Erasing pencil from the back of a postcard. Will it grade A?

[Lucas00]

Originally Posted by Smarti5051

I am not knowledgeable enough in TPG to answer your question, but I too was taken aback by the insinuation that your question is akin to "altering" cards. In my view, "altering" a card is taking an action to change the nature of the cards natural state (ie trimming, recoloring, bleaching, etc.). Sort of like what a plastic surgeon would do to change one's "defects" or "aging." There is nothing "wrong" with the natural state, but somebody believes they can look "better" by taking superficial actions. By contrast, wiping off fingerprints, trying to erase stray marks, or using some sort of goo remover to remove something foreign on a card is not altering its natural state. I look at this more like taking a shower and washing the dirt off your body, or using a match to remove a tick from your skin. The body does not naturally have dirt of bugs on it, so it would be natural to remove those things. In the actual case at hand, the writing on the postcard is not "natural" to the card, it is the result of a human intervention (like a fingerprint on a shiny chrome card). I do not see it as an affront to the hobby to try and gently remove such a blemish to return the card to its natural state. I suppose this is walking a pretty fine line, but I think if you are doing what a normal person would do to "clean" your stuff, then I think it is reasonable. If you are doing what a surgeon would do, using years of training and specialized methods and equipment to do something a normal collector could or would not normally do to their stuff to alter the natural state of the card, then it is out of bounds.

These are my thoughts exactly! Well said.