Question on Authentic grades at SGC

[bcbgcbrcb]

Requesting an A grade might be unusual in the vintage card world but I believe that it is extremely common in the modern and ultra-modern card world. I see countless auto/relic cards every week which have received the authentic designation for the card and either Authentic for the auto or a numerical grade for the auto. Zero chance that all of these modern and ultra-modern cards have been altered to cause the A card grade, it’s strictly at the option of the submitter who knows the card is not going to grade high due to surface issues, dinged corner, etc. and doesn’t want to present the card for sale in a 4/5/6/7 holder and rather have it say A and shrouded in mystery as to why.

[steve B]

If you check the "don't slab as A" option or however it's worded now, you used to get a slip with comments explaining why.

Most I've had rejected would easily fit on the flip if they really wanted to. And if they did I'd have them slabbed. But they won't, so....

This is all factory, but the top and bottom cuts are very rough. Probably done shortly before the cutter blade got sharpened. They're more crushed than cut.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by steve B

If you check the "don't slab as A" option or however it's worded now, you used to get a slip with comments explaining why.

Most I've had rejected would easily fit on the flip if they really wanted to. And if they did I'd have them slabbed. But they won't, so....

This is all factory, but the top and bottom cuts are very rough. Probably done shortly before the cutter blade got sharpened. They're more crushed than cut.

Now that is sad. You would think that if anything, such a rough cut would actually be positive evidence that the card was as originally cut at the factory, and more original than ever. A card doctor, or someone else trying to trim a card today, would in all likelihood not have intentionally created such a rough edge. Also, shouldn't the TPGs be able to closely examine the edges to determine if there was normal, visible aging, and not what appears to be recently cut edges? Card production, modern versus vintage, has clearly incurred huge changes to the production processes. You would obviously never expect to see such a rough edge on a modern card. Vintage cards, especially when talking 100+ old, that is an entirely different story. To me this displays a possible lack of training on the part of TPG graders, or perhaps a potential laziness to do a little more work to satisfy the authenticity or unaltered status of older vintage cards. But they kept the money you gave them, didn't they?

Let that, along with contingent fees where TPGs charge based on the value of the cards they're grading, or that owners/employees of TPGs have their own cards graded there, speak for itself in regards to the TPG industry as a whole, and their honesty, reliability, and transparency.