High grade cards in the 70's-mid 80's.

[glynparson]

in 1979 and i remember seeing high grade cards from the beginning. In fact i remember some gorgeous t206 cards. Some make it sound like these cards are everywhere in high grade today, I don't see that.

[swarmee]

Agreed; my experience with the T51 college series set (same timeframe, lighter cardstock) is that cards come in all conditions, but the ones in the top conditions are rare (and still are). That's why the ones in EX-MT and above garner such high premiums over the VG cards.

I thought I was doomed to a mid-grade set of T51s until Kit Young posted a complete set from VG-EX to NM on eBay and I snatched it up. These cards look amazing, and only one from the grouping was considered trimmed by PSA. It was a high-grade set that a single collector had accumulated over time and was new to market. So while not exactly the same, many parallels.

[steve B]

The really great condition cards were always out there. I wasn't picky at all about condition, and a couple of my T206s bought back then did pretty well when I got them graded. (80-84) Prewar cards in great condition weren't exactly easy, but were there to be had. cards from the late 40's and newer? Really nice ones were everywhere, but there weren't as many people who obsessed over condition. Grading has created a big divide between "nice" cards, those that are ex today, and the really nice cards, todays 8-10s. Pretty much everything between say a 6 and 10 today was ex-mt from most dealers. (or MT from the very lax graders among them)

Steve B

[Tao_Moko]

Originally Posted by glynparson

in 1979 and i remember seeing high grade cards from the beginning. In fact i remember some gorgeous t206 cards. Some make it sound like these cards are everywhere in high grade today, I don't see that.

Good point. We are more exposed to the higher grade cards, but they are still far from the majority.

[Pilot172000]

I see highly grade cards here and on EBay all the time, but it's because they stand out. They aren't the norm but when you do see them you remember it. We don't remember the gobs and gobs of middle to lower grade cards because they don't set off our radar.