Let’s see some cards that are hard to find centered

[Leon]

I love seeing nicely centered cards!!

[brianp-beme]

Originally Posted by Leon

I love seeing nicely centered cards!!

Oops! Sorry Leon. 1941 Goudey cards are usually ones that cause OCD centering/90 degree corner collectors to avert their eyes and move along to more brain calming sets.

Brian

[CW]

As another self-admitted "centering freak", it's interesting to see everyone's take on which cards are the toughest to find centered, and of course it's fun to see all the cards. Thanks for allowing some postwar cards on this side of the forum, Leon.

I do not own one, and I'm surprised this one hasn't been mentioned, but the 1952 Topps Eddie Mathews card is notoriously off center, if not miscut. This example was posted back in 2015 on the BST for just over $5K. Like a cheapskate, I sent the seller a slightly lower offer while someone else bought the card for asking price in the meantime. I am still kicking myself over this one, and I even saved a scan to remind myself about the opportunity lost. Talk about a cardboard unicorn:



Here's a few examples that were already mentioned, all picked up over the years with an attention to centering:







The Clemente RC isn't that tough

[Tomi]

Very happy to find these with great centering.

[CW]

Very nice, Tomi! That Clemente is beautiful.

[mrreality68]

These are hard to find centered and often time borders trimmed off

[D. Bergin]

Originally Posted by Snowman

As a few have mentioned, finding a centered Banks RC is extremely difficult. The design of the card has his name and team logo higher up than it is for other players. It's also commonly miscut to the top, which is a terrible combo for those seeking centered copies. The other challenge though with this card is that it's difficult to settle on what exactly a "centered" copy of it looks like. I have a complete set of 54 Topps that are all centered (a rather laborious project). I've had a few different copies of the Banks over the years which fit various definitions of "centered" for this card. The one I've landed on focuses more on how the top looks than the bottom (which is different from how I gauge centering on the other cards in this set). I think this looks best since it has a white background. If if had a colored background like most cards in the set, then I wouldn't pay as much attention to the top.

Finding a centered Hank Aaron RC from this set is also very difficult. Although the Kaline RC is extremely easy to find centered. It's probably the easiest card in the entire set to find centered for some reason.

Funny, even on the centered Banks Rookies, the font at the top of the card looks like it's flinching back from the oncoming cutting machine blades.

[DeanH3]

Nice '52 Bowman Chuck. Gotta be one of the toughest postwar cards to fond centered.

Ian - Love that '58 Topps Aaron. Not only is it centered, but a very clean green background to boot. That was a tough one to let go.

Here are a few post war that took me a while to find nicely centered.

[rugbymarine]

Originally Posted by DeanH3

Ian - Love that '58 Topps Aaron. Not only is it centered, but a very clean green background to boot. That was a tough one to let go.

Thanks, Dean. It’s one of my favorite cards.

[JimC]

Vast majority of these Gehrigs are off center.