1940 Play Ball "Color Proofs" finally graded!

[Archive]

Posted By: Gilbert Maines

Chris: if you want these cards graded so that you can sell them, an auction house would likely be able to accomplish that, and also give you tremendous exposure.

You do not need them graded for your own assurance, you have determined that the colorization precision exceeds what can be accomplished by an artist and brush.

There is no call to wet your cards, but no reason to avoid it either. However, even if you were to wet the cards, it seems to me that the grading companys would continue to (I agree why would they blackball you) hesitate to move on your request for authentication as unaltered cards.

I don't know. Is there a good old boys network of preferred dealers/auction houses/grading companies which disallows individuals from coming up with a "find" like this?

"It is not actually paranoia if everyone really is conspiring against you" - Dr. No.

[topcat61]

Originally Posted by Archive

Posted By: Gilbert Maines

Chris: if you want these cards graded so that you can sell them, an auction house would likely be able to accomplish that, and also give you tremendous exposure.

You do not need them graded for your own assurance, you have determined that the colorization precision exceeds what can be accomplished by an artist and brush.

There is no call to wet your cards, but no reason to avoid it either. However, even if you were to wet the cards, it seems to me that the grading companys would continue to (I agree why would they blackball you) hesitate to move on your request for authentication as unaltered cards.

I don't know. Is there a good old boys network of preferred dealers/auction houses/grading companies which disallows individuals from coming up with a "find" like this?

"It is not actually paranoia if everyone really is conspiring against you" - Dr. No.

Is there preferable treatment given to Auction Houses by grading companies? I'd say yes -and I was able to prove it in November of last year when SGC refused to authenticate a card owned by Buck Barker, who happened to have written his notes on the back of the card. SGC told me that they aren't experts in handwriting analysis, and don't have the capabilities of doing so. Surprising really, since they do authenticate autographs. When confronted with documented evidence and a card of Lionel Carter's which they did authenticate by way of Doug Allen, the grader didnt know what to say.All I can say is that it appears to be pay to play between the grading companies and Auction Houses and how much money you have. That might help explain why some of them are graded.

I can understand if the grading companies or grader might not be comfortable depending if their knowledge is indeed limited. However, there are tests that they could do very easily to determine if the colorization process was done at the printer or by Moll's Ad Agency or by someone else entirely?

[obcmac]

Just got this one off ebay. Doesn't look like the legit one that Chris posted, but some pretty neat after market work.

Mac

[Chris-Counts]

Mac, I saw that batch turn up on eBay recently and decided to pass. I saw a bunch of folks chasing the Ruffing, but none of the cards looked good to me. On the ones I have, or had, all the color except red is applied very precisely. If you look at the blue on the socks of Demaree, there's no color that spreads beyond the edge of the socks.

Curiously, because of the batch I found 13 years ago, my brother has kept an eye out for these on eBay, and he actually managed to find one: a colorized 1940 of Bill McKechnie.