Today I Learned...

[RGM81]

A couple of things from the Beckett graded population reports.

There are 57 05-06 Cup RC's that have been graded a 9.5 - and 13 of them are Alex Ovechkin.

There is only 1 Gorges 9.5. Guess who owns that? :)

There are 10 graded Patrick Kane 07-08 Cup RC's.

I wonder how many have been tampered/altered/patch forged? I recall seeing at least 2-3 over the years.

There's only 4 graded Price Cup RC's. That surprises me.

That's all I've learned so far today, but it's only 12:30am.

[scottkoz20]

and I wonder how many of those Ovies have been or were owned at one point my Mark (BreakAwayCards) :)

[Habitforming]

You shouldn't be all that suprised. Beckett is about as consistent as the Leafs

[scottkoz20]

You shouldn't be all that suprised. Beckett is about as consistent as the Leafs

the Leafs are consistent...

[Habitforming]

the Leafs are consistent...

You are right, I'm sorry.

Been the same since '67

[RGM81]

You shouldn't be all that suprised. Beckett is about as consistent as the Leafs

Well, that, and those thicker cards are pretty condition-sensitive.
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I've also learned this:
65% of Carey Price's 1560 hockey cards have a print run of 50 or less, including 297 1-of-1's. After only 4 years in the NHL, he has more cards than Jean Beliveau, and by next year's end he'll have more cards than Beliveau and Maurice Richard combined.

[Habitforming]

They can be, but I have sent in flawless card to be graded and come back a 9. They even once damaged a card and then graded it anyway without owning up to it. I now scan all my cards (in a sealed case) before I ship them in the highest resolution I can front and back. The card that was damaged was a flawless card that came back an 8 after damage, but it isn't like they care about a Crosby auto.

Well, that, and those thicker cards are pretty condition-sensitive.
------------------------------

I've also learned this:
65% of Carey Price's 1560 hockey cards have a print run of 50 or less, including 297 1-of-1's. After only 4 years in the NHL, he has more cards than Jean Beliveau, and by next year's end he'll have more cards than Beliveau and Maurice Richard combined.

[kovyheater]

I can go on and on about this topic as I have extensive experience with grading cards.

The amount of altered BGS & PSA slabbed cards is horrendous. IT has become common practice for certain eBay sellers to trim a card then then have BGS or PSA slabbed them a GEM MINT 9.5 or 10. They are EVERYWHERE.

The precision to trim a card by 0.5mm on one or 2 edges amazes me. Most Upper Deck cards are slightly larger than the standard 3.5 x 2.5 inch dimensions and unscrupulous sellers take advantage of this.

BGS and PSA have unwittingly (perhaps wittingly) damaged their brand and image by slabbing these cards. Perhaps the trimming is too subtle to see when measuring, but if you look directly on the edge ALL Upper Deck cards have a unique fingerprint that can be seen on UNALTERED, FACTORY CUT cards. This fingerprint looks like this when looking directly on the edge.

\ \ \ \\ \ \\ \\ \ \ \ \ \ \ \\\ \

Trimmed cards lack this fingerprint. BGS and PSA don't even bother to look for this on Upper Deck cards - as evident by the amount of trimmed cards that land on eBay.

What's sad is that the same sellers continue to get away with this. I have a list of sellers I have bought cards from and subsequently returned because of evidence of trimming inside a BGS or PSA slab.

On a slightly different note, I have had BGS damaged cards that were sent in for re-slabbing. Meaning, I never personally handled them, only BGS personnel, and the card comes back with an edge chip or a corner ding that was not present before. I brought the damage to Jeromy Murray's attention and re-submitted the card to be reviewed by BGS and thet state the damage was there before. I then showed them BEFORE and AFTER scans of the area of concern and they told me that they stand by their grade. I received no compensation for the damage.

On another note, I have sent cards in to be re-slabbed because the case was cracked or scuffed up and paid $5 for the re-casing fee.
My check was cashed and the card returned unchanged - same scuffed slab. Jeromy Murray then tells me I'm full of it and that he "personally" saw the card re-cased. Yeah, right.

At least I got my $5 back, but I had to argue for it through 4-5 emails.

Grading cards are a business. Period. BGS and PSA only see the $$$ that they make and really don't care about the standard they are trying to create and sustain on the secondary market.

The value of graded cards are falling with every passing year. You just have to see on eBay the prices cards are selling for. What was once a premium for BGS 9 cards has now become somehwat of a devaluation as people would rather have a BGS 9 ungraded. There is only a premium for 9.5 and those are now fraught with fraud.

BGS "the most trusted source in collecting" is a joke of a motto. They cannot be trusted. Period.

[roy.the.greatest]

What is centering on a The Cup card? So we only have 3 criterias. Unless a The Cup card has 2 damaged corners, your card is a good 9.5 candidate. Most The Cup cards with 1 damaged corner are BGS 9.5 overall (9 for corners, all others are 9.5 or 10!).

[CoolHandLuke]

A couple of things from the Beckett graded population reports.

There are 57 05-06 Cup RC's that have been graded a 9.5 - and 13 of them are Alex Ovechkin.

There is only 1 Gorges 9.5. Guess who owns that? :)

There are 10 graded Patrick Kane 07-08 Cup RC's.

I wonder how many have been tampered/altered/patch forged? I recall seeing at least 2-3 over the years.

There's only 4 graded Price Cup RC's. That surprises me.

That's all I've learned so far today, but it's only 12:30am.

The person that wanted to buy my Ken Dryden card, in this spring card show, had like 15 Carey Price The cup 2 and 3 color only. None were graded but I did hold like 5 or six in my hand. I wonder how many are in real collector hand. Many bought them to resell them later and make money. Now not many seem to change hand since price are more down then up.