SGC kept my Vic Willis T206 gray back variation

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by upstateNYmilb

Contact Peter Steinberg, I believe his email is

peter@gosgc.com

Sent from my LM-G820 using Tapatalk

Thanks, I just sent him an email.

[Pat R]

Mark that stinks that they kept your card but your Willis is definitely not a print variation it's the result of a chemical reaction.

[icurnmedic]

Never heard of this , and Ive graded thousands of cards.

Now it is a "he said she said" thing.

Good luck with your situation.

As far as communication goes, they really need to do better. Very poor in my opine.


Thomas Church

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by Pat R

Mark that stinks that the kept your card but your Willis is definitely not a print variation it's the result of a chemical reaction.

Is that true of all the Willis T206 cards that have the gray, or violet, backgrounds? Because I've seen several Willis cards that look this way.

[Pat R]

Originally Posted by Mark17

Is that true of all the Willis T206 cards that have the gray, or violet, backgrounds? Because I've seen several Willis cards that look this way.

No there are some color variations in the Willis portraits but yours was caused by a chemical reaction probably it was glued in a scrapbook and exposed to sun or dampness that caused a reaction with the glue.

You can see that there is a discoloration on the back and there's a spot where it was protected by something that matches on the front and back.
The area that was protected has an almost normal background color for a Willis portrait.
Willis Chemical.jpg
Willis Chemical.jpg Back.jpg

Hopefully everything works out and you get your card back. SGC was right in not grading it and I think the email you got was truthful they would have no reason to keep the card it's maybe a $50-$75 card in that condition.

[Webster]

Carefully check the packaging to be sure it wasn’t between pieces of cardboard that were discarded. This type of thing has happened to me before.

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by Pat R

SGC was right in not grading it and I think the email you got was truthful they would have no reason to keep the card it's maybe a $50-$75 card in that condition.

Pat, thanks for the info. If your chemical reaction explanation is correct I would think it would also be applicable to the other Willis cards with discolored (gray, violet) backgrounds. In other words, if the patches of red on my card, which you think were covered up, had not been, then there would be no red in the background of my card at all, and it would look quite similar to the other gray background examples.

As far as SGC not having a reason to keep the card.... yes, obviously it isn't real valuable I only paid $100 for it. But I assure you they did keep it (or disposed of it, or misplaced it, or sent it to the wrong submitter, or something.) It was not in the package, and I wouldn't be dishonest about something as relatively trivial as this.

[Pat R]

Originally Posted by Mark17

Pat, thanks for the info. If your chemical reaction explanation is correct I would think it would also be applicable to the other Willis cards with discolored (gray, violet) backgrounds. In other words, if the patches of red on my card, which you think were covered up, had not been, then there would be no red in the background of my card at all, and it would look quite similar to the other gray background examples.

As far as SGC not having a reason to keep the card.... yes, obviously it isn't real valuable I only paid $100 for it. But I assure you they did keep it (or disposed of it, or misplaced it, or sent it to the wrong submitter, or something.) It was not in the package, and I wouldn't be dishonest about something as relatively trivial as this.

I believe you mark I wasn't implying that you were being dishonest I just meant that it must be some kind of mistake somewhere and I believe the person at SGC that said they have no reason to keep the card.

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by Pat R

I believe you mark I wasn't implying that you were being dishonest I just meant that it must be some kind of mistake somewhere and I believe the person at SGC that said they have no reason to keep the card.

Totally agree. SGC did get back to me again and said they would look into it. I mentioned that what I think might've happened is that the initial grader found my other 8 cards straightforward, looked at the Willis and wasn't quite sure what was going on with it, had a grader more familiar with T206 nuances look at it, and somehow it got separated from my order. In other words, totally honest and easily understandable mistake.

So far I have learned:

1. SGC has been very responsive
2. Your explanation of the background color of the card makes sense, and...
3. Would explain why it wasn't graded
4. The card I thought was a neat print variation likely isn't (good to know)
5. The rest of my order from SGC was perfect, grades about a half point higher than expected, generally
6. When something like this happens to me, I need to take a breath of air and calm down.

So, to my previous question. Do you think my card, with the gray background except along the top in a straight line, is the missing link between regular Willis portraits with burgundy backgrounds, and the completely gray background cards I've seen? In other words, is it solid evidence the gray background cards are caused by chemicals or sun fade, rather than lack of red in the printing process?