Centering

[Touch'EmAll]

Wow, Leon - that Thorpe and Matty - never seen those before. Yes, for super rare items, an off centered card may be as good as you will ever find.

How tolerant you are on centering is also somewhat a factor of the typical grades you collect. If you are a PSA 2 thru 4 guy, then centering is probably less important to you. If you are a PSA 5 and up guy, centering becomes more important.

I would dearly like to acquire a 1948 Leaf Satchell Paige - has anyone ever, in their entire life, seen one centered approx 55/45 or better both directions? If so, I bet it went for some astronomical price.

[DanP]

Originally Posted by 100backstroke

I would dearly like to acquire a 1948 Leaf Satchell Paige - has anyone ever, in their entire life, seen one centered approx 55/45 or better both directions? If so, I bet it went for some astronomical price.

I just received this in the mail today! Not Satchell, not centered, but I've been looking for a long time so I "took what I could get"!! I would have paid double to get this same grade card centered.

Dan

[alanu]

With vintage cards I don't really pay too much attention to centering, but would obviously prefer a well centered card.

With newer cards I like to get the best centering possible, there was a time I was obsessed with finding a "perfectly" centered 1957 Ernie Banks in EX or better.

-Alan

[bbcard1]

I think well center 1979 Ozzie Smith is miscut...in effect off center. the norm...more than 80% seem distictly off center.

Depends on the card. There is a T205 Joss 1 OC on the bay right now that is a beauty. I'll bet it will go for what a weak three would.

[DanP]

Originally Posted by 100backstroke

I would dearly like to acquire a 1948 Leaf Satchell Paige - has anyone ever, in their entire life, seen one centered approx 55/45 or better both directions? If so, I bet it went for some astronomical price.

Take your pick... They're not centered, but not that bad either.

Dan

[steve B]

Yes, centering and registration matter quite a bit to me. The worse it is the better I like it!

Ok, probably not everyones thing, but I like them. Started when I got the Holtzman out of a pack. So far off center and from the edge of the sheet it's about 1/4 inch short. The 75 isn't factory, I was really disappointed when the uy I got it from confessed he'd cut a damaged sheet into nice condition blocks and "salvaged" a couple from the debris. Still interesting as a conversation piece.

I do also like really well centered and registered cards too, it's all the average ones that are a bit dull.

Steve B

[glchen]

Centering is very important to me, but I think marks on cards are what I dislike most. Again, as stated before, if the card is scarce, and there isn't much of a choice, I'll still take marked cards, but look to upgrade when possible.

[Touch'EmAll]

Dan P. - Are they all yours? I would keep the better PSA 7 and sell the rest. If yours, how much you ask for the nicer PSA 7?

[Matt]

L/R centering is much more important to me then T/B, but registration and lack of major creasing are most important.

[DanP]

Originally Posted by 100backstroke

Dan P. - Are they all yours? I would keep the better PSA 7 and sell the rest. If yours, how much you ask for the nicer PSA 7?

NO!! These are just images I dug up. I wish!

Dan

[ls7plus]

I think Leon really hit the nail on the head, with some very impressive illustrations--I second the "WOW," nice cards, re the Matty and Thorpe especially!!!

Larry

[Leon]

Originally Posted by ls7plus

I think Leon really hit the nail on the head, with some very impressive illustrations--I second the "WOW," nice cards, re the Matty and Thorpe especially!!!

Larry

Thanks for the kind words. I can't believe anyone hasn't seen them as many times I have posted them . I do think they are cool cards...Truly rare cards, that stay rare, are becoming less common .

[GasHouseGang]

It's funny really. It used to be all anyone seemed to care about were the corners. Then with the advent of the registry and since PSA is all about centering, that became a major focus. As someone else said, there is no right or wrong. But to me it all boils down to eye appeal. If a card is majorly off center and just looks bad, I probably won't want it. But if it grades out at as a PSA/SGC 1, but just has some minor paper loss on the back and looks beautiful, I'll take it. That's just my preference.

[ebrehm]

I prefer 55/45 or better on most cards I acquire, whether pre-war or not. I will allow some slack for scarce cards where I can't afford to be that picky, but even then I am not as happy with the card if the centering is much beyond 60/40 or so.

[mintacular]

Centering is a nice bonus but not a necessity. I prefer sharp corners over centering as off-centering is a "natural" defect and hence is more acceptable to me...I must say I've started to pay attention to it/appreciate centering more in recent months...example:



On the other hand, I am perfectly happy with my Clemente RC, would rather have this one with sharp-ish corners than a centered one with soft corners:



To each his own, I guess--helps to be flexible on this issue in terms of price.