how much will it bring?

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Posted By: Corey R. Shanus

Hal, let's get away from the privity question and focus on the dating question. In the Olbermann case, as I understand it, the T206 Doyle at issue was ALTERED and SGC missed it. So they paid damages to the person WHO SUBMITTED THE CARD TO THEM. That's not to say they wouldn't have paid damages to a subsequent purchaser; but that was not what happened there.

However, assuming you're correct and a grading company won't use the privity argument as a defense (either because they want to maintain business good will in the marketplace or because they think it has dubious legal merit), I'm still curious to know if there are any known instances of any grading company paying damages for a misdated card. That to me is the most relevant question in the case of the Reccius Wagner, and it remains my view that it would be a difficult legal case to bring, all the more so because PSA can probably establish that they exercised appropriate due care in doing their research and giving the card a date that at the time everybody agreed with.

In saying all this, I want to again reiterate that I'm not saying that the Reccius Wagner does not in fact date to the late 1890s. It very well might. I just feel that any prospective purchaser should buy the card based on a comfort level that it does date to that period, and not base his/her comfort level on the belief that if it is ever proven to date to a later period, PSA either will voluntarily make restitution or be compeled to do so legally.

edited a subsequent time due to Sloate correction