Got this one.
Every grader I have talked to does not consider soaking in water an alteration and will grade it accordingly.
There are times where you can tell a card has been cleaned, it has a different smell and if you look "very very closely" you can sometimes see loose fibers. These tiny hair-like pieces that usually all go the same direction. Also on vintage cards with rounded corners the worn edges will look somewhat cleaner than they should.
|