grading advise

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Posted By: Adam

Hey I know this doesn't fall under the umbrella of "pre-WWII" but I have looked everywhere and haven't found any help...

I have a 1987 Topps Mark McGwire card with a rare twist. The front of the card resembles the normal card that was issued, but the back is a completely different story. The back lists Rick Honeycutt's name and stats. Clearly this is an error card, but I have not found this misprint listed in Beckett or anywhere online for that matter. The card is in mint condition, but I need advice on where to have it graded or if anyone has seen or heard of this misprinted card before. Please help.

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Posted By: marshall barkman

His cards have declined so bad that even if you get a gem mint 10 no one will care. If you are not a member of a grading company then head to your local baseball card shop and have them submit the card for you. They will also advise you where it should go.

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Posted By: Fred C

Adam,

Get that shiney crap out of this forum... ok, just kidding. I can't believe I'm going to say this but... send it to PSA because they encapsulate a lot of new and shiney stuff. After it comes back from PSA please report back and let us all know if the label indicates:

1987 Topps Mark McGwire error
1987 Topps Rick Honeycut error
or
1991 Stadium Club Brett Favre

Do me a favor, mail it to Rick Honeycutt and ask him to sign the front of the card, then mail it to Mark McGwire and ask him to sign the back of the card. Submit it to PSA and see what happens...

Good luck -

Seriously, most people here (including me) would tell you to use SGC but in this case PSA sounds like the right choice because it is relatively new.

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Posted By: Brian T.

There were several error cards from that set where a different player was listed on the back than was shown on the front. The common McGwire/Honeycutt error card shows Honeycutt on the front, but lists McGwire's statistics on the back. They are regularly on eBay. One is now, in fact, with no bids at $0.99. I would be surprised if the card turned out to be worth a premium and would be more surprised if you were able to recoup your grading fees by its sale. Having said that, Beckett (BGS) is probably the leader in encapsulating more modern cards(shiny stuff). 1987 is on the threshold where PSA may be more common. In terms of the most respectable slab (to gain the value with an respected grade) for the money, I would use Beckett. If you know someone who is a member of PSA, then they can submit it to them. It would not be worth it to join PSA for that card. All in all, if you are set in your mind about having the card encapsulated (slabbed) for whatever reason, BGS, PSA, and SGC are all respected. All three have made mistakes and will be slammed in forums for them, but for safety and resale, any of the three would be the best fine. They all have different strengths and price points. Good luck.