Why would anybody do this?

[icollectDCsports]

Originally Posted by wnp22

This kills me. While we're on the subject, I hate seeing jersey/bat cards of prewar players, guys that we just don't have to many full pieces of left. I mean, I get it from the card company's point of view, but I die a little inside every time I see a Cobb bat card or Ruth jersey card.

I'm not saying this in connection with any particular card issuer, but generally I question the authenticity of a lot of the items cut up and put in those cards. A lot goes into determining the authenticity of items purported to be game worn or game used. There are any factors to consider for a given player, team, and era. Even if you don't follow the game worn niche of the hobby, you can see how difficult it is do to this just from skimming through some of the relatively few threads concerning authenticity in the Game Used forum here.

If you're a card company, you pretty much destroy the ability of others to evaluate authenticity when you cut the thing up or saw it into pieces, so you can call it whatever you want. And your bottom line is the guiding factor, so why put time, effort, and expense into detailed analyses of each item when the evidence is basically going to be destroyed anyway? People can collect what they want and, for some people, such items convey a sense of connection with the player notwithstanding the issues I mention. For others, it's just about the chase card aspect of these special issues. As for me, I'm not a fan of these cards, whether or not some of the items are legitimate.