Restored Honus Wagner at SCP Auctions

[benjulmag]

Originally Posted by Snowman

Part of the problem from my perspective is that so many of the decisions made by the TPGs about what constitutes an "alteration" to begin with is borderline arbitrary. A card that has tape on it hasn't been altered? Really? But if you remove the tape, then it has? Lol. But only sometimes? Uhh, OK. And if the surface of a card gets dented by something, then that lowers the grade because a card with an indent is a damaged card. Unless of course the surface damage we're talking about was caused by a screw down holder smashing down the corners. That's not "damage", that's an "alteration", tantamount to trimming or recoloring a card. And speaking of timing, apparently even that's OK to do with some cards but not others. Some of this stuff is just ridiculous. The screw down holder damage equating to an alteration is the probably the one that irks me the most. The TPGs should treat that like they do with creases. Just have a rule that says a card can't grade higher than a 5 if it has screw down damage or something like that, but don't stamp it with some scarlet letter and no explanation at all for why the card received it. The fact that PSA does not differentiate between "trimmed", "recolored", and "screwed down too tight" on their slabs is a real shame. Because I guarantee the market would value those all differently if they knew the reason behind the grades.

To take this point to the next degree, doesn't the same argument -- the arbitrariness of TPG grading standards -- apply to the criteria used to designate a card any particular grade (e.g., ex-mt, nrmt, vgex, ex+, etc.)? The "7" Goudey Ruth in this same SCP auction makes the point well. The card is terribly faded, and to me has poor eye appeal. Yet it merits a "7"? Or how about blank-backed photographic cards (e.g., N172s) that have amazing photo contrast but some minor glitch on the verso? Such a card could grade a 2, while a card with a photo so dim one has difficulty making out who the player is gets an 8 because to the TPG sages the card is "technically" outstanding?

I remember well when TPG first came into being. At that time the consensus was that overall it was a good thing due to the arbitrariness and inherent conflict of interest associated with AHs/dealers grading their own material. But now a generation or so later and seeing what TPG grading has become, I sometimes wonder if the cure has turned out worse than the disease.