30 Day Baseball Card Challenge

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Wednesday, July 26, 2017

A Gaping Flaw

When it comes to damaged cards, most of us draw the line somewhere.  Last week a few of you shared your line in the comments section of my Island of Misfit Cards post.  Infield Fly Rule draws the line at water damage.  Night Owl Cards draws the line at stains.  SumoMenkoMan draws the line at skinned cards.  And if the card isn't vintage, Card Buzz draws the line at peeling, dings, or creases.

 But where does PSA draw the line?

 Well... after purchasing this autographed Steve Carlton rookie card, I recently discovered that they do not tolerate pin holes:


 As you can see, they gave this card the lowest grade on their scale.  However if you factor in everything else outside of the pin hole located above the "5" at the top of the card, this card is a beaut.


In fact, I'm tempted to send this card back to PSA and have them grade the autograph instead of the card... just to get it re-slabbed without that Scarlet PR1.


Let's keep it real.  I'm not going to waste my money.  Sure the grade is as low as it goes.  But that low grade allowed me to purchase this card for well below the market price.

We all draw the line somewhere when it comes to damaged cards.  Obviously... I'll tolerate a pinhole on a fifty-two year old piece of cardboard featuring the signature of one of my favorite childhood pitchers.

Happy Wednesday and sayonara!
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12 comments:

  1. Tony BurbsJuly 26, 2017 at 3:12 PM

    Seems like an overreaction to me, on the part of the PSA grading. But, I know nothing about card grading, so.... At any rate. that's a pretty swell find!

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  2. The Lost CollectorJuly 26, 2017 at 4:22 PM

    Weak. Pin holes are fine!

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  3. Johnnys Trading SpotJuly 26, 2017 at 4:28 PM

    At least they didn't "authentic" it without a grade, that would be the lowest they give.

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  4. night owlJuly 26, 2017 at 8:59 PM

    Definite overreaction to what they view as a "crime" of pinning a card on a board/wall. Unless a pinhole is in the player's face, it doesn't bother me.

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  5. ketchupman36July 26, 2017 at 10:30 PM

    That pinhole is barely noticeable. I didn't even see it until you pointed it out.

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  6. BobWalkthePlankJuly 27, 2017 at 5:32 AM

    I'm pretty much clueless when it comes to grading so I won't begin to understand the thought process. That pinhole seems pretty minor.

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  7. Pro Set CardsJuly 27, 2017 at 5:47 AM

    Pin holes definitely suck however, the bright side is you can pay PR1 prices for a card that clearly looks WAY better than PR1. I think it's an awesome you got a Steve Carlton auto rookie for the price of a box of cards, truly insane and in the end it's worth whatever you feel it's worth to you.

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  8. Collecting CutchJuly 27, 2017 at 9:58 AM

    PR1 for that card? That's just them being stubborn $#@&s about it. That's a sweet card!

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  9. Matt PriggeJuly 27, 2017 at 10:10 AM

    It's a beautiful card and a heck of a bargain. I'd free it from that case and let it breath, myself.

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  10. SumoMenkoManJuly 27, 2017 at 11:19 AM

    I'll collect cards with pinholes all day long. Great pickup!

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  11. acrackedbatJuly 27, 2017 at 6:53 PM

    the pinhole doesn't distract from the beauty of the card. super nice copy Fuji!

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  12. FujiJuly 27, 2017 at 11:11 PM

    Thank you for all of the feedback. I did some research and a pinhole seems to give a card an automatic PSA 1. Oh well. It probably scared fellow Carlton fans away, which kept the price down.

    night owl - I agree. A pinhole in the face would be much, much worse.

    Matt Prigge - I free graded cards every now and then... but I tend to keep my vintage graded cards slabbed just in case I move them in the future.

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