Eye Appeal - Creases, Color, Corners, etc

[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.

[skelly423]

These comments apply to cards where there is a decent selection available. While I still prefer cards that follow my criteria, I'll break every one of my rules for unique or exceptionally rare cards I can't find anywhere else.

For me centering is essential. I don't always require perfect 50-50, but if it's anything beyond 60-40 I'm moving on to something else.

Color and registration are right alongside centering in terms of priority, I can't stand blurry, out-of-focus images on cards and won't buy one with that problem. Give me a low grade with bright fresh colors over a higher technical grade with faded dull colors.

Creases are entirely dependent on where they are located. Out of the way corner creases are a non-issue, but I hate creases that run right through the image.

Corners barely matter to me at all. Unless you're dealing with mega money, soft or worn corners are a fact of life with pre-war cards. I prefer all 4 corners be worn evenly, but don't really care if one corner has taken a disproportionate amount of wear.