Cards back in hand more confused than ever

76collector

Could some of you with better eyes explain to me how this Rice is a 7 ? I’m definitely more of a baseball guy and I know any colored bordered cards are always tough. But this is another one that baffles me.

Sure the Ryan is better centered but from what I’ve seen this rice is not out of the realms of an 8 centering wise and all other aspects of the Rice appear better to me.

brad31

Not an expert on football or this card - but I see white tip on the top right and bottom left corners and off center L-R. In my opinion PSA is stricter on 1980s cards than 1970s cards.

Geoff76

Jeff - I’m a newcomer to grading but I agree with Brad. Centering seems to be the graders’ biggest focus. By way of reference, here’s a picture of my 8 from a few months ago. A couple of print circles at the top but decent centering overall. Not much difference from yours, though.

76collector

@Geoff76 said:
Jeff - I’m a newcomer to grading but I agree with Brad. Centering seems to be the graders’ biggest focus. By way of reference, here’s a picture of my 8 from a few months ago. A couple of print circles at the top but decent centering overall. Not much difference from yours, though.

Thanks guys. Here is another one to consider. I think the Rice is superior to this Payton that got an 8. But to your points the Payton is centered better. But the top corner on the Payton is even worse than the Rice.

JoeBanzai

You do have a point that the Payton appears no better than the Rice.

Neither of these cards are going to grade a 9.

7-8 looks about right when you see white on three corners. The bottom right on the Rice looks a little soft, that might have knocked it down to a 7. The Rice is centered a little high and a little more to the left. The Ryan might be graded a bit high.

You said it yourself, the colored bordered cards "are always tough". I stopped submitting anything with a dark border unless it's nearly perfect, then I get killed on "chipping" on the back. :-(

I also suggest you post better pictures if you are going to seek grading opinions. Yours aren't too bad, but scanners are cheap. I scan some of my cards before submitting and sometimes flaws really show up with a high resolution image.> @Geoff76 said:

Jeff - I’m a newcomer to grading but I agree with Brad. Centering seems to be the graders’ biggest focus. By way of reference, here’s a picture of my 8 from a few months ago. A couple of print circles at the top but decent centering overall. Not much difference from yours, though.

Looks like some chipping on the bottom right edge.

Cel phone pics are not good enough.

76collector

@JoeBanzai said:
You do have a point that the Payton appears no better than the Rice.

Neither of these cards are going to grade a 9.

7-8 looks about right when you see white on three corners. The bottom right on the Rice looks a little soft, that might have knocked it down to a 7. The Rice is centered a little high and a little more to the left. The Ryan might be graded a bit high.

You said it yourself, the colored bordered cards "are always tough". I stopped submitting anything with a dark border unless it's nearly perfect, then I get killed on "chipping" on the back. :-(

I also suggest you post better pictures if you are going to seek grading opinions. Yours aren't too bad, but scanners are cheap. I scan some of my cards before submitting and sometimes flaws really show up with a high resolution image.> @Geoff76 said:

Jeff - I’m a newcomer to grading but I agree with Brad. Centering seems to be the graders’ biggest focus. By way of reference, here’s a picture of my 8 from a few months ago. A couple of print circles at the top but decent centering overall. Not much difference from yours, though.

Looks like some chipping on the bottom right edge.

Cel phone pics are not good enough.

Gotcha. Well I have an I phone 12 which takes some of the best pictures I’ve ever seen so I doubt I will be spending any money on a scanner, although I get your point. The better the scan/picture the easier it is for others to help.

Here are pictures of the corners on the rice and Payton. I also got an 8 on the reggie white I sent which appears worse than the rice IMO. Very similar to the Payton.

Kepper19

with my recent order I got back of older cards, any that had 2 dinged corners pretty much got an 8 without fail, and if centering is also off, then 7 or lower surely could be in order. I think a 7 is accurate for your Rice...it also looks like the background color is more vibrant on the Payton than on the Rice...

RufussCkingston

I'd say the centering gives it a 8, then the white on the corners and possibly the edges drops it to a 7. They grade tougher on the Rice.

ElvisP

The Rice is much more valuable than the Payton, thus the lower grade.

DMasci

@RufussCkingston said:
I'd say the centering gives it a 8, then the white on the corners and possibly the edges drops it to a 7. They grade tougher on the Rice.

If this is true, then that's kind of sad. I think a card should be graded on the merits of that card no matter what the value of the card. I've often wondered if there is any "intentional" bias when it comes to higher dollar RCs. An 86 Rice should be graded exactly like a common from the 86 set in my opinion.

Vagabond

I've seen tilted cards get 10's which tells me that tilt should be irrelevant. Grading is subjective. Plain and simple.

Collector8578

I don't have pictures with me right now, but I just got (2) Rice cards back a few weeks ago and both were 7's. I don't know what they should have graded, but the one is clearly better than the other in my opinion. I certainly never expected they'd get the same grade. Both cards were from packs back when I was a kid, so there's still some nostalgia nonetheless.

bruin805

Here's my Rice

picklepete

^^^ sweet Rice !

thehallmark

That Rice looks like a textbook 8.5 to me. Really presents well - nice find!!