Certified, Qualified and Glorified!!!

[JollyElm]

The 'Q' in qualifier stands for quality...

As I continue to slowly amass the big names from the set in PSA 9 OC (not very OC) shape, this 1973 Topps #130 Pete Rose fits in nicely. The picture probably just captures a foul pop-up, but it's a pretty cool shot that's a departure from the usual game-action scenes, and really works well to offer the collector something slightly different. The 1976 Topps #98 Dennis Eckersley is what I call Leggy - a graded card with an ‘ST’ qualifier that can be easily eliminated by using a pair of pantyhose to wipe away the ‘invisible’ wax or gum residue on it. You can't even see where the heck the supposed stain is. I damn straight jumped on this perfectly centered 'Eck' immediately!! The 1957 Topps #307 Jack Phillips is another tough series card with a bit of non-problematic wax/gum residue of back, while the 1965 Topps #188 Sam Bowens is just a beautiful card that I was able to grab up cheaply, so I said what the heck.

[JollyElm]

A Queue of Qs...

This high number1961 Topps #559 Jim Gentile is nearly identical to the other one I posted a while back, so now I have doubles. His card is tough (read very expensive) to find in high grade, so if an OC version is affordable, I jump on it. The 1962 Topps #124 Bill Pleis is now the third low pop (only six straight 9s, and just one - this one - with a qualifier) 'Green Tint' I've grabbed with PSA 9 PD on the label. PD? Ha! Talk about redundancy. The entire run of GTs is a veritable parade of print defects, so I was very happy to get this one. The 1970 Topps #197 Ryan Saves The Day! (along with #195 Seaver Wins Opener!) is one of the most pre-eminent cards of all time for us Mets fans, as it celebrates the incredible hurler helping to bring the miraculous 1969 season to a fitting close. Got that one cheap! And the 1970 Topps #210 Juan Marichal is another beautiful, sharp cornered HOFer card that is barely off-centered.

[Harliduck]

I love that 61 Topps Gentile high number...I have a really nice decent centered raw card that took for ever to find at a decent, well, barely decent price. Most at the time I was looking were cut in half I swear...lol.


Picked up this 54 Bowman Mick with a qualifier. Clearly MC (although a slight strip of white on the top ). But having a hard time seeing a "2" unless you take the MC into consideration. Corners aren't that bad, and it is totally crease free. Good news is the price was right because of the low grade and MC...if I were to pop this out it would be a beautiful card in the binder...not sure what I'm going to do with this one. I thought of this thread when I bought it...

[JollyElm]

A Three-fer...

This tough 1973 Topps #449 Ken Aspromonte variation was mislabeled, unfortunately, as it is the Spahn 'rounded ear' (not 'pointy ear') version. Oh well. May have to get it corrected sometime down the line. I love grabbing up an occasional PSA 9 OC HOF'er when it looks quite nice and can be had cheaply, like this 1975 Topps Mini #530 Gaylord Perry. These cards fascinate me, because I never knew they even existed way back when (at card shows out here in CA, they are everywhere). I have never bought a PSA Authentic/Altered card before, but with this 1967 Laughlin World Series #61 Mickey Mantle 'with address' card, I live by a simple maxim. When you see one, you grab it, because they are extremely rare. Supposedly, Bob Laughlin only made a total of 300 of each card in the set with his address appearing on back (conventional wisdom holds that 20 of said sheets remained uncut), so who knows how many still exist and when one will ever come up for sale again (the reprints actually hold a decent amount of value, too, but they came out after the Mick's career was over and are pretty readily available if you want to drop a lot of coin). It probably should have just been labeled 'authentic,' because I don't see what alteration is being referred to. It has "0 76 70" (perhaps a Zodiac-esque code?) written on back, and was obviously trimmed down to match the size of Topps cards (I assume that's the alteration)...which segues nicely into an excerpt from my 'New Collectorisms' thread...

371. Edge Clippers
Kids who cut down larger cards back in the day to make them match the ‘new,’ standardized size of Topps cards.

[JollyElm]

Get yer stars he-ere...

I mean what kind of lunatic would call this 1964 Topps #265 Jim Bunning card off-center? It's not the centering that's problematic, it's more the Topps photographer saying, "Okay, Jimbo, take off your hat and push your face forward, so we can squeeze even more of your head into the shot!" I grabbed it up right when I saw it! The somber 1965 Topps #155 Roger Maris has always been one of my favorite cards of his for some reason. The regal 1969 Topps #375 Harmon Killebrew in his MVP year is another Leggy card awaiting the pantyhose to wipe away the ‘invisible’ gum on it. No matter how much I tilt it in the light, I can't see the 'stain.' Love it!! The 1972 Topps #760 Bill Mazeroski allowed me to check off another high number for my 'Highs in Nine' set. Sure, it's a little pushed to the left, but straight 9s are going for stupid money, so I'm fine with this sharp-cornered HR hero. I must have seen it right after it was listed, because it was a $30 BIN, and the only other PSA 9 OC (with much worse centering) was listed for two and a half times as much, so I jumped!!

[ALR-bishop]

Glad you are back Darren

[JollyElm]

The Stain-Hey Kid...

This 1968 Topps #50 Willie Mays card was expensive for having a qualifier, but the centering is nearly perfect and the stain is a non-existent, easy wipe away if/when I break it out (which I have to do anyway, because the slab is quite busted). I also grabbed the 1965 Topps #14 1964 Home Run Leaders card (wow, SF really went deep in '64), because it was cheap, especially for having a trio of HOF'ers pictured, and I've always been oddly drawn to that picture of Mays, as his look down seems kind of spiritual to me. This is my second 1974 Topps #207 1973 Strikeout Leaders card with a print defect - a bit of snow on the bright color nameplates. I mean, it's Ryan and Seaver together again, so it's a must have!! And I am thrilled to have this sharp-as-heck 1966 Topps #132 Orlando Cepeda. Technically off-center, but in no way off-centered to the 'normal' card collecting eye.