Eye Appeal - Creases, Color, Corners, etc

[bnorth]

For lower end cards like those 2 my most important thing is no creases, paper loss, or markings on the players face. Then registration, color, severity of creases, paper loss, holes, and any added markings on the card.

Things that don't matter are centering and corner wear.

[oldeboo]

I prefer the bottom card, but could live with either. Creases aren't a deal breaker if they aren't that distracting, such as over the face or a focal point. I also tend to stay away from paper loss and markings. Certainly can be more forgiving on cards that are much more rare. With a card like the Cobb, if it's a common back, you have MANY opportunities to find an example that appeals to you.

[Steve D]

Of those two, I prefer the second one.

Having said that, I would honestly reject both, and keep looking.

Steve

[robw1959]

I know for a lot of vintage collectors, centering is the first thing they notice. For me, however, it's corner wear. Then it's creasing, and finally centering, in terms of prioritizing. Oh, I forgot about registration, which would be about equal to centering in my opinion.

[DeanH3]

For low grade, centering first, then registration followed by corners. I try and avoid creases if possible. Depending on the card, creases are not a deal breaker. Since the centering is about equal on your two examples, I'd prefer the bottom one since it has less creasing.

Want to add that I also try and avoid major paper loss. Minor paper loss on the back is acceptable depending on severity and location.

[Casey2296]

I'm OCD about centering so that always comes first for me, colors and corners can be interchangeable depending on the card, for example, corners are least important on a card like an E224. Or that Cobb E98 that's currently for sale that has that white spot between his head and his glove. If I bought that card all I would do is stare at that white spot. I'll wait to buy until I can afford the card that clicks with me instead of buying a placeholder.

[swarmee]

I'd say the two cards you showed make it really easy to select the one without the heavy creasing. I'm usually a sucker for registration and colors first, but the misregistration on card #2 is very light to be almost unnoticeable. Two large creases through the image would make #1 very far behind the first one.