Strip cards - your opinion, please.

[Vintagedeputy]

Originally Posted by nineunder71

IMO, NEVER cut a card….period

Interesting take. Why? SGC notes that these cards were hand cut so wouldn’t cleaning up a hand cut be the same in your opinion?

[Section103]

I have no issue trimming up hand-cut cards, but you really need to have an idea why you're doing it. I had a raw W573 once that was wildly out of shape top to bottom. I trimmed it to appropriate length. It looks much better and graded 2.5. Im not necessarily a fan of trimming if the card is already below minimum size, but to each their own.

[Fred]

I honestly disliked strip cards that were crude renderings, but everybody has an opinion. Strip cards that had an actual likeness were fine, but I never pursued that issue.

Nothing wrong with them. I'm sure I collect stuff that other people couldn't care less about.

[Exhibitman]

Strips were made to be cut so that's not an issue. What is an issue is making them look better. A card with a ragged torn edge that has extra material from another card would look much better cleaned up. I do the same to Wheaties cards, which I really like, if it makes the card look better. As far as grading, I don't care. I have several graded ones and a bunch more that would score nice grades but won't get slabbed unless/until I plan to sell. And a card:

[nineunder71]

I’m just a traditionalist, I like the old vintage cards as they are, even in poor shape. Scissors aren’t part of my collecting, but thats just me.. and i’m sure I own plenty of cards that others have chopped away at, haha

I guess its the cutting of the uncut strips into individual cards that really bothers me the most.. IMO, Many folks just don’t understand how much more obscure, difficult, and flat out neat those uncut strips are….. then they cut the Ruth out for the hopes of a super high grade

Originally Posted by Vintagedeputy

Interesting take. Why? SGC notes that these cards were hand cut so wouldn’t cleaning up a hand cut be the same in your opinion?

[nineunder71]

To each their own, I guess

I not only bought this guy, but I taped it back together and sent it for grading (at the time, it was the only graded example, and I ‘needed’ it for my SGC slabbed set)

I still like it today, so…

[JLange]

I bought a strip card with irregular shape and thought I could improve it for my collection. Big mistake. It looks newly trimmed which is exactly what it is, and now it’s also over trimmed. I wish I would have left it alone.

[brianp-beme]

Why trim when you can display an unsightly bulge?

Brian

[Leon]

I am in the camp of not evening the cards up. I almost never take paper away from a strip card. I prefer truly original but to each their own. There is no right or wrong answer.

Just the way they came.....

[ullmandds]

Personally, I believe and leaving my strip cards as I found them. It's fun to imagine how these were distributed. Some people most likely just tore them off while others took a scissor and were more meticulous.

I also think that the grading on these has been pretty ridiculous over the years. There are numerous examples of cards with an a that could have a number, and vice versa there seems to be not much rhyme or reason.

other than that, I only have grown to love strip cards, but only the ones that resemble the players and have added Many Ruths to my stable.