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Posted By: Corey R. Shanus

Some of the things skilled paper restorers can do are truly remarkable. I would think that the latest technological gizmos a grading company may have will not mean much unless they have the people with the experience and expertise to know what to look for. And what Barry says is absolutely correct--though the great majority of paper restorers are upfront honest individuals who disclose their work and are hired by people with no intention to defraud, there are a few bad seeds who have the ability to do tremendous harm. I see the day coming with card collecting that we are already at with, say, autograph collecting. There, for many (most?) collectors an LOA from an autograph authentication company in the absence of any other corroborating documentation/evidence simply is not enough to eliminate all doubts as to the signature's authenticity. With cards it may become commonplace for collectors to insist on getting information about a card's provenance in order to feel comfortable the card has not been altered.