Questions about selling a postwar collection

[capricesquad]

Thanks for the help, I asked around a few other forums and haven't really gotten much other than get them graded but with the cost of grading I would like to know much more before plunking down the cash to find out the cards aren't worth grading.

Back to my dad's collection, he grew up on a rural farm and would watch his younger siblings on the weekend when my grandparents would go shopping and they would buy him a few packs as payment. Living on a farm meant few chances to trade so he has quite a few doubles, in some cases as many as 10 of the same card. He took immaculate card of the cards but looking over them there are many that have gum stains or printing issues that were there from the factory but at the time they were penny cards so I'm assuming the factory QC was pretty terrible.


To start off he has almost a whole set of bazooka all star cards in pretty nice condition

[capricesquad]

He has quite a few Post and Jello cards


Lots of team cards


And lots of all star group cards

[capricesquad]

He has quite a few Life of Babe Ruth Cards



I started by grabbing random good players out of a random box

[capricesquad]

There were quite a few good cards so I started a fresh pile on a table. The ones in stacks are doubles of the card on top.





He ended up having quite a few Mickey Mantle cards which might be valuable depending on how they rate










I ordered some top loader cases on amazon to try to get them a bit more protected, is that ok or should I use something else?

[capricesquad]

Some more post and jello cards. He has a full card box of these.


He has a bunch of the team cards which seem to be worthwhile depending on the team



He also pulled out a binder of what I thought were called exhibitor cards but are actually called exhibit or arcade cards. I guess they aren't worth much compared to regular cards but he has 3 mantles and duplicates of other good players.

[capricesquad]

Here are some of the better players post and jello cards


Looking around on ebay for values these are the ones that seem worth possibly grading

[pawpawdiv9]

Wow a nice collection indeed. Those Micks look nice indeed. I saw a Clemente & hanks in there. And those Exhibits are nice. There a collector here thats a guru on those.
You may wanna try and get some rigid card savers..they reccommend Card Saver 1's, when you send to grade them or perhaps send them to a AH and let them send the good ones for grading?? Not sure who or if any of them do that tho.

[capricesquad]

Originally Posted by pawpawdiv9

Wow a nice collection indeed. Those Micks look nice indeed. I saw a Clemente & hanks in there. And those Exhibits are nice. There a collector here thats a guru on those.
You may wanna try and get some rigid card savers..they reccommend Card Saver 1's, when you send to grade them or perhaps send them to a AH and let them send the good ones for grading?? Not sure who or if any of them do that tho.

Thanks for the feedback, I ordered some top loaders but if Card Saver 1's are better I will get those instead. There is a show in Chicago in a weekend or 2 that will have the graders on site so I was hoping to learn more about the process and see about picking out 10 or 20 cards that members thought were worth grading and taking them to the show with my dad. I'm assuming we should use PSA to grade them? Depending on how they grade that gives me a better idea of what the rest of the collection will grade as they are all in great shape except for the aforementioned gum stains and printing issues and rough cut edges on some of the cards.

There are also many boxes of cards that aren't in the photos that I honestly don't know enough about to sort through. I mainly had my dad look through and pull the cards of players he remembered being famous back in the day and except for the big names like Maris and Mantle I have no idea who any of these players are.

[DBesse27]

I love exhibits cards.

[pawpawdiv9]

If your selling, PSA is it. Defintely try grading the Micks, they will bring in $$$.
Also a note on grading...please read, It will help you understand the process of grading, if you have not already (from the PSA site)
Please note what qualifiers are and what minimum size requirments mean.

GEM-MT 10: Gem Mint
A PSA Gem Mint 10 card is a virtually perfect card. Attributes include four perfectly sharp corners, sharp focus and full original gloss. A PSA Gem Mint 10 card must be free of staining of any kind, but an allowance may be made for a slight printing imperfection, if it doesn't impair the overall appeal of the card. The image must be centered on the card within a tolerance not to exceed approximately 55/45 to 60/40 percent on the front, and 75/25 percent on the reverse.
MINT 9: Mint
A PSA Mint 9 is a superb condition card that exhibits only one of the following minor flaws: a very slight wax stain on reverse, a minor printing imperfection or slightly off-white borders. Centering must be approximately 60/40 to 65/35 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the reverse.
NM-MT 8: Near Mint-Mint
A PSA NM-MT 8 is a super high-end card that appears Mint 9 at first glance, but upon closer inspection, the card can exhibit the following: a very slight wax stain on reverse, slightest fraying at one or two corners, a minor printing imperfection, and/or slightly off-white borders. Centering must be approximately 65/35 to 70/30 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the reverse.
NM 7: Near Mint
A PSA NM 7 is a card with just a slight surface wear visible upon close inspection. There may be slight fraying on some corners. Picture focus may be slightly out-of-register. A minor printing blemish is acceptable. Slight wax staining is acceptable on the back of the card only. Most of the original gloss is retained. Centering must be approximately 70/30 to 75/25 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the back.
EX-MT 6: Excellent-Mint
A PSA EX-MT 6 card may have visible surface wear or a printing defect which does not detract from its overall appeal. A very light scratch may be detected only upon close inspection. Corners may have slightly graduated fraying. Picture focus may be slightly out-of-register. Card may show some loss of original gloss, may have minor wax stain on reverse, may exhibit very slight notching on edges and may also show some off-whiteness on borders. Centering must be 80/20 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the reverse.
EX 5: Excellent
On PSA EX-5 cards, very minor rounding of the corners is becoming evident. Surface wear or printing defects are more visible. There may be minor chipping on edges. Loss of original gloss will be more apparent. Focus of picture may be slightly out-of-register. Several light scratches may be visible upon close inspection, but do not detract from the appeal of the card. Card may show some off-whiteness of borders. Centering must be 85/15 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the back.
VG-EX 4: Very Good-Excellent
A PSA VG-EX 4 card's corners may be slightly rounded. Surface wear is noticeable but modest. The card may have light scuffing or light scratches. Some original gloss will be retained. Borders may be slightly off-white. A light crease may be visible. Centering must be 85/15 or better on the front and 90/10 or better on the back.
VG 3: Very Good
A PSA VG 3 card reveals some rounding of the corners, though not extreme. Some surface wear will be apparent, along with possible light scuffing or light scratches. Focus may be somewhat off-register and edges may exhibit noticeable wear. Much, but not all, of the card's original gloss will be lost. Borders may be somewhat yellowed and/or discolored. A crease may be visible. Printing defects are possible. Slight stain may show on obverse and wax staining on reverse may be more prominent. Centering must be 90/10 or better on the front and back.
GOOD 2: Good
A PSA Good 2 card's corners show accelerated rounding and surface wear is starting to become obvious. A good card may have scratching, scuffing, light staining, or chipping of enamel on obverse. There may be several creases. Original gloss may be completely absent. Card may show considerable discoloration. Centering must be 90/10 or better on the front and back.
FR 1.5: Fair
A PSA Fair 1.5 card's corners will show extreme wear, possibly affecting framing of the picture. The surface of the card will show advanced stages of wear, including scuffing, scratching, pitting, chipping and staining. The picture will possibly be quite out-of-register and the borders may have become brown and dirty. The card may have one or more heavy creases. In order to achieve a Fair grade, a card must be fully intact. Even though the card may be heavily worn, it cannot achieve this grade if it is missing solid pieces of the card as a result of a major tear, etc. This would include damage such as the removal of the back layer of the card or an entire corner. The centering must be approximately 90/10 or better on the front and back.
PR 1: Poor
A PSA Poor 1 will exhibit many of the same qualities of a PSA Fair 1.5 but the defects may have advanced to such a serious stage that the eye appeal of the card has nearly vanished in its entirety. A Poor card may be missing one or two small pieces, exhibit major creasing that nearly breaks through all the layers of cardboard or it may contain extreme discoloration or dirtiness throughout that may make it difficult to identify the issue or content of the card on either the front or back. A card of this nature may also show noticeable warping or another type of destructive defect.
Half-Point Grades:

Cards that exhibit high-end qualities within each particular grade, between PSA Good 2 and PSA Mint 9, may achieve a half-point increase. While PSA graders will evaluate all of the attributes possessed by a card in order to determine if the card may be eligible, there will be a clear focus on centering.

Generally speaking, a card must exhibit centering that is 5-10% better, at minimum, than the lowest % allowed within a particular grade. It is important to note that there may be cases where the overall strength of the card, such as the quality of the corners and print, will give the card the edge it needs despite the fact that it may exhibit only marginal centering for the grade. This is especially true for cards that find themselves within the bottom half of the PSA 1-10 scale.

Finally, keep in mind that qualifiers will not apply to grades that achieve the half-point increase since, by definition, these cards have to exhibit high-end qualities within the grade in order to warrant consideration. For example, there will not be cards graded PSA NM-MT-Plus 8.5 OC or PSA EX-MT-Plus 6.5 PD since the half-point is reserved for high-end cards within each grade.

At this time, only cards qualify for half-point grades. Coins, pins, tickets and packs will not receive half-point grades.

QUALIFIERS:

PSA will grade nearly every card submitted. Cards having significant flaws will receive "qualified" grades as follows:

OC (Off Center):
When the centering of the card falls below the minimum standard for that grade will be designated "OC." PSA determines centering by comparing the measurements of the borders from left to right and top to bottom. The centering is designated as the percent of difference at the most off-center part of the card. A 5% leeway is given to the front centering minimum standards for cards which grade NM 7 or better. For example, a card that meets all of the other requirements for PSA MINT 9 and measures 60/40 off-center on the front automatically meets the PSA front centering standards for MINT 9. If a card meets all of the other requirements for PSA MINT 9 and measures 65/35 off-center on the front, it may be deemed to meet the PSA front centering standards for MINT 9 if the eye appeal of the card is good.
ST (Staining):
Cards with staining below the minimum standards for the grade will be designated "ST."
PD (Print Defect):
Cards with significant printing defects will be designated "PD."
OF (Out of Focus):
Cards with focus below the minimum standards for the grade will be designated "OF."
MK (Marks):
Cards with writing, ink marks, pencil marks, etc. or evidence of the impression left from the act of writing will be designated "MK."
MC (Miscut):
Cards that exhibit an atypical cut for the issue or ones that contain partial portions of more than one card will be designated "MC."
UNGRADEABLE CARDS:
PSA will not grade cards that bear evidence of trimming, re-coloring, restoration, or any other forms of tampering, or are of questionable authenticity. In addition, PSA does not grade autographed cards dated earlier than 1998 or any cards manufactured by Star except Star Baseball and 1996 Star Topps (reprint) Basketball Cards; only factory imprint signatures can be graded.
The Grading of Hand-Cut Cards

PSA will grade virtually any card that has been hand-cut off of a panel, box, etc. (Post Cereal, Hostess, Bazooka, Strip cards, etc.) keeping the following information in mind. This service does not include traditional sheet-cut cards. PSA will not grade cards cut from sheets that can be obtained in a normal fashion. For example, PSA will not grade a 1979 O-Pee-Chee Wayne Gretzky card cut from a sheet because that card was issued in non-sheet form. On the other hand, PSA will grade a 1959 Bazooka or 1961 Post Cereal Mickey Mantle because those cards could only be obtained in one fashion - removed by hand from a box or panel.

In order for PSA to actually assign a grade to any of the cards that possess visible/defined borders on all four sides, evidence of that border must be present or the card must exhibit virtually-full borders based on the design of the specific issue. If the cut exceeds the visible border for the card in question, PSA will encapsulate the card as "Authentic" only. If the card is severely undersized and suffers in overall eye appeal, the graders may deem the card not suitable for authentication or reject the card as minimum-sized altogether.

Keep in mind that, for cards that do not possess visible/defined borders, the cards must still fall within a certain size requirement for that particular issue in order to qualify for an actual grade. In other words, the borders must be virtually full in order for a grade to be rendered. Otherwise, as stated above, a label of "Authentic" will be assigned or, in some cases, the cards may fall short of the size requirement altogether. This is not an exact science. PSA will do its best to provide consistent guidelines for these types of cards.

In addition, PSA will allow cards that have had a coupon or tab removed from the original card to be submitted under this service. For example, if a 1952 Red Man Tobacco card is cut at or outside of the established tab line, the card would be eligible to receive a numerical grade. On the other hand, if the 1952 Red Man Tobacco card is cut inside of the line (the line where the tab meets the interior of the card), then the PSA graders will be precluded from entering a numerical grade. Cards that are cut within the limits established for a particular issue will be encapsulated and designated as "authentic" by PSA. All of the cards eligible for this service will be designated as "Hand-Cut" on the PSA label to distinguish them from the intact, "with tab" or "with coupon" examples.

PSA suggests that, in order to achieve the highest grades, the cuts of the cards should be relatively close to the visible borders without exceeding the limit. Cards that exhibit a clean, accurate and properly shaped cut have the best chance at achieving the highest grades. Eye appeal is very important. When it comes to excess paper or cardboard around the edges of the visible borders, the graders will place significant importance on overall eye appeal. Keep in mind that all cards of this type will be designated as "Hand-Cut" on the PSA label for accuracy. In addition, if the customer chooses, PSA will grade and encapsulate entire panels if those panels will fit in any of our current PSA holders. With the exception of the aforementioned items, normal grading criteria will apply.

The Grading Approach to Pins/Coins

The grading of pins or coins often comes down to the strength or weakness of the eye appeal since the material in question is far less susceptible to wear than cardboard or paper. The areas/defects that PSA graders focus on include but are not limited to: scratches, dents, severity of rust (if present), centering of the picture (obverse and reverse), compression of the pin/coin, the overall condition of the paper (if present) on the reverse and overall print quality. Since collectible coins/pins often differ in their makeup, sometimes greatly, it is very difficult to apply one uniform grading standard to all collectibles that fall into this category. The factors above represent the basic, key elements in the PSA grading approach. At this time, pins and coins will not receive half-point grades.

No Grade Definitions

If the grade of your card is available and is listed with one of the following grades, this card was determined to be ungradable for the following reasons.

N-1 Evidence of Trimming - When a card's edge has been altered, a card doctor may use scissors, scalpel, cutter, or any other cutting instrument. A trimmed card may show one of the following: Hook up or down, have one razor sharp edge, a difference in toning along the edge, a wavy look.
N-2 Evidence of Restoration - When a card's paper stock is built up - for example, when ripped corners are built up to look like new corners.
N-3 Evidence of Recoloration - Where a card's color has been artificially improved.
N-4 Questionable Authenticity - This is the term used when a card is counterfeit or the autograph is deemed to be unauthentic.
N-5 Altered Stock - This term is used when the paper stock is altered in one or more of the following ways: Stretching and trimming, recoloring and restoring, trimming and recoloring, restoring and trimming, crease or wrinkle is pressed out, or gloss is enhanced.
N-6 Minimum Size Requirement - When a card is significantly undersized according to factory specifications. You will not be charged the grading fee.
N-7 Evidence of Cleaning - When a whitener is used to whiten borders or a solution is used to remove wax, candy, gum or tobacco stains.
N-8 Miscut - This term is used when the factory cut is an abnormal cut. You will not be charged the grading fee.
N-9 Don't Grade - When we do not grade an issue. The cards may be oversized or an obscure issue. You will not be charged the grading fee.
N-0 Authentic Only - This means that PSA is only certifying that the item is genuine, without a numerical grade. This may be due to the existence of an alteration, one with malice or otherwise, a major defect or the original submitter may have requested that PSA encapsulate the card without a grade. The "Authentic" label means that the item, in our opinion, is real but nothing more.
AA Authentic Altered - This means that while PSA is certifying that the item is genuine, due to the existence of alterations, the item cannot receive a numerical grade. The term altered may mean that the card shows evidence of one or more of the following: trimming, recoloring, restoration, and/or cleaning. Items receiving the "Authentic Altered" designation, in our opinion, are genuine with the presence of some type of alteration. This is done on a case-by-case basis only, and must be notated on the submission form at the time of submission.

[swarmee]

Another thing to note: on the Post cereal cards that are hand-cut, make sure the entire black border is visible before sending it in; otherwise, it will only get an Authentic grade rather than a number grade. If it doesn't have the border all the way around, it probably isn't worth spending the money to grade (except for the Mantle to confirm it's not counterfeit).

[capricesquad]

Thanks for the info about a PSA membership I was looking into it and it seems like a good way to save some money on grading.

Comc also seems like a good deal for selling lesser cards even if you lose 20% when you cash out. I'll have to look into it.

[mybestbretts]

Wow, what a nice collection. I would say do get most of them graded. I agree it is a great expense, but it will be worth it. Grade a few and sell them to grade more.
Good luck to you

[MCoxon]

I agree you should get the Mantles, Mays, Koufax, and Clementes graded. Also the bazookas if they are hand-cut with the borders showing so that they come back with a grade number rather than "A" for authentic

Another group of cards you've got there with good prices are the 1961 topps all star cards. They are high-numbered and command premiums in good condition - I saw a Hank Aaron. A Mantle or Maris or Mays in good condition will go quite high.

There are basically different "markets"

1) Mantle, Clemente, Koufax. Will sell no matter what, but command a premium for graded, even if lower grade. Easy to sell on eBay, quickly, at good prices

2) other star players, where higher grades help (they need to look really really nice to get a psa 6 or higher, which makes it worth grading them in the early 60s). High grades will sell. Mid-grade or ungraded will take a while - maybe a show is the way to go

3) oddballs like bazooka which will command a premium if cut properly and graded. If they get a numerical grade, they should sell but take a little while to do so.

4) other "commons/filler" which will take a while to unload