Wagner HBO Real Sports...what do you think?

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Posted By: John_B_California

Goldberg could have cut these guys up into little pieces.

He could have said something like..."In the trading card business, the vast majority of high dollars get graded by companies like PSA. Paper authentication doesn't carry any weight with anyone. Why not send it in for grading or sell it contignent upon it being deemed authentic?"

The logical extension of this would have been a little bit deeper background into grading and authenticating. Goldberg could have brought up the famous 1952 Topps Mantle that's been graded. Or Goudey Ruths, or whatever. There were no "paper authenticators" at the National for obvious reasons.

To the novice watching this, paper authentication and "PSA" (whatever that is) might sound similar.

There was also no mention of various reprints that have been sold over the years. If I didn't know anything about cards, I might think that they just created it in their basement. The piece could have shown any number of ads for reprints over the years (i.e. in a Sears catalog, Larry Fritsch catalogs, etc).

Who in the world would spend $300,000 on a card and authenticate it by "feeling it"?!?

The funniest part of the piece was at the end, when there was dead silence at that auction. There will be silence around that Wagner for a very long time.