Trimming - How common?

[Gmrson]

Originally Posted by vintagetoppsguy

If you suspect the Clemente of being trimmed, pay close attention to the top border. If it is trimmed, that's where I suspect it will be.

Look at the bottom border of your card. See how the bottom border tilts upwards as you look at it from left to right? In other words, you have more bottom border on the right side of the card than you do on the left side of the card? Typically (but not always), when you see a border like the, the opposite border should have the same characteristic. In other words, the top border should slope slightly too. However, yours doesn't. It is straight across. That would concern me. I'm not saying it's trimmed, but that's where I would start to look if you suspect it of being trimmed.

Look at this Clemente on eBay. See how the bottom border slopes upwards from left to right. Then look at the top border and you can see the same slope(but in the opposite direction). In other words, the bottom of the card has more border on the right side of the card than it does on the left side of the card, but the top of the card has more border on the left side of the card than it does on the right. Make sense?

Now look at the two sides. See how the left border slopes? You have more border near the bottom than near the top. Now see how the right border slopes. It's just the opposite, you have more border on the top than on the bottom.

My point is, when one border slopes the opposite border should usually (again, not always) slope too.

Thanks so much for the "education"! I only noticed the difference in the top and bottom "angle" cuts recently. I would have never thought about looking at the sides with a stack of the same year but when I did that with a loupe, I not only noticed a minor difference in the grain, I also saw the top of the card sloped down ever so slightly so the glossy front caught the light when looking at the top side in a stack of cards. I appreciate you taking the time to share your knowledge.