Washington T206 Mini-Set Comparison to High-Grade Competitor

[GeoPoto]

(Scoreboard so far: My Cards 8, H/R cards 1, with 1 tie.)

Card 11: William D. "Dolly" Gray. Pitcher for the Washington Senators in 1909-1911. 15 wins in 3 MLB seasons. Holds MLB record for walks allowed in an inning (8) and for consecutive walks allowed (7). In 1911, he threw the first pitch in Griffith Stadium and got the win over Smoky Joe Wood. Surprisingly, before joining the Senators in 1909 at the age of 30, he had enough success in the minors that he is a member of the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame.

Dolly Gray Sweet Caporal 350-30: Gray T206 cards are common (PSA-509). PSA has graded three Gray T206 cards at PSA 8, none higher. The Gray T206 card is in Print Group 2.

Heritage/Rounders Entry: The H/R card is graded PSA 8. It presents a beautiful, clear image. It has sharp edges and corners. The back is okay with moderate fading. Having said all that, this is a very odd card. Having graded this card a PSA 8, presumably PSA convinced itself that this top border appears just as it did when it left the factory. Seems strange to me. I think I understand how some T206 come with top and bottom edges that have been "factory cut" with a "slant", meaning the cut lines, though parallel themselves, are not parallel to the edges of the card's image. I assume this results from the sheet being out of alignment during the cut. This card violates two rules about opposing cut lines that I would have expected: that they would be parallel to each other, and that they would be straight. The top edge of this card violates both rules. The top edge is not parallel with the bottom edge, and it appears to "change direction" during the cut, soaring up to the right. On top of that, the card is centered low, left. Also, while the top-to-bottom borders may be plausible despite the odd cut, the left-to-right borders are tight.

My Entry: Here we have a very humble card that was given a grade of PSA 2. It shows moderate wear to the surface, the edges, and the corners. The surface has several small blemishes. The card is centered well, though slightly to the left. The borders are good. The back is centered high with moderate fading and staining.

Comparison: The bizarre top edge and the lousy centering put me off the H/R card entirely. The wear shown by my card does not ruin its appearance, at least to my eye. The surface blemishes are a negative. I like a lot about my card though and would be reluctant to upgrade it to any card that was not at least as endowed with strong centering and wide borders.

My conclusion: There is no case I can make for the H/R card. Even if someone explained how an individual card could come from the factory with a cut like that, the centering is poor enough that I would prefer my card. My card is well used and a candidate for further upgrade, but, until then, it stands tall, and I am proud of it.

The bottom line: If we ignore resale value, I would not trade my card for the H/R card. The H/R card looks freakish to me. My card, on the other hand, looks nice, although a little tired and weary. Okay, very tired and weary, but also very plausible.

Additional Dolly Gray Fun Fact: Despite a career record of 15-51, he pitched 46 complete games.