would you rather have a trimmed "A" or a beater PSA 1?

[chadeast]

To steal a line from a fellow net54 member, A for awesome!
I never would have been able to pick up a T3 Cobb that looked even remotely this nice without that AA label.



But I also love nice looking 1's, it's all about eye appeal for me.

[ullmandds]

i used to hate altered/trimmed cards...would get rid of any card i found out to be trimmed...I wanted no part of it.

but then u see that most high grade cards in slabs have been trimmed too...so why should I care? On a good day maybe my A will be a 9 someday?

[Tom S.]

I "upgraded" my W9316 Schalk from a SGC 1.5 to an A:

[Snowman]

Give me the A every time. I've had multiple cards that I bought in AUTHENTIC slabs that regraded as 4s, 5s, 6s, 7s, and even 8s. I've never had a 1 regrade as anything higher than a 2. For me, it's all about the eye appeal though. If the card is trimmed, and clearly looks trimmed, then I don't want it. If it says trimmed but I can't figure out which edge was trimmed or if it even measures small, then I'll take the Authentic slab every time.

However, it is perhaps worth noting that the best looking Authentic slabs can easily fetch the price of a nice looking 3 or even an off-centered 4.

[Snowman]

Almost forgot, I also have a Michael Jordan RC that PSA said was "altered", yet SGC, BGS, and CSG all graded it as a 9 (yes, I graded it 4 times because it deserves a 9.5).

These graders are so random. Just because a card says altered doesn't mean it has been. And just because a slab has a number on it doesn't mean it hasn't been altered either. Especially with PSA. They say anything from a screwdown is "altered", which is of course ridiculous.

[Rhotchkiss]

Maybe consider adding a poll - it’s a great question

While it ultimately depends on the two specific examples, I would almost always take the numerically graded card over the A. The upside to the A is you can crack it out, resubmit to PSA, wait 9 months, and probably get it back in a numerical graded slab…

[Belfast1933]

How about a 1 that is technically a 1 but has a great front but some glue on the back?

This is my fave 1 and probably will always be!