe this is just me, but: my thing has always been that if it's a flaw that happened before it came out of a pack, like wax stains or centering or print lines, then it's less concerning to me than if it's a flaw that happened afterwards, like creasing or writing or surface wear. I'll take better centering over worse if that's the only difference, but as a general principle that's what I work with.

Plus 1.

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by GeoPoto

I expect the trend to be toward prizing cards with more (overall) border ahead of perfect centering. For example, two cards same grade: Card 1 is perfectly centered with medium to narrow margins all around; and Card 2 is centered a little high and right. But Card 2 has two sides that have borders very similar to Card 1 and two borders that are bigger, hence the off center. Wouldn't you suspect Card 1 is perfectly centered because it was trimmed,
making Card 2 more attractive because it wasn't?

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Interesting point. I think it will depend on the issue. For example 1967 Topps cards when perfectly centered (virtually impossible to find that also without tilt, but I digress..) are a good example of your Card 1. The white edges are a bit thinner than the garden variety vintage Topps set without a full-bleed border - compare them, say - to 1958 Topps. The borders on '58s are thicker. So with all the recent alteration / fraud hoopla - how are collectors to regard that rare, perfectly centered '67 card that might have PSA 8 or higher quality corners? I would agree with you there will likely be a lot more suspicion of trimming. In that regard - having never been a true centering freak to start with - I can live with some issues which in time to come might make a card seem more apt to be unaltered. I picked up a '67 Mantle #150 today that is sharp, but centered slightly toward the bottom and right. It's off maybe somewhere between 70/30 and 75/25 side to side. I'm over it. Time was a card like that would have bothered me, but anymore it just doesn't. Overall it's still a pretty solid EX-MT.

[bnorth]

I borrowed this pic from another thread. I would take this Aaron card over one perfectly centered in the same condition any day of the week.

Centering means almost nothing to me. Just no major creases or paper loss though the players face and I am OK.

[oldjudge]

For me, most important is the appearance of the image area. Clarity, surface abrasions or creases are big negatives, especially if they impact the player’s face. These same faults on the borders mean much less. To me, east-west centering is very important, north-south less so. Corners don’t mean a lot and back damage, especially on blank back cards, means virtually nothing. I’m picky on cards where I have multiple copies to choose from. On many things I collect the cards are rare and then I take what I can get and upgrade if a better copy comes along.

[DeanH3]

I'm still a centering snob and I don't expect that to change. Give me soft corners and centered any day.

[Popcorn]

never cared about centered cards or even the condition for the longest time

it kind of reminds me of the modern guys chasing the exact same looking card with a number or different color on it and paying astronomical amounts of money for it

[Bigdaddy]

Originally Posted by DeanH3

Give me soft corners and centered any day.

Like Dean, I'll generally take centering over soft corners, the ratio increasing rapidly the older a card is. Good registration though, is a must-have. I can't stand a blurry card. The '57 Topps seemed particularly prone to registration issues - I think it seems more noticeable on cards on which the players are full-posed, rather than a cloeseup; I guess because the details are much smaller. I also found registration hard on the some of the '62 Topps.

[JunkyJoe]

I don't mind if a card is horizontally O/C up to 90/10, especially if the lower border is the thinner one. It's the vertically O/C cards that have less eye appeal, for me anyway. Vertically 65/35 or better is no prob, but any more than that and it's a no-deal for me. As for corners and edges, I don't mind rounded corners and scuffed edges on pre-70's cards. A light crease or two, no prob. However, register/focus/surface cleanliness are huge for me. The card could be centered 50/50 with perfect corners and edges, but if the player's face is blurred or there's obvious stains or print imperfections, then the eye appeal is lost for me.