If you were to start a NEW grading service...

[Theo_450]

I didn't read all of the posts.

My card grading company would have 3 categories.
1. Authentic Original
2. Authentic Altered = soaked, trimmed, erased, marked, restored, otherwise tampered with.
3. Fake

Let the buyers decide value/demand.

At the end of the day, it is what it is, and they are what they are, and the grading companies are a middleman that are capitalizing on telling us what "it" is.

I want to know that it is authentic and unaltered, or otherwise. My eyes can do the rest.

After all, it is art and nostalgia. It is kind of like buying an antique coffee table.

Refinished = < value, faked = NO value, and "came from my family" = "I bet you made that up".

edited to add: I just read a few more posts, and I feverishly stand by my concept. Don't let the grading companies dictate what you will collect, or how much you will pay for it.