E120 SGC Rejection: Blank Back or Missing Back?
 

Hi all,

I'd like to consult with the experts who are more knowledgeable than myself. I'm not really into caramel cards but decided to buy an E120 Dave Bancroft for my "one card of every HOFer" collection as I think it's a cool looking card and I like that it reads Dave (Beauty) Bancroft.

I bought a raw E120 Dave Bancroft at the National from a reputable dealer. It was marked as a Blank Back. My perfunctory research shows that there are blank back E120s and they are more rare than the normal back. I paid a bit of a premium over the regular back price for the card but nothing crazy.

I decided to have the card graded by SGC as I was dropping some other cards off with them. They hit me with a NO - CANNOT/DO NOT GRADE on the card. I emailed to ask why and was provided the following response:

"The reason is that the back of the card is completely missing. Due to this, our team is unable to properly authenticate the card in its current condition. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause."

To my eyes the back looks fine. No glue, no missing material, or evidence of being in a scrapbook. There a small crease on the top right of the front that goes through to the top left of the back. To add to the mystery, the front of the card has green printing. For some reason I can't get a clean scan of the front, but I assure you, it's the normal green. If I'm allowed to post a cell phone pic of the front I will but I believe all images still need to be scans.

What does everyone think? Is this actually a blank back or was it mislabeled by the dealer and cleaned so much the type was removed?

SGC does not grade blank backs anymore. Neither does PSA. Only CGC will. They must've been burnt one too many times. I have (4) blank back southern leaguers and received the same results. A true shame.

There are what I refer to as W573-2 strip cards that have the Green (for National League teams or Sepia (American League teams) tinting just like the E120 set. Perhaps your card is a nicely cut W573 strip card?

Here is a scan showing example of the three types of W573 strip cards. The middle row contains examples of the W573-2 cards. Your Bancroft is possibly like the green tinted cards in this image. Unfortunately I did not scan the backs when I scanned the fronts...the cards all have blank backs.


Brian

I forgot to mention your card does not appear to be missing the back...just sloppy professionalism by folks that should in theory be professionals in their field.

Brian

Thanks for all of the information! VCP shows some sold W573 Bancrofts in green, so it looks like the mystery is solved. Disappointing that SGC didn't catch it.

A TPG should know the difference between a skinned E120 (or a regular blank back, which would be very scarce) and a W573.
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Here is another example W573 blank back, this time showing its highly coveted blank back (as well as a comparison E120 card of the same player).

Brian

Attachment 670131

Attachment 670133

Some W573s have ads. All the better. It should be noted that W573s are much thinner than E120s.