Opinions on this 1971 Topps Bert Blyleven RC...see pic
 

I recently bought 2 1971 Topps Bert Blyleven RC's on ebay. I sent them to SGC to be graded, One came back a 7.5 but the other came back as "Color added" so they did not assign it a grade. Id like to buy a few more to send out. Just came across this one. It mentions nothing about possible color adding but i cant figure out why there is so much black ink bleeding in the "Twins" lettering. guessing the card has been altered? Better to stay away from?

I asked the seller about it, got right back to me with additional pics. He said it does not appear it has been altered at all. Siad it kinda looks like a printing defect. Anyone seen anything like this with the 71 Topps cards?

Looks fine to me (the extra ink in the TWINS). However, the card looks to be centered 65-35 Left to Right, which makes the top grade around a 7-8 even if the rest is perfect.

Would the extra ink hurt the grading though? I would think it would a bit.

Opinions on this 1971 Topps Bert Blyleven RC...see pic
 

The bleed you are referencing on this card is not what PSA or SGC is looking for as it pertains to coloring. The 1971 Topps set is highly condition sensitive due to the black borders. If anyone is going to color a 1971 card in an attempt to deceive the buyer, they are more than likely going to be coloring the corners or edges. The location you are describing is from the original manufacturing printing process and should not greatly affect the grading of the card, although it may a little depending on the grader and what sticking point his supervisor has pointed out and whether or not his cereal got soggy the morning he graded your card.


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There is a chance the additional black ink could be seen as print snow or print defects and cause a lower grade, but not if the card is already a 7 IMO.

One useful tool for detecting added color is a black light. There are numerous inexpensive portable models available online. I paid roughly $20 for mine on Amazon about a year ago.

Regarding the edges of '71 Topps baseball cards, you might also want to try this:

After looking at both the front and back of the card, take a direct look at the edges. If the card has been recolored along the edges, it's very likely you'll be able to see black ink has bled into the edge of the card.