1932 US Caramel Babe Ruth

[pdi88]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Both PSA and SGC have online population reports.

Here is PSA.
https://www.psacard.com/pop/

Thx!

[swarmee]

Beckett is the third and only remaining respected grading service with a registry. The others you may see are out of business or mom and pop setups. Populations are also deceiving because many of those cards are no longer in holders having been broken out to attempt to increase the grade of moved to the slab of a favored grading company.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Personally, I would buy this card or any expensive prewar card only in a PSA or SGC holder.

[pdi88]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Personally, I would buy this card or any expensive prewar card only in a PSA or SGC holder.

That makes sense. I'm really concerned about fraud, so paying the buyer's fee on a site like Heritage is painful, but gives me piece of mind. Is it safe to assume purchases on those site are the real deal? Do you ever double check after a large purchase to confirm the legitimacy? Are those holders welded together once rated?

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by pdi88

That makes sense. I'm really concerned about fraud, so paying the buyer's fee on a site like Heritage is painful, but gives me piece of mind. Is it safe to assume purchases on those site are the real deal? Do you ever double check after a large purchase to confirm the legitimacy? Are those holders welded together once rated?

I would be confident that cards on a major AH site are authentic and not reprints or fakes. However, in my opinion, trimmed and otherwise altered cards are pretty common in the hobby especially in the higher grades, so IF you care about that educate yourself and do the best you can. As long as the card is slabbed though it shouldn't affect the value. The holders are sealed, yes, although they aren't very difficult to break apart, they're just plastic.

[pdi88]

Originally Posted by swarmee

Beckett is the third and only remaining respected grading service with a registry. The others you may see are out of business or mom and pop setups. Populations are also deceiving because many of those cards are no longer in holders having been broken out to attempt to increase the grade of moved to the slab of a favored grading company.

Thx! Again, very helpful.