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Grading Kellogg's CArds...

LuxuryWinesLuxuryWines Posts: 737 ✭
in PSA Set Registry Forum
Hi this one goes out to some of the Old-timers image of collecting Kellogg's cards. Recently I have obtained several sets of 1974 Kellogg's cards and I attempting to get to PSa 9 's on these cards... I have looked them over with a 10X magnifier and have found about 10% with some small defect... miniscule cracks , small scrape etc... I was wondering if the cards look nice overall if you could clue me into what are some of the most common imperfections that may knock me down from a 9? Any help would be much appreciated...Jeff
Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass... it's about learning to dance in the rain.

Comments

  • zardoz51zardoz51 Posts: 1,168
    Jeff

    Other than the small cracks, which will kill any chance of a decent grade (in other words, don't even submit), there are two things to really watch out for.

    1. The reverse (paper) corners, must be full and to the edge, there may appear to be some lack of sharpness to this paper from the cutting/bonding process to the plastic, but only a minuscule amount.

    2. Light surface scratching on the plastic that may not be apparent when viewed straight on. A high intensity light is required, and move/view the card at an angle to check for this problem.

    Hope this helps

    Paul
    THE FLOGGINGS WILL CONTINUE UNTIL MORALE IMPROVES
  • LuxuryWinesLuxuryWines Posts: 737 ✭
    Thanks for your help Paul ...Jeff
    Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass... it's about learning to dance in the rain.
  • thegemmintmanthegemmintman Posts: 3,101 ✭✭
    Luxury, Zardoz is quite correct with his advice, particularly the light scratches on the front surface. It's very difficult to see but oh so important.

    Other stuff to watch out for...

    Certainly even the smallest cracks kill the grade.

    As with all cards the corners need to be sharp. As you know these corners are tough, but if you see any dullness on the corners you will pull at best an 8.

    Severe bending hurts the grade too.

    I've seen to many cards with rough edges. PSA may be forgiving on this with other vintage baseball cards, but not nearly as often with the Kellogg's.

    I hope that helps.

    image
  • LuxuryWinesLuxuryWines Posts: 737 ✭
    Thanx Gemmint and Zardoz ... What would have been a 42 card submission is now a 7 card submission.... Jeff
    Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass... it's about learning to dance in the rain.
  • mikeschmidtmikeschmidt Posts: 5,756 ✭✭✭
    To this day, I have an exteremely difficult time telling the differences between a PSA 9 and a PSA 10 Kellogg's card. Most of the nuances that differentiate the two are not visible to the naked eye.
    I am actively buying MIKE SCHMIDT gem mint baseball cards. Also looking for any 19th century cabinets of Philadephia Nationals. Please PM with additional details.
  • thegemmintmanthegemmintman Posts: 3,101 ✭✭
    What vintage cards are there out there that most people could tell the difference between a 9 and a 10 just by using their naked eyes?
  • mikeschmidtmikeschmidt Posts: 5,756 ✭✭✭
    Good point -- sometimes, though it may be the slightest corner softness, a rough cut, or print spots keeping a vintage card a 9 instead of a 10. Those aren't the types of things that generally disqualify a Kellogg's card...

    But you do have a good point...
    I am actively buying MIKE SCHMIDT gem mint baseball cards. Also looking for any 19th century cabinets of Philadephia Nationals. Please PM with additional details.
  • thegemmintmanthegemmintman Posts: 3,101 ✭✭
    As you know I own quite a few '70 Kellogg's PSA 10's. The one thing that time and time again (with very few exceptions) that distinguishes a 10 from a 9 are the edges. I realize that with most other vintage cards the rough cuts or overall edge quality may not hurt the card's grade, but with Kellogg's issues (at least the 1970 issue), the edge quality means a lot. Most of the 9's have those four to eight "hanging chad" remnants from where the cards were torn off from the other cards, but the 10's show virtually no such remnants or extremely little. Of course everything else needs to be perfect too. I hope that helps. I have no idea if this advice can be applied to other Kellogg's issues outside of 1970 because Kellogg's kept changing the cards around after the initial year.
  • GuffyGuffy Posts: 69
    The 'hanging chads' are pretty important to PSA's grading system. To me, it seems especially apparent on the Rold Gold and 1972 Kelloggs ATG's. I have had a really tough time determining Kellogg's 9's from 10's. One thing I'm surprised about is that a lot of the 10's aren't perfectly centered. As a whole, the centering on Kellogg's cards is pretty good and I would think that would be a priority. GemMint is probably right about the edges. There are some cards that are extremely tough to find centered (70 O.J. Simpson, and '71 Willie Mays to name two). If centering were more of an issue, I'm not sure those cards would ever produce a 'ten'.
    A small crack (visible only with a magnifyer) will shoot a PSA-9 down to a PSA 6 in a heartbeat. You must use a magnifyer with Kelloggs cards for that reason.

    Hey GemMint, have you ever tried to remove a 'hanging chad' and had any success?
    1971 Kelloggs and 1961 Fleer
  • dudedude Posts: 1,454 ✭✭
    I agree with Zardoz51 regarding surface scratches. One other problem is the lamination separating. That's a killer too.

    I'm working on the '72 Set. One of these days when I get some free time I'll register it. I'm 93% there at 8 or better.
  • thegemmintmanthegemmintman Posts: 3,101 ✭✭


    << <i>Hey GemMint, have you ever tried to remove a 'hanging chad' and had any success? >>


    Guffy, that would be illegal image.

    Actually I never have tried because the "chads" really aren't "hanging". If you look under a magnifier, one end of the chad is really embedded in the card. It was never meant to be punched out like on the infamous Florida voting cards. I suppose it could be trimmed down to the edge of the card, but PSA is going to pick up on that and reject the card.
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