Qualifiers in Older Sets

TurbosHockey

I am in the process of trying to get an old OPC Hockey set 1971-1972 graded. I was wondering what some of your thoughts were on PSA 8 and higher cards with OC qualifiers on them. How much do they really detract from a set. Any insight would be great. I am intrested in buying any 8-10 from this set if the price is right.

Thanks,
Darren

My Email

helionaut

For older sets, I think 9OCs and even 8OCs can be OK. I've got two reasons for that, especially for 9s. First, on a 9 you can see the card is otherwise solid, so an OC is probably not that bad because the standards are high enough so that it's probably still going to be reasonably centered. Other qualifiers like ST and MK might not be that bad either, they just fall below what's acceptable for that grade, but I'd avoid PDs and MCs completely. Secondly, for me at least, the considerable price break is a factor. If a card is a very low pop in 8 or 9, a qualified 8 or 9 might be had for a fraction of the price of the straight grade. Obviously, you aren't getting the same thing, but, depending on the flaw, I don't think a 8NQ is 8-10 times better than an 8Q, which is the price ratio you'll probably see. Naturally, for the purposes of compiling a high set registry grade, a straight 7 is better than a 8Q, but the accumulation of small defects that makes a card rate a 7 might to your eyes make the card worse than a qualified 8. A card that is an exemplary 8 but is 70/30 both ways, or whatever the cutoff is, might still be a better card than an exemplary 7 that might have a little surface wrinkle and a couple soft corners.

robstar

Darren

Eye appeal is a very individual thing. What detracts from a card for one may not bother someone else nearly as much. As far as the registry is concerned it values an O/C card 2 grade points lower than a straight grade, PSA 9 O/C = PSA 7 N/Q

I have long considered grading this set myself, as it was my first set as a child. One thing holding me back is the exact issue you have raised here. IMO the 71 - 72 is one issue that if just slightly O/C side to side loses a great amount of eye appeal. A PSA 8 with the allowable extreme of 70/30 centering would be a real eyesore in my opinion. Last month there was a thread posted about the 71 - 72's that really got me going. I have begun looking for gradeable raw cards. It seems everytime I find one that is perfectly centered there is a corner problem or a wax stain, then I find 4 sharp corners on an O/C card.


Just how tough are these cards, consider this.
There are currently no PSA 10's in the POP report.
With just over 1200 cards submitted from the set, PSA 9's only account for approx 4% of this total. I think that really shows how tough this set really is.
In comparison the set I am currently working on, the 62-63 Parkhurst from a decade earlier has nearly twice as many submissions ( over 2300 ) yet has 3 PSA 10's and runs approx 17% PSA 9's with N/Q's.

You will have to have a great deal of PATIENCE if you hope to pull this off. Perhaps a 5 year plan is in order.
However, there has never been a better time to test the waters with the current registry special.
Just think of all the 1/1's you will have as many of the cards in the set have not yet been graded

Good luck with it.

Rob...

jerster

I typically give more latitude to the 9 o/c then the 8 o/c, especially when you are talking about some tough 50's cards. Especially for sets plagued by off center cards, if the eye appeal is still there, I wll seriously consider it. If its borderline miscut, I will always pass.

I just picked up a couple 59 T hockey PSA 9 o/c and I think they are fine. The set is notorious for being cut by "One Eyed Willie" and will generally be found with centering difficulties. For sets with that type of providence, including a few top notch quality cards with minor centering prob's is ok in my book...

Jerster

RayBShotz

With older vintage I always felt OC was a true reflection of typical. Cutting practices especially those of early 50's and 60's issues typically left certain cards nearly always OC. A mint 9OC and even an 8OC of some of these cards can therefore be attractive in a purist kind of way...in fact straight 8's or 9's of such cards would be considered rare in that sense.
I had always considered myself a bit of a purist on this issue but will confess to recently folding to the peer pressure of the registry regarding the the 2 point knockdown for a qualification. My recent submissions have all gone the way of "no qualifiers" for best registry effect.
Kind of sad really.
There is definitely something really neat about recognizing the original process of the cutting up of our cardboard heroes...and grading it for exactly what it is...OC.
RayB69Topps