Should there be one universal grading criteria for sports cards?

[the 'stache]

Since I've gotten into card collecting again within the last few years, one thing that has continually frustrated me has been the variations in grading criteria.

I understand that a card printed and cut today can come out looking nearly perfect, even when examined under a magnifying glass. If it's pulled out of a pack, carefully put into a card saver, and sent off to PSA...assuming everything is properly processed on their end, that card could come back with a gem mint 10 grade.

Compare that to a 1952 Topps, printed 60 years ago. It was produced using the printing methods of the day, and the sheets were cut in a way that created edges that would not compare well to a card printed and cut today. If you were to apply modern grading criteria looking at this card, it would never be graded a 10. However, the grading companies make exceptions for vintage cards. They "artificially raise" the grades.

My question is...should they?

A 10 is supposed to represent the very highest quality a card can realize. It shouldn't really matter when the card was created. A 10 is pristine. Perfection. And when you see a 50-60 year old card graded a 9, and you hold it up next to a card printed two years ago, also graded a 9...it causes confusion. "One of these things is not like the other". A 9 is a card that many times would be graded a 10 were it not examined under magnification.

Why are there two different grading scales for modern and vintage cards? Would having just one grading scale not simplify things, and make things easier for collectors?

The most sought after post-war card is the 1952 Mickey Mantle. If the best-known example of the card were to only grade a 7.5 on the universal grading scale, would that be a bad thing? Is there some psychological need to have a card that should grade a 7.5 graded an 8, or an 8.5? Doctoring cards (repairing paper tears, soaking, recoloring, etc) is considered taboo (as it should be). Well, isn't raising a card's grade solely on when it was produced doing much the same thing?

When the card was printed should not matter, in my opinion. The methods used to create the card should not matter. If that means that some cards that were produced in baseball's "golden age" will never have a 10, a 9 or even an 8 in circulation...is that a bad thing? The market would adjust accordingly, and there would be a lot less confusion.

[bosoxfan]

I don't believe a TPG will , or at least they say they don't, "artificially raise" the grades. A mint card should will be graded mint only if the grade is warranted, in their opinion, regardless of the year.

[JollyElm]

You have to remember one thing here. Grading cards is a business. They do what they do to earn revenue. Each of these outfits create their own climate of grading cards and they're never going to sit down together and produce a universally accepted standard.

And think of all these 'shill' grading companies out there that give 10's to virtually everything. They want to make their ill-gotten pittances for these outright deceptions, so they would never comply with any grading standards.

[ALR-bishop]

I am the ultimate supreme grader and commander of my cards.

[steve B]

The printing /cutting technology used in 1952 could produce cards just as nice as those produced today with one exception. The screens (call it dpi if you want) used today are much finer.

In 1952 it was possible to get the registration exactly right, get perfectly smooth cuts exactly on center, etc.

What's different is that in 1952 the vast majority of kids didn't care if the centering wasn't perfect or if the picture was a bit blurry. So the printers didn't make much effort to get it perfect since perfect costs a whole lot more.

Todays cards are produced to a slightly higher standard because some customers will complain if the registration and centering are off or if the edges aren't totally smooth. Technology has gotten to the point where that's a bit easier to do affordably, plus there are a few tricks.

Borderless cards always appear better centered. 1mm off with a border of 3mm looks way off, but with no border it's almost invisible.
Many modern cards are die cut. The corners aren't truly sharp, but appear sharp. And being ever so slightly rounded are less prone to damage.

With consistent grading standards the older stuff in near perfect condition will be worth more since far fewer were ever all that great when new.
I'm not a fanatic about grading, but I can see some place for it.

Steve B

Steve B