Is there a difference between a PSA 1 and PSA "authentic"

[ichieh]

Then if a card was graded "authentic", how do i know whether it was altered or simply in such a poor shape that it was not good enough to be PSA 1?

[glchen]

Originally Posted by ichieh

Then if a card was graded "authentic", how do i know whether it was altered or simply in such a poor shape that it was not good enough to be PSA 1?

If it's a nice looking card, and the grade is authentic, it's altered. If it's a horrible looking card, then it could be both altered and extremely poor or "just" poor. I think PSA also puts the ALTERED qualifier for PSA Authentic.

[ichieh]

i don't try to be a smart ass here, but if a card is authentic, but condition is worst than PSA 1 "Poor", why not give the card "0.5" grade instead of authentic, and leave the grade "authentic" for altered cards only.

[philliesphan]

From a condition perspective, it is not possible for a card to be so mangled that it cannot grade at a 1.0 level. There are times when a card is too fragile to be encapsulated -- but a card would never get an authentic grade because it did not meet the standards of a 1.

Sometimes, a collector wants their card authenticated, without a grade assigned, and it is possible to get a card authenticated as such. This is most often seen with autographed cards, hand cut cards, etc. Beckett and SGC also offer this service. But typically an Authentic grade is reserved for cards that have been altered in a meaningful way.

[JP]

Easy answer:

PSA 1 is the original status as it was in the pack, PSA AUTH has been changed somehow

[ichieh]

i wonder if you take this card out of the PSA authentic holder, and resubmit 10X, how many time would it come back 1 or higher. From the scan, i can't see why it's an altered card.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=170482733874

[jb217676]

The top of that Mantle card is trimmed. If it was full size (top to bottom) it would touch the top bar inside the holder. You'll waste your money 10x.

[HRBAKER]

I would hope that it would NEVER come back higher than a 1. It may come back a 1 a few times. Heck the submitter may have requested an Authentic label as opposed to a 1. It looks as though it was one of those cards that was folded up and carried in a wallet or something.

Of course you could always send it to BCCG and get at least a "5."

[Dan Carson]

Save your money, they don't know either!

[tbob]

[QUOTE=philliesphan;807149]From a condition perspective, it is not possible for a card to be so mangled that it cannot grade at a 1.0 level. There are times when a card is too fragile to be encapsulated -- but a card would never get an authentic grade because it did not meet the standards of a 1.
QUOTE]

Marc- I have to disagree, I've seen cards in slabs marked authentic which have not been altered but merely worn or abused. Here's an example:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...STRK:MEBIDX:IT

[ullmandds]

Much to my chagrin...this card recently was graded at sgc and came back A...it has heavily worn corners...but is unaltered.

[GoldenAge50s]

My recent submission of 15 T206 cards to SGC had 3 come back as "A". All were close to 1/8" short T-B and were NOT altered by anyone--just factory -cut a bit shorter than allowed by SGC standard tolerance.

In fairness to SGC, I knew these 3 were short when I submitted and to their credit they caught them all.

In my 136 card purchase of original one-owner T206's back in Dec there were 6 cards that were cut short straight from the factory--about 4%.

I wouldn't doubt that 4% might be a standard miscut rate for original T206's.

Would anyone care to confirm or deny that figure?

[glchen]

[QUOTE=tbob;807229]

Originally Posted by philliesphan

From a condition perspective, it is not possible for a card to be so mangled that it cannot grade at a 1.0 level. There are times when a card is too fragile to be encapsulated -- but a card would never get an authentic grade because it did not meet the standards of a 1.
QUOTE]

Marc- I have to disagree, I've seen cards in slabs marked authentic which have not been altered but merely worn or abused. Here's an example:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Another example of a mangled card at Authentic:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=380225260533

[glchen]

Originally Posted by ichieh

i don't try to be a smart ass here, but if a card is authentic, but condition is worst than PSA 1 "Poor", why not give the card "0.5" grade instead of authentic, and leave the grade "authentic" for altered cards only.

I think the reason is that the card is in such horrible condition, it could have been trimmed or altered at some point. However, the card is in such bad condition, it's impossible to tell. For example, corners that are very rounded. Maybe one of the owners used scissors to round those corners, or maybe it was just horrible abuse. But those corners are in real bad shape.