How does sgc grade writing?

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Posted By: Bob

Hard to believe the card would get a 20 from SGC, but if its dopelgangers did, I guess it might. The problem I have had with SGC is that on blank backed cards which are normally exish, SGC nose-dives the grades down to a 10 for writing on the back. There are a lot of Zeenuts floating around that were "catalogued" many years ago and have a small, discrete number in fountain pen ink on the top back. An otherwise creaseless SGC 50 falls all the way to a 10 because of this. Conversely, you have a card with rips, tears, holes, stains and more creases than you can count, also getting a 10. How can this be justified? Not just me, ask anyone who collects blank back cards (particularly Zeenuts) and submits them to SGC, and the results are the same. I have ordered Zeenuts from catalogues described as "excellent" and indeed they are beauties but have that catalogue type number on the back and plummet to a 10 or once in a while a 20. Discouraging. it reminds me of the situation a few years ago when SGC was hammering any Obak which had that small purple stamped number on the back (a majority do) and was brutal in their grading of them. Now that you have all those exish looking Obaks in 20 holders floating around, SGC now has changed their policy and included stamped back on their labels so a 40 or 50 may be no where near as nice as a 20 or 30 graded 5 years ago....