Question about high end graded cards being trimmed

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Posted By: Dave

I too sometimes question the different grading companies when it comes to trimmed cards. It's not too hard to measure a T206 card and then look at it under magnification to tell it's been trimmed by someone who isn't sophisticated. Unfortunately there is a lot of money to be made by selling Tobacco cards that have been trimmed or altered. It's my experience that there are an awful lot of trimmed T206 cards being sold on the market today. Some knowingly....others unknowingly. Back in the mid 90's my brother and I bought about 47 T206 cards from what we thought was a reputable auction company ( I will not name the name of the company here, but they are no longer in business). Now that we have submittd them all to PSA for grading I can report that 17 of the cards were returned ungraded due to evidence of trimming. 5 cards were hall of famers, 5 were southern leaguers, and the rest were commons. So I am now suspect of T206 cards that grade 7 or higher. I have to think that graders give "T" cards like the T206's more scrutiny due to the fact that the cutting machines of the time were inprecise...meaning that some miscutting at the factory resulted.
to answer one of Joann's questions; yes there are very sophisticated and precise cutting and trimming machines on the market. there not too pricey for the average crook to purchase, so that means almost anyone with a little money and time and patience can start doing it. There is a flea marketer at the Ceasar's creek flea market near where I live that trims "T"cards right in his stall in front of other people. The machine he uses is laser guided !! I don't know what he does with them after he trims them, but he could put them on Ebay. I believe Ebay has become the dumping ground for everyones crap, and for the crooked guys trimmed cards. I purchased a card on Ebay last week, got it in the mail and discovered that it was obviously trimmed. I told the seller about it, and he let me keep the card and gave me my money back. I usually destroy trimmed cards so that they never end up in circulation again, but this card was not a common player so I will end up framing it with other trimmed and altered cards I have.
just my 2 cents worth folks