71 Topps Mays Flaw

[Tere1071]

Originally Posted by Eric72

Sadly, the surface of the card seems to be the most overlooked aspect of its condition.

Seemingly everyone these days is focused on centering. The card can have dimples, pimples, and poor registration. If it's centered, though, the seller will say it has "great eye appeal." Eye of the beholder, I guess.

Collectors seemed to do the same thing when I was a kid, only the focus was on corners. The card could have been off-centered, faded, and speckled with print spots. So long as it had sharp corners, the seller would have said, "it's still in mint condition, all that other stuff happened at the factory."

I used to be 100% sharp corners and as long as it wasn't miscut, I would consider it for my collection. About 30-50% of my collection would be considered off-center. Now, I take centering into some consideration, particularly if it's one of those cards that is difficult to find. The 71 Topps set is one of my favorites and I've decided to "revise" it a bit by upgrading those cards that are difficult to find perfectly centered. Every once in a while, I'll find of these cards perfectly centered, but the rest of the card is junk; life ain't fair.

A while back I started a thread asking collectors which 71s are difficult to find centered but it garnered a tepid response. Not all of them are high dollar cards and hopefully don't become so. Back to eBay...

Happy collecting!

Phil aka Tere1071