If You Collect Scorecards or Programs, Show 'em Here!

[jethrod3]

No new scorecard to show at the moment, but definitely something about scorecards to talk about...

I noticed that one company that grades comic books had been grading and slabbing Sports Illustrated mags for some time, much like comic books. But I had never, until very recently, noticed that they are also grading and slabbing scorecards! Perhaps I have been living under a rock for some time! When did any company start doing this?

I have not noticed many examples of graded/slabbed scorecards. Those that I've seen I've just happened to stumble on by chance (one that comes to mind is up for bid in an auction I was browsing through earlier today). But the things that I found most amazing are that 1) there was no description by the TPG as to whether the scorecard was filled out, and 2) the grading system has nothing to do with how a card might be graded. The grading system seems pretty lenient compared to cards, as no torn/tattered card I have ever seen would escape with a grade of 3. But for scorecards, it looks like a whole different ballgame. I also wonder whether the lack of mentioning of scored vs. unscored is a statement to the effect that it doesn't matter, although all scorecard collectors will tell you that they'd prefer a scorecard that is neatly scored vs scoring done with very poor penmanship and that is unintelligible.

So...the million-dollar question would be whether the majority of scorecard collectors will now make a move to grade and slab at least some of their scorecards if the pricing is not too outrageous. Of course, while the right slabbed scorecards may bring top dollar, the trade-off would be that a collector would no longer be able to experience the enjoyment of opening and gazing at the inside of that scorecard again.