1952 pafko question

[steve B]

Originally Posted by sago

How many 52 Pafko's, or any other cars for that matter, have been listed with a "rubberband" mark designation? How many cards have telltale dents in the center of the borders? An urban myth for sure. I don't doubt the relative scarcity; just the reason for it.

Rubber band damage isn't always dents. And isn't a qualifier with TPG. It's also something most sellers won't mention, the overall grade covering it.

This one was obviously rubber banded for a long enough time for the band to break down, leaving a nice diagonal stain and a bit of paperloss.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1952-Topps-1...ht_1215wt_1399

This one has no dents or stains, but does have a group of fine creases at the left center area that's not unusual for a top card of a banded stack. it gets snagged, or sticks out and gets pulled a bit rougher and gets creased. Not guaranteed to be from banding, but likely given the decent corners.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1952-TOPPS-A...item232c7f75b3

This one has teltale worn sections near the middle of the sides. Usually caused by loose banding, allowing the cards to slide against the band.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1952-Topps-1...ht_1826wt_1399

This one has obvious water damage at the lower right. Probably from being face down too close to a spill, or simply spilled on.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1952-Topps-1...#ht_818wt_1399

Those are just a few exaples from the roughly 75 or so on ebay right now. There were maybe 5 others with similar damage, but worse scans, and probably half of the cards listed have scans too poor to make out the details.

So 9 out of 75, or at best 12% with the sort of damage expected from bands or being on the top or bottom of a stack. drop out the half with bad scans, and the higher grade cards, and it gets closer to 30%.

As Jamie and Adam would say.....confirmed!

Steve B

[Volod]

Originally Posted by steve B

Rubber band damage isn't always dents. And isn't a qualifier with TPG. It's also something most sellers won't mention, the overall grade covering it.
So 9 out of 75, or at best 12% with the sort of damage expected from bands or being on the top or bottom of a stack. drop out the half with bad scans, and the higher grade cards, and it gets closer to 30%.

As Jamie and Adam would say.....confirmed!

Steve B

Good points, Steve - and would not that percentage climb even higher considering the total number of rubber-banded Pafkos that have probably just been discarded over the years due to the horrified reactions of condition-obsessive dealers and collectors who came upon them?

[ZenPop]

...Pafko watched Bobby Thomson's Shot Heard 'Round the World sail over his head... Pafko At The Wall... title of the mini-novel excerpted from Don Delillo's Underworld.