Tape effect on dimensions? 1933 Goudey Ruth #144
 

Hey more knowledgable than me vintage collectors. I am brand new here, referred from a post I made on another site. I hope you can help me out. I am wondering if tape leads to warping of cards with time? I know in physics that if unequal forces are placed on an object it becomes warped with time due to constant temperature changes (like a bridge) I bought a 1933 Goudey Ruth #144. It has tape on 3 sides, I purchased the card cheap (well $1500 cheap) because it was one of the finest PSA Trimmed I had seen. The place I ordered from insisted it wasn't trimmed- I didn't care either way. Now the good stuff :) so I'm a scientist and like to test things so wanted to see if there was a truth to the sellers statement.

I noticed some peculiarities

1. Dimensions - Pass

2. Edges - Slight waving - Fail

a. BUT the concave/convex patterning on the outside of the card matches perfectly to the inside of the card where Babe Ruth image is. There is an overall concave retraction near the center of the card. There are multiple examples of this on the top and bottom and even sides.

3. I have examined the card under a light microscope in my lab (the best I could being in a case) and...

a. there were no obvious indentations associated with pressure from a scalpel or razor.

b. the fibers at the edge of the card remain a constant color and natural appearance, there is no abrupt fiber cuts or altered coloration that would be expected with trimming

Now the blegh...

I contacted PSA and unfortunately found out they don't do ACTUAL card verification to determine trimming. Their protocol is to only measure dimensions and look for straightness of edge. It actually seems like a whole lotta BS to me when you're talking about the difference of thousands of dollars in a card value. I am not putting much more faith in SGC to put in any effort either. Is there any process you can go through to get a company to really inspect a card and validate if it is trimmed? And final reminder does tape cause warping like I think? Thanks guys!

I think it's really sad if this would be one of many cases where cards are improperly marked trimmed simply cause the edge isn't straight do to very minor warping :( And heck maybe I'm just wrong and it is trimmed

http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/...Ruth/photo.jpg

http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/...at120059AM.png

http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/...at120126AM.png

http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/...2at45244AM.png

http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/...h/photo-38.jpg

http://i1159.photobucket.com/albums/...h/photo-39.jpg

I don't think that little bit of tape would do that to the card. If the entire edge was wrapped and the tape shrunk before the adhesive dried out maybe.

What it probably is is a card that's been wet and had the corners rolled thinner and larger then trimmed back to the correct size.
If that was done without leaving any obvious trace on the edges it's a really well done trimming.
I'd bet that if the card was out of the holder the edges and especially corners would be thinner.

Still a great looking card.


Steve B