Posted By:
Eric BrehmI suppose that if you look at any card long enough, you can find something about it that isn't "perfect." But there are some cards that really stand out from all others as being exceptionally well produced and preserved. Like pornography, you know it when you see it, I guess.
I think that current grading company standards include centering allowances that are too liberal for Mint 9, or even for Gem Mint 10. Maybe I'm just a stickler for centering. But according to the definitions I grew up with, a Mint card shouldn't have anything whatsoever that distracts significantly from the eye appeal, and a Gem Mint card should be one of those you look at and say "wow, that is unbelievable. That's as good as it gets."
Here is a 1968 Topps Mantle PSA 10 with a bit of a tilt in the centering on the reverse. It does meet PSA's standards, but should that be a 10?
I don't know if these should be 10's, but it is hard to imagine cards much nicer looking than these (from Marshall Fogel's collection):
and here's a pre-war example (one of only 9 PSA 10's, out of about 42,000 total 1933 Goudeys that have been graded to date):
