What do you prefer, off-center with sharp corners or?

[67_Palmer]

What do you prefer, off-center cards with sharp corners or perfectly centered with slightly blunted or rounded corners?

I'm definitely in the OC sharp corners camp, but I'm thinking I'm in the minority.

Not the best examples but you get the idea.

[pawpawdiv9]

its all about eye appeal..going with centered.

[brewing]

Originally Posted by pawpawdiv9

its all about eye appeal..going with centered.

I concur. Although some off centered cards still have good eye appeal.

[Brianruns10]

Eye appeal all the way. Even if they were the same price, I'd take a PSA 6 centered over a PSA 8 off center every day of the week.

Besides, qualitatively, they are two different beasts. Rounded corners are the result of good honest wear, which I find gives the card a bit of character. You know some kid once owned that card, looked at it, got it in a trade, loved it.

Centering, or a lack thereof, is a manufacturing defect, and rather unsightly.

Now, when I can't get perfectly centered, I'll give some leeway on the top to bottom centering, but it's the left-right centering that's a killer. If a card doesn't have that, the eye appeal is shot for me.

[t206blogcom]

Originally Posted by Brianruns10

Even if they were the same price, I'd take a PSA 6 centered over a PSA 8 off center every day of the week.

+1

[savedfrommyspokes]

Recently, I was flipping through an old binder of cards I have had for a while...many of these were the first cards I collected as a kid 30+ years ago. These cards absolutely meant the world to me as a kid, however, in looking back through them, I never realized how OC some of them were. But all of the creases and rounded corners were just how I remembered them.


So I guess that puts me in the "I can deal with less than perfect centering" camp.

[digdugdig]

Originally Posted by Brianruns10

Eye appeal all the way. Even if they were the same price, I'd take a PSA 6 centered over a PSA 8 off center every day of the week.

I still scratch my head when I see a grade sticker that points out the very flaw that should keep the card from even being graded an 8!! Of course, I'm kind of a centering nut, so ....

[Zach Wheat]

I think this is what you are talking about.....a great example of 95/5 centering with 4 relatively sharp corners. Wonder what this would grade out?

Z Wheat

[Brianruns10]

Originally Posted by digdugdig

I still scratch my head when I see a grade sticker that points out the very flaw that should keep the card from even being graded an 8!! Of course, I'm kind of a centering nut, so ....

Others disagree, but I remain adamant there ought to be some kind of grade for centering. Or heck, just make it a qualifier. PSA 8 centered.

This would be invaluable when it comes to assessing populations, and what percentage of a card's population comes graded as centered.

[vintagebaseballcardguy]

I have to agree. It's been a process for me, but centering and general eye appeal has come to mean a great deal to me. For a while, I fell into the trap of buying the holder and not the card.

[okmaybent@aol.com]

Well... I will join the minority. My #1 priority is 4 sharp corners.

[MattyC]

I'm a centering guy. I don't mind some corner or edge wear-- for me, that comes naturally with time. It can even add character.

Eye appeal is what I go for, and an OC card is a non-starter for me. Some cases in point in the "centering but wear" category...







All relatively cheap buys compared to their higher-graded brethren, but good centering hits the eye nicely. And some corner wear means it doesn't hit the wallet too hard, either

[rcp1936]

Going with the centered posters

[horzverti]

I believe that since we are dealing with easily damaged cardboard, sharpness of corners means more to me.

Out of the pack a card can be OC, but will almost always have razor sharp corners. As collectors, we cannot preserve centering, but we can preserve sharp corners.

So if I have a choice of buying a sharp, yet OC card or a centered card with touched corners...I will usually choose the sharp OC card.

Curt

[39special]

Being a low budget collector,I'm happy when I get cards that have corners!!

[HOF Yankees]

eye appeal for me, the card can have some defects wont bother me too much as I try to own the card/cards. So I guess centering.

like these for example

[the 'stache]

Originally Posted by pawpawdiv9

its all about eye appeal..going with centered.

Agreed. An off centered card flairs up the OCD in me.

[bn2cardz]

Originally Posted by 67_Palmer

What do you prefer, off-center cards with sharp corners or perfectly centered with slightly blunted or rounded corners?

I'm definitely in the OC sharp corners camp, but I'm thinking I'm in the minority.

Not the best examples but you get the idea.

Always take the factory flaw over owner flaws. There is nothing wrong with an off centered card if that was the way it was distributed. I honestly don't understand the 50/50 centering idea. I have never looked at a 70/30 card and thought it looked bad if it had sharp corners and looked pack fresh.

[JollyElm]

Originally Posted by 67_Palmer

What do you prefer, off-center cards with sharp corners or perfectly centered with slightly blunted or rounded corners?

I'm definitely in the OC sharp corners camp, but I'm thinking I'm in the minority.

Not the best examples but you get the idea.

On a side note, what's the provenance of that Brooks Robinson autograph? It doesn't look anything like any of his autos that I have ever seen. Maybe it's very old or something?

[67_Palmer]

Originally Posted by JollyElm

On a side note, what's the provenance of that Brooks Robinson autograph? It doesn't look anything like any of his autos that I have ever seen. Maybe it's very old or something?

I personally got that auto from him at a local card show in Glenn Burnie, MD. I would say way back in 80', 81', 82'. I've thought about sending it in for authenticity but I have know idea how that works.

I also have a Mantle auto from his rookie year. Thinking of sending that in too.

[JollyElm]

Originally Posted by 67_Palmer

I personally got that auto from him at a local card show in Glenn Burnie, MD. I would say way back in 80', 81', 82'. I've thought about sending it in for authenticity but I have know idea how that works.

I also have a Mantle auto from his rookie year. Thinking of sending that in too.

Weird. I got these two in person at a show on Long Island in the 80's and they look nothing like yours. I forget specifically what year it was, but I'd guess around 1983.

[HaloFan]

When I was starting to collect, most of the cards from 1985 Topps are so off-centered, I did not give it much thought how important centering is. With collecting as polarized as it is, I've seen large differences in pricing between off-centered and centered cards. For the most part, I'm in the sharp corner, off centered preference camp. However, with a few cards like '52 Topps high numbers, with all prices being equal and condition about the same, I'll choose the centered one over the off-centered one.

Craig H.

[esquiresports]

Generally focused more on centering, but I am much more particular on L/R centering than T/B. Particularly for horizontal cards.

Anyone else like this?

Here's an example I could live with. This was my card, actually...

[MattyC]

That Aaron and that Whitey are fantastic examples of OC creating value. I can totally see the point of cards like that being nearly exactly how they were out of the pack.

Horizontals with perfect l/r but OC t/b can look great.

I suppose in the end every card presents its own unique case, and the right example could get us to stray from our usual preferences.

[darkhorse9]

I store all of my cards raw and in binders so unless the card is really off center I barely even notice the OC on the page. I do notice bad corners, however.

I'd take that Aaron in a heartbeat

[bcbgcbrcb]

Pretty much everyone will go with the centered card

I ll take 4 sharp corners OC for the cards from the pre-war to @ the mid 70's all the time, knowing they didn't care how the cards were printed and cut and who cared about collecting back then. My thoughts fewer cards with sharp corners OC then rounded.

[GasHouseGang]

When I look back at cards I collected in the past, sharp corners were what everyone seemed most concerned about. I know I bought raw cards as NM/MT that had 4 sharp corners that were off center. The nice thing is that now you can pick up some cards at bargain prices that have been deemed OC. As long as the whole card is there a little OC doesn't bother me too much, as long as the card has good eye appeal. Here are a couple of examples I picked up for less than normal because of the OC designation. Sorry the scan of the Reese looks a bit off.

[Wymers Auction]

I am going to go with centering, but I would also like to add registration or focus to this. I hate blurry cards.

[67_Palmer]

The OC of that 58' Maris doesn't bother me in the least. I would purchase a card like that without hesitation.

[MBMiller25]

I'm in the centering camp as well. Its the very first quality I look for on any potential purchase.

[brett 75]

Centering on certain years of cards doesn't bother me . 1960 is an example they seem to look good even if they are off as much as 90/10 top to bottom . Others much less 1962-1964 look bad to me if they are off by 80 /20 .Registration is the one that bugs me the most I would care less if the card had four razor sharp and was dead on center if its not in focus pass on it every time. But bottom line usually comes down to price. Brett

[vintage954]

new member, long time lurker... I myself would rather have sharp corners and OC than a worn down card. Just my two cents!!