1984 Columbus Clippers Mattingly, PSA no longer grading?

[DocScoot]

So what exactly defines “legitimate” in this case? Licensed by the particular league or player’s association? Do we apply similar standards to modern cards like Panini? Just wondering what goes into the PSA decision to stop grading this one.

[aelefson]

I have one too. I got mine in the late 1980s. I cannot remember if I knew mine was fake when I bought it but I think I did. I doubt I paid more than 5.00 for mine. I think they were made to deceive originally but I could be wrong about that.

Alan

[DocScoot]

Thanks Alan! I'd be interested if anyone knows that last part for sure. I guess I'd see a difference between 'made to deceive' and just a fan-made custom card release that may not have been authorized. Either way it's a special card to me, but this has piqued my interest! The other part I'm curious about is what exactly happened over at PSA. Is this card a fake variant of a legit card, or a card that was never legit to begin with, in which case why are there dozens of these sitting in PSA slabs out there?

Anyway, thanks gentleman, I realize this may not be as interesting to others but appreciate your replies :-)

Originally Posted by aelefson

I have one too. I got mine in the late 1980s. I cannot remember if I knew mine was fake when I bought it but I think I did. I doubt I paid more than 5.00 for mine. I think they were made to deceive originally but I could be wrong about that.

Alan

[DaClyde]

Originally Posted by DocScoot

So what exactly defines “legitimate” in this case? Licensed by the particular league or player’s association? Do we apply similar standards to modern cards like Panini? Just wondering what goes into the PSA decision to stop grading this one.

Meaning it was produced years later and passed as "original". It was just a one-off, not part of any set intended to cash in on Mattingly's popularity, thrown out into the hobby amid a flood of other unlicensed sets produced by unknown entities with no licenses whatsoever. Panini has/had a players association license. They were legally authorized to produce the sets they issued. Some random guy printing cash grab cards in his home, or after hours at his print shot does not.

I think PSA just finally got called on grading fake cards, and chose to pass, rather than continue blindly grading customs and counterfeits. They didn't exactly have a great track record.

[DocScoot]

Makes sense, thanks Jason! The timing thing is the part I was missing. I’ve had this since mid to late 80s so it couldn’t have been that much later, but I can definitely see it may well have been a later cash grab.

I also can't help but wonder if this ironically makes the few PSA graded variants out there even more valuable even though it's a bogus card at heart, guaranteed to remain a low pop item in their directory if they refuse to grade any more.