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Posted By: MW

Lee --

The "rough cut" phenomenon is one I have trouble with. Nearly every major grading service downplays this defect to the extent that it almost never lowers the condition of a card by more than a half-grade or, in some cases, is completely ignored (that is, unless the cut runs into part of the card).

Take 1957 Topps for instance. I've always felt that a card with a smooth cut (e.g., from vending) should be graded higher than a card in the same condition but with a rough cut. In reality, they're often graded the same. I don't necessarily agree with this, but as long as a grading company is consistent in how they look at a rough cut, who am I to argue?

As for the 1957 Zimmer, it's probably an outstanding card with a bit of microwear on the corners. Get a 5X loupe and you'll probably see a couple of light touches. SGC will also downgrade a card from a 96 if it has some slight wear on the reverse corners or a light "ding" on one of the edges. Don't get me wrong though -- like you, I've had some SGC 88s that I thought were pretty close to Mint.