Grading Has Clouded Our Minds...

[JollyElm]

It's time for another episode, so let's call this one Ryan's Nope...

(These cards were randomly placed in two rows, so there is no underlying rhyme or reason to the layout. As always...no cheating!!)

Pictured here are eight different 1974 Topps #20 Nolan Ryans, one of history's finest looking baseball cards. Every one of them has at least one side that's pretty close to the border, so if one is deemed to be off-centered, then all of them must be, right? NOPE!! Each has been graded as a straight PSA 8, except one - only one - which got an OC qualifier thrown at it. Which one is it?

Which card got beaned by a fastball??



(The top row contains cards #1, 2, 3, 4 and the bottom row has cards #5, 6, 7, 8.)

[jchcollins]

I'll guess #7.

[Kutcher55]

#7 would be my guess as well. btw, no offense, but you can't have "1974 Topps" and "one of history's finest looking baseball cards" in the same sentence. Although I do agree it's a great photo of the Ryan Express.

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by Kutcher55

btw, no offense, but you can't have "1974 Topps" and "one of history's finest looking baseball cards" in the same sentence.

LOL, I would have to agree with that as well. I actually like the 74's, but I don't think they rate anywhere near the best sets of all time.

Never really cared for graded cards. Call me old school but I prefer to collect like I did when I was a kid. I love for my cards to be as nice as I can get but not encased in a plastic coffin. I also like the pricing of raw cards. With a little study and research great deals can still be had. I can see the advantage of it for the investor or value oriented collectors but the money doesn't matter to me. It's just a fun hobby that I've recently come back to.

[jchcollins]

Originally Posted by Wimberleycardcollector

Never really cared for graded cards. Call me old school but I prefer to collect like I did when I was a kid. I love for my cards to be as nice as I can get but not encased in a plastic coffin. I also like the pricing of raw cards. With a little study and research great deals can still be had. I can see the advantage of it for the investor or value oriented collectors but the money doesn't matter to me. It's just a fun hobby that I've recently come back to.

Your approach is still a popular one. If I'm buying pricier cards online, I prefer graded for the peace of mind of it. But I have been known to liberate certain cards and turn them into raw ones again after I receive them.

[ASF123]

I love for my cards to be as nice as I can get but not encased in a plastic coffin.

Concur. It kind of feels like a card in a slab ceases to be a card, i.e. a thing in and of itself. It's just an accessory to the "PSA prestige and scarcity" that people are chasing. Totally understand the authentication/peace of mind aspect of it, though - although given the trimming scandal and the wild inconsistencies demonstrated in this thread and elsewhere, there's nothing "real" about a PSA grade. But the market still largely treats it as if there is, so there is peace of mind that comes with it. I think I would want graded for any card above maybe $400-500?

[GasHouseGang]

I'm going to say #1. I don't like the looks of the left lower corner.