UPDATED - My turn to complain about PSA - Davidson T206

Ima Pseudonym · #1 05-16-2025, 02:21 PM

Here's mine. I've had numerous people look at it (in person and on various forums) and nobody can really say, for sure, what caused the PSA-2 grade.

People are able to pick out a couple of really nit-picky things, but they're the kind of things that would cause it to be a 5 instead of a 7. They aren't the kind of things that would really justify a 2 or even a 3.

I have looked at it under magnification several times and there isn't a single crease/wrinkle that I've been able to find.

The frustrating part is that, no matter what, there is absolutely no way that you can get the grader to explain WHY they came to their conclusion so you're just left, not knowing, forever. I told them I'd pay them double the fee if I could get an explanation, but only received a standard form response from them.

Bigdaddy · #2 05-16-2025, 02:54 PM

Just an opinion, but you should not have to look at a card under magnification to see why it is graded 3 or below. The magnifying glass should be reserved for seeing the difference between 8, 9 and 10s.

Nice cards, fellas.

Ima Pseudonym · #3 05-16-2025, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigdaddy

Just an opinion, but you should not have to look at a card under magnification to see why it is graded 3 or below. The magnifying glass should be reserved for seeing the difference between 8, 9 and 10s.

Nice cards, fellas.

That's kind of my feeling as well.

YankeeCollector · #4 05-17-2025, 01:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigdaddy

Just an opinion, but you should not have to look at a card under magnification to see why it is graded 3 or below. The magnifying glass should be reserved for seeing the difference between 8, 9 and 10s.

Nice cards, fellas.

+1

balltrash · #5 05-16-2025, 05:07 PM

Any chance that card was soaked off a backing? Color variations on the back may be some residue.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ima Pseudonym

Here's mine. I've had numerous people look at it (in person and on various forums) and nobody can really say, for sure, what caused the PSA-2 grade.

People are able to pick out a couple of really nit-picky things, but they're the kind of things that would cause it to be a 5 instead of a 7. They aren't the kind of things that would really justify a 2 or even a 3.

I have looked at it under magnification several times and there isn't a single crease/wrinkle that I've been able to find.

The frustrating part is that, no matter what, there is absolutely no way that you can get the grader to explain WHY they came to their conclusion so you're just left, not knowing, forever. I told them I'd pay them double the fee if I could get an explanation, but only received a standard form response from them.

Ima Pseudonym · #6 05-16-2025, 06:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by balltrash

Any chance that card was soaked off a backing? Color variations on the back may be some residue.

Maybe. I've considered that possibility based on the lighter area below the word "subjects" where it might have been glued/putty'd to a page or something. There's no visible residue under magnification, just a slight discoloration.

But, again, it's presumption. Discoloration is typical for every 115 year old card.

Here's a 3 that I recently bought... now *that* is back staining!

sacentaur · #7 05-16-2025, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ima Pseudonym

Here's mine. I've had numerous people look at it (in person and on various forums) and nobody can really say, for sure, what caused the PSA-2 grade.

People are able to pick out a couple of really nit-picky things, but they're the kind of things that would cause it to be a 5 instead of a 7. They aren't the kind of things that would really justify a 2 or even a 3.

I have looked at it under magnification several times and there isn't a single crease/wrinkle that I've been able to find.

The frustrating part is that, no matter what, there is absolutely no way that you can get the grader to explain WHY they came to their conclusion so you're just left, not knowing, forever. I told them I'd pay them double the fee if I could get an explanation, but only received a standard form response from them.

Great looking card (I�ll take it

Ludington1 · #8 05-16-2025, 06:03 PM

Thanks everyone for commiserating with me, I (kinda) feel better. The card does have the slight color shift or bleed along that top-right edge, but definitely no creases or other surface damage at all. I�m really disappointed with this one.

Darren

Ima Pseudonym · #9 05-16-2025, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ludington1

Thanks everyone for commiserating with me, I (kinda) feel better. The card does have the slight color shift or bleed along that top-right edge, but definitely no creases or other surface damage at all. I�m really disappointed with this one.

Darren

If there's no wrinkle, then I don't understand the grade at all. The mildly sloppy registration issue should take it down a little bit, but not all the way down to a 2. I see worse 4's every single day, in both major grading slabs.

perezfan · #10 05-16-2025, 07:10 PM

Anyone sending vintage and pre-war cards to PSA (and SGC) these days should expect a grade 2 points lower than in the entire history of third party grading. They've clearly moved the goalposts, and Collectors (the company) has now dragged SGC into this nightmare as well.

5 years ago, those cards both graded 5 or better. They have effectively rendered the Registry and Pricing Comps meaningless. Go by what your own eyes tell you.... not a fictitious number on a slab.

Ludington1 · #11 05-16-2025, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by perezfan

Anyone sending vintage and pre-war cards to PSA (and SGC) these days should expect a grade 2 points lower than in the entire history of third party grading. They've clearly moved the goalposts, and Collectors (the company) has now dragged SGC into this nightmare as well.

5 years ago, those cards both graded 5 or better. They have effectively rendered the Registry and Pricing Comps meaningless. Go by what your own eyes tell you.... not a fictitious number on a slab.

Great perspective� I just recently got back into collecting when my son found my T206 cards that I collected as a kid in the late 80s. We decided that collecting the Indianapolis pre-war cards would be a great way to hunt and not get caught up in the modern madness. The Davidson is the 5th of 5 players in the T206 set for us and we�re working on the Old Judge cards now. So the grade really doesn�t matter at all. Thanks!

Darren

Ima Pseudonym · #12 05-16-2025, 07:35 PM

Meanwhile, there's stuff like this floating around out there (this was graded July 2023) lol

Ima Pseudonym · #13 05-16-2025, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by perezfan

Anyone sending vintage and pre-war cards to PSA (and SGC) these days should expect a grade 2 points lower than in the entire history of third party grading. They've clearly moved the goalposts, and Collectors (the company) has now dragged SGC into this nightmare as well.

5 years ago, those cards both graded 5 or better. They have effectively rendered the Registry and Pricing Comps meaningless. Go by what your own eyes tell you.... not a fictitious number on a slab.

I agree with you when it comes to modern grading vs. grading from many years ago; but for the most part, the wife and I guessed pretty accurately on most of the cards in my recent submission.

The only real exception was the 1952 Redman cards, which graded significantly below where we both thought. I was pleasantly surprised on the '55s, but my wife called those ones perfectly.

We both guessed 4 on Rucker because, after thinking about it, we figured the new grader would have the fact that PSA already graded it a 2 in the back of his mind and wouldn't go too far out on a limb to disagree with that previous grade, for fear of making a mistake.

The biggest problem with grading is that its all completely subjective, and the standards vary greatly from one grader to the next. They're like MLB umpires -- some are pretty good at adhering to the standards, while others are Angel Hernandez.

hammertime · #14 05-16-2025, 11:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by perezfan

Anyone sending vintage and pre-war cards to PSA (and SGC) these days should expect a grade 2 points lower than in the entire history of third party grading. They've clearly moved the goalposts, and Collectors (the company) has now dragged SGC into this nightmare as well.

5 years ago, those cards both graded 5 or better. They have effectively rendered the Registry and Pricing Comps meaningless. Go by what your own eyes tell you.... not a fictitious number on a slab.

Completely agree!

YankeeCollector · #15 05-17-2025, 01:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by perezfan

anyone sending vintage and pre-war cards to psa (and sgc) these days should expect a grade 2 points lower than in the entire history of third party grading. They've clearly moved the goalposts, and collectors (the company) has now dragged sgc into this nightmare as well.

5 years ago, those cards both graded 5 or better. They have effectively rendered the registry and pricing comps meaningless. Go by what your own eyes tell you.... Not a fictitious number on a slab.

100%

Beercan collector · #16 05-17-2025, 07:18 AM

The card companies are getting us trained - we�re trying to figure out why a card is a PSA 2 - light discoloration ? Tiny print dots ? Hidden wrinkles ?
Microscopic surface wear ? Imperfect centering ? registration ? These are all the things that used to be (& should be) allowed on 5s .. even 6s

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