Card Aesthetics

PaulMaul

Many people in the hobby seek to collect “nice, high grade” cards. But it’s interesting how many differing views there are on what that means. There are centering freaks. There are corner wear freaks. I guess there are as many opinions as there are collectors on what makes a card “nice.”

What makes a card attractive to me is that it has sharp corners, appears fresh and new, has nice color and clarity, is not tilted or diamond cut, and has decent centering. But the centering is low on my priority list as long as it is not extreme. I like my raw sets to look like I opened several wax or rack boxes, threw out all the dinged, miscut and tilted cards, and kept only the nicest ones.

Here is a prime example. This card is OC in both directions, but I like it better than most PSA 8s and 9s I have seen.

Here’s hoping that everyone finds their “nicest” cards! 🍻

JoeBanzai

I would be happy to have a card with centering like that in my collection, as long as the rest of the card was that nice.

1951WheatiesPremium

@PaulMaul

That’s an awesome looking card.

It’s O/C by not terribly so…

brad31

Registration is number one for me. When the photo pops like that Jackson I forgive centering.

rugbymarine

1) Centering
2) Focus/Registration
3) Color

Everything else (corners, edges, creases, etc) is negotiable for me. And you’re right that different cards look nice for different people.

DBesse27

I’m a corners/color/clarity guy over centering. Tilt is the worst though.

1948_Swell_Robinson

I agree. I find it more impressive and awe inspiring when an old card survived with sharp corners and clean edges as opposed to the perfect centering. Then it looks new and exactly the way it was produced. Its not like the poor centering ever cuts off the photo, it just makes one empty border larger than the opposite side.

PSA 9 OC is by far the best deal there has been in graded cards.

smallstocks

Dave, I am with you. And add to that I like rough cuts! Centering just isn't incredibly important to me.