Hand-cut Goudey Ruth

[samosa4u]

A buddy on Facebook sent me this today and it took me only a few seconds to realize that someone had previously cut the top and bottom borders off using a pair of scissors. You can see how uneven it looks, especially the bottom border.

How the PSA grader missed this is beyond me !! Grade should be AUTH - ALTERED.

[Eric72]

I agree. That looks like a hand-cut hack job.

Unfortunately, as has been stated many times on here before, it won't matter. The almighty flip is all that counts to some collectors people.

[conor912]

This is not a super uncommon cut on gum cards. These sheets were cut into strips, then individual cards. If in between the two cuts, the strip shifted slightly, it would result in a final card like this. I’ve seen lots. The thin left border raises my eyebrow much more.

[samosa4u]

Originally Posted by conor912

This is not a super uncommon cut on gum cards. These sheets were cut into strips, then individual cards. If in between the two cuts, the strip shifted slightly, it would result in a final card like this. I’ve seen lots.

Okay, show me some Goudeys in PSA holders that have a cut like this.

[conor912]

Originally Posted by samosa4u

Okay, show me some Goudeys in PSA holders that have a cut like this.

No.

[tjisonline]

Looks like a diamond cut. Do doubt it will get that same grade if submitted today. The .5 bump is supposed to be for eye appeal which this doesn’t have.

[tjisonline]

Originally Posted by conor912

This is not a super uncommon cut on gum cards. These sheets were cut into strips, then individual cards. If in between the two cuts, the strip shifted slightly, it would result in a final card like this. I’ve seen lots. The thin left border raises my eyebrow much more.

I agree

[DallasAg]

Originally Posted by samosa4u

Okay, show me some Goudeys in PSA holders that have a cut like this.

This is a 38, not a 33, but I tend to agree that this type of cut is not all that uncommon in the Goudey cards. The pictured Ruth is definitely on the extreme end of the spectrum, however.

[parkplace33]

Originally Posted by samosa4u

Okay, show me some Goudeys in PSA holders that have a cut like this.

Good luck!

It probably is diamond cut, but those cuts do not look uniform. Should be an A either way.

[Leon]

That Goudey Ruth wouldn't be a fit for my collection. I would only see the bottom border. Good or bad it looks like crap to me (no offense intended).
.

[samosa4u]

I have seen factory miscuts before. From corner A to corner B you will see a slant, like this:



The DiMaggio posted above is what I'm talking about. The top and bottom cuts also appear to be parallel. It looks legit to me.

The Ruth looks like some kid had fun with it. It looks awful and I'm just stunned that it got a numerical grade. What's the point of card grading if they're gonna' start letting stuff like this through ??

[Yoda]

Would you pay 25k for this card at auction? I doubt it.

[gunboat82]

Originally Posted by Yoda

Would you pay 25k for this card at auction? I doubt it.

I'd pay $4K, but only after the top and bottom were re-trimmed with a straightedge to make them even.

[3-2-count]

Originally Posted by Leon

That Goudey Ruth wouldn't be a fit for my collection. I would only see the bottom border. Good or bad it looks like crap to me (no offense intended).
.

Ditto!

[brianp-beme]

The Ruth bottom border reminds me of the top border of this laminated 1948 Bowman of Ralph Kiner that I posted on another thread a short while back. The Kiner has an advantage over the Ruth, as the Kiner was correctly laminated.

Brian

[jchcollins]

I won't claim for a second to be an expert on anything prewar & certainly not Goudey specifically, but looks like a fairly routine diamond cut to me. They aren't uncommon at all on postwar vintage issues.

[pro9]

The Ruth might have been a diamond cut originally as the top border looks ok as a diamond cut, but somebody tried to do something to the bottom border. No way it came from the factory that way.

[robw1959]

I looks good to me, and agree about the likelihood of this being a diamond-cut Ruth.