Question About Grading a 1964 Mantle

[JollyElm]

It all starts with this...

522. Moppetroglyphs
The random words, numbers, etc., written on a card by a kid back in the day.

See also: Boyjotting - attempting to decipher, when not readily apparent, the possible meaning of, or the reasoning behind, the specific scribblings on an old card you own.

See also: Defacelift - any attempt to remove ink or pencil marks from a card.

.................................................. .................................................. ......


I'm vying to get all of my Mantle 'leftovers' (you know, the ones that were never worthy of grading, because their numbers would be soooooo low) into slabs and this one is a little bit of a puzzler.

The card itself is actually pretty decent, with no creases and some corner issues, BUT the letters "MR" were written and partially erased on back (my theory is that some kid was grooving to Ozzy's "Mr. Crowley" in the early 80's and began mindlessly scribbling the song title on the card...but who knows?). What a frickin' shame!!

It's going to be sent to SGC for a quick and cheap turnaround, but what do I do?

• Do I send it in as is, and if I do so, is there a possibility of a number grade?
• Do I send it in and check the 'Authentic only' box to simply get it back labeled as "Authentic" (which is depressing in its own right, since it's an otherwise nice looking Mick)?
• In either scenario, does the fact that there is an erasure on back (with pen grooves) mean it can only come back with "Altered" written on the label under "Authentic"?
• As pointless (and stupid) as it is, is there any reason to take a kneaded eraser to it to see if more of the "MR" can be disappeared...since it will (I assume) only get an "Authentic" grade anyway?*

Thanks!

1964mantle50withwriting01.jpg

1964mantle50withwriting02.jpg



*This obviously isn't meant to be some sort of deceptive tactic, as it will always be plainly obvious that this card was written on and erased in that spot, especially if further erasing erodes even more of the orange color there (and that's why I called this proposal stupid).

[Lucas00]

I don't see how this isn't a 1. Erased marks or not I've seen both get 1s. I have a '58 mantle on the bst with a hole punch and marks on the front that is a 1. I don't think it will come back as altered, but I still would mark 1 as my minimum.

[vthobby]

1 or Authentic Altered from SGC.

Nice looking card for a 1.

[JollyElm]

Here are a pair of other ones from the bad side of town. The '54 Bowman is probably only 'Authentic,' but maybe altered, too? Not sure. The '59 Topps probably deserves but a 1 or perhaps 2...

mantle1954bowman1959topps.jpg