Grading MC / OC Cards
 

Hi all. Apologies for another SGC v PSA question...

I have 4 or 5 MC or very OC cards, which are great looking other than that. I'm in the rare group that doesn't mind that issue as much as bad corners etc.

Like most others here I much prefer SGC holders for PC cards, but wonder if they are now much more unforgiving thank PSA on MC or OC cards given their updated grading scale.

Perhaps PSA is now a better option to avoid a punative grade & protect longer term value? Or does SGC have a bit of wiggle room on their criteria?

What do you think?

Bumping this in case any one has a view. Thanks!

I'll give you an example of my 53 Bowman Berra and Musial; I believe they would have been qualified if graded by PSA. However, I think they received an overall lower grade due to the centering.

Thanks Phil. That's useful guidance.

My current thinking on the matter after watching a lot of YouTube videos is that SGC is slightly more lenient on MC than PSA.

Back in the day, "MC" was generally understood as cards that were so OC they were missing entire borders, showing part of the adjacent card on the other border, etc. etc. But here lately, PSA has also been known to reject vintage cards as miscut due to things like egregious tilt, diamond cutting, or just wonkiness where the card may be like 1/16 factory large in one direction and things like that.

SGC may be tougher in this regard than they were 10 years ago, (they sure as hell have gotten tougher on centering...) but I have seen them even recently be willing to slab cards that have slight cut irregularities that I feel like PSA probably would not.

My $0.02. Thanks.

Thanks John - appreciate it. 2-3 of the cards I'm thinking of are like Phil's Yogi Berra (or even a bit more OC), so his photo and your comment suggest that sticking with SGC may be best as I'll get a better looking holder without the grading being punative. Fingers crossed!

Yep, no problem. SGC in the past was always a bit of a safe haven for cards that had mild cut or centering issues to still get a fair shake with the grade. That's not so much the case anymore, but I do think they are still less harsh than PSA. They do have better looking slabs too, all day long. It's always been perplexing to me that most graded collectors in the hobby are more seduced by the PSA registry than better looking holders!

If you were to submit those to PSA and ask for "no qualifiers", I'm sure they would come back with regular grades. Neither of those look MC, just off-center which they aren't required to note. If a card is a 7, but would be 7 OC, they just make it a straight PSA 5. Many people prefer a straight grade and will request it to avoid qualifiers.

If a card is truly MC though, you can't opt out of that qualifier. They will either put it on the flip, or send your card back to you raw.

That's true. I've had it happen on a couple of cards I submitted.

To clarify, cards posted here earlier in this thread - I would agree are not miscut. Yes, depending on the grade, they might get an OC qualifier w/ PSA. For lower grades, the OC qualifier actually becomes less of an issue because the standard the centering is required to be held to is on a sliding scale.

I posted my two cards as examples of off-center, not miscut. I was pointing out that under PSA I would have received a qualifier for both cards as o/c.

Phil aka Tere1071

Right, sorry I think I originally confused you with the OP. Beautiful cards, even if they would be qualified!