Newbie mistake - what is wrong with my Clemente rookie?

[bigfanNY]

I agree with last post. I asked this question last year at the national in A.C. and was told that for the most part altered stock qualifiers ment that the card was pressed either on purpose or by a screw down case. I had a number of 80's rookies come back this way ( Montana, Gwynn, McGwire etc) and I had removed them from heavy screw down cases. PSA rep showed me where you could see a very light surface wrinkle had been flattened. I can't see it without magnification but that is what I would look for on your Clemente.

[dplath]

Send it to SGC. Their customer service is great. If they don't give it a numerical grade they'd be willing to talk to you on the phone as to why.

[MCoxon]

Originally Posted by dplath

Send it to SGC. Their customer service is great. If they don't give it a numerical grade they'd be willing to talk to you on the phone as to why.

I think this is good advice.

I just bought a 54 Wilson Franks Feller in BVG 5.5, mainly because I couldn’t find a PSA priced right. When I bought it a few days ago, my plan was to submit to PSA, stillin the BVG holder, requesting a minimum 5 grade; but it may be a good candidate for SGC. I’ve also recently grown to really like their customer service and their slabs.

But to be honest, I fear that one of the earliest posts on this thread is spot on: if you want it in a PSA holder, buy it in a PSA holder

[toledo_mudhen]

Exactly why I have stopped buying vintage in BGS Slabs - Way too many issues when trying to cross to either SGC or PSA. They should really stick to what they know - grading the chrome plated shiny shit.....

[Stampsfan]

Originally Posted by toledo_mudhen

...chrome plated shiny shit.....

I think I just picked up a new term in my vocabulary, for new cards. Or CPSS for short.

[Harford20]

Originally Posted by bigfanNY

I agree with last post. I asked this question last year at the national in A.C. and was told that for the most part altered stock qualifiers ment that the card was pressed either on purpose or by a screw down case. I had a number of 80's rookies come back this way ( Montana, Gwynn, McGwire etc) and I had removed them from heavy screw down cases. PSA rep showed me where you could see a very light surface wrinkle had been flattened. I can't see it without magnification but that is what I would look for on your Clemente.

I just received a 1954 card back from PSA with this N5-Altered Stock non-graded rating. I have not owned the card but for the last few years, so do not know if it had previously been placed in a screw-down case. I cannot see any "wrinkles" that may have been flattened. A friend mentioned that maybe the card corners are "flatter" due to the screw-down. If the corners have been thinned due to prolonged pressure, is there anyway to salvage this card? Will the card "re-form" over time? Any thing I need to do to save this card or do I just replace it?
Dave

[swarmee]

Altered stock could also mean recolored or erased, or heavy amounts of gloss removed. Doesn't mean the card doesn't look nice raw. PSA could pass it on a future submission or you could send it to BGS or SGC.

[JollyElm]

Say you had a corner that came slightly separated from the underlying cardboard. In other words, the thin, glossy top portion of the card was no longer 'attached' to the core card, just at the very corner. The normal approach would be to grab something like the flat end of a pen and try to smoosh it back down/flatten it out to make it whole again. Would something like that come back as 'altered stock'?

[pclpads]

The moral to the story is if you want a key card in a PSA holder, bite the bullet, pay the going rate over taking a chance on a second tier grading co. Lots of horror stories like yours out there. BTW, PSA loves guys who continue to sub again and again, hoping for a better grade. I think it is part of their corp profit strategy.