Grading Strip Cards

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Posted By: James Gallo

Ok so I know that PSA will give most cards a grade and just put hand cut on the label.

SGC apprently is much stricter about the size and what not. However I have seen many cards that are SGC graded and look worse then some cards that they would not give a number grade to.


What are the thoughts on how you can tell if a card was recently cut from a sheet or trimmed down.

I have some strips that have long boarders, ie there is some boarder beyond the dotted line. Should I cut these in order to get a number grade. Will SGC give cards with larger boarders grades?

Has anyone had experience with this. I only have a couple of strips graded and they didn't get a number grade because one side had a curve to the cut.

Any thoughts are welcome.

Thanks

James Gallo

Looking for 1915 Cracker Jacks and 1909-11 American Caramel E90-1.

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Posted By: Kyle

Hey James,

Its a crapshoot for getting numerical grades. I've seen SGCs that are terrible, and have had some AUTH SGCs cross to PSA. Then I've seen some PSA strips that are numerical but shouldn't be at all!

I'd be curious to see some of the ones you think desire numericals.

Take care,
Kyle

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Posted By: Paul

If you have a dotted cut line visable leave it that way. I sent in a couple W551's to SGC that measured full size with no crooked cuts, but they only graded AUT. I was told that they need to measure full size with the dotted cut line visable. However, I also have seen many SGC graded strips that are obviously too small. Strip cards are the one chink in SGC's armour in my opinion. Other than that they do a fine job. I personnaly think that even if a strip card measures small it should grade, but with no grade higher than for example, an SGC30. I'm not a fan of qualifiers, but a "cut small" qualifier would be needed, so it would be known why in some cases a strip with four sharp corners graded so low. Of course, cards that look like they got caught in a wood chipper should not grade at all.

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Posted By: Kyle

I don't like how you have to have the dotted/dashed lines. Technically, if you had a strip, and cut it up, leaving the lines on some cards, they'd be off of the others. Maybe some time in the future they'll grade them with or without the lines.

-Kyle-

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Posted By: fkw

This pisses me off...

This card was graded with a number, yet how could they have known it was not cut recently???



I have a few cards with this exact look (sharp, full borders) but they got "A" grades.

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Posted By: Gilbert Maines

Recently I have passed on bidding on PSA10 1952 Wheaties Musial cards (two of them). Not strip cards, but box cut outs. I passed because they were too perfect - no kid could have done that.

Then along comes a Lipsett offering of a '52 Wheaties Musial, about vg/ex, but the cut out including the Wheaties Ad below the picture (which the PSA10s did not have).

The 10s went for about $700., the unslabbed vg/ex <$100.

The grading companies imo are treading on ice here, which is cracking all around them. If you need a holder, go get your dotted line current perfecto. I want a card which was there.

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Posted By: Judge Dred (Fred)

Personally, just my opinion, I think any card that has to be hand cut should receive a designation of AUTH. I've seen cards that have had generous borders that were trimmed down to create a nicer looking card. Providing numerical grades to such cards only invites/tempts people to trim back cards with generous borders.

Also, I believe that a card (Zeenut, for example) that has had the coupon removed should at best receive an AUTH designation. I think it's ridiculous to give a grade of "SGC60" or "PSA5" to a card that has been grossly altered (coupon cut off). To me this is just basic common sense but the grading services seem to lack this common sense. Grading companies will not provide a card a numerical grade if they determine it was trimmed yet they'll assign a numerical grade to a card that they "should" know has been trimmed. I just don't get it.

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Posted By: James Gallo

Ok so this is what I am talking about.

Look at these Cobbs. The one on the far right has just a tiny bit of paper sticking off it.

The one in the middle has a slight slant to one side.

Both show the dotted lines on one side.




So my questions are. Should I just slightly trim the one on the far right.

Should I trim the one in the middle?

Whould they get a number grade as is? Thoughts.

I do agree that it is somewhat crazy how strips are graded and which one get the AUTH label and which ones get a number grade.

Thanks

James Gallo

Looking for 1915 Cracker Jacks and 1909-11 American Caramel E90-1.

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Posted By: Paul

I would not trim the one in the middle. From my experience, the card on the right has the best chance for a numerical grade. I probably wouldn't trim any of them, but the one on the right would be your best bet if you wanted to do that. It's hard to know what grading companies will do with strip cards. It would be nice to see their strip card policies clearly stated somewhere.

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Posted By: leon

There needs to be consistency in this area. I would think all strip cards should get an A.....that would go for any card with a coupon cut off too....but maybe that's too easy.....