1975 Topps - What is the Centering Criteria
mikeschmidt
Posts: 5,756 ✭✭✭
Just looking for some advice from the 1975 afficianados as to how centering is properly measured from top to bottom of a card. The reason I brought this up was because of a recent listing I saw on Ebay:
Vargha and others -- thanks in advance for your thoughts.
Vargha and others -- thanks in advance for your thoughts.
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.
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Comments
At the Chicago National I asked PSA for advice how to measure top to bottom centering on 1975 Topps cards. At the time, Danny was working the table. He told me that PSA measures from the top of the team name to the edge of the card and from the bottom of the player name to the bottom of the card. Athough they are fairly consistent on this (at least they have been on my submissions), I have noticed a fair number of cards where this rule certainly wasn't applied. Where I have had the ability to view them first hand, the most of the cards have had exceptionally nice corners and surfaces...they were just centered low. Although I didn't measure it, from simply "eyeballing" the card you posted, it looks like this one would probably fit into that category.
Frank
(fesmith68@yahoo.com)
______________________________________
The best presents in life are the ones you give yourself!
Mike
From an unbiased opinion, unfamiliar with the issue :
the Schmidt woud be a welcome addition to my collection, the Yount would not.
Think it might have to do with if the DARKER color has MORE border than the ligher color,
then the card looks more centered than if the LIGHTER color has MORE border than the darker color ...
"How about a little fire Scarecrow ?"
Mike
Wayne
<< <i>Is there more off center problems with the regular version's or the mini's from 75. I rarely see a mini with great centering....... >>
NHLFightGuy-
Attached is my "favorite" card from the Mini set that clearly has horrible centering -- but is all the cooler because of it.
1975 Topps #223 Robin Yount PSA 9 BEAUTY!!!
I think a more pertinent question about 75's, and others, is what to look at in the asymmetrical aspects, such as hyah.
The apostrophe above the 74 is right up against the edge, maybe a millimeter gap. Obviously, that can't be what they are looking at. Going from the top of "Highlights" to the bottom of the white area for the names, it looks like it is very well centered t/b (or l/r if you prefer), maybe 52/48. And a similar closeness the other way. However, if the t/b was perfectly centered, the apostrophe would be brushing the edge of the card, and that wouldn't be good.
Centering, in general, seems to me to come down to adding up the difference between the two axes. If you add up the "large" side and the "small" sides, you can get a fair assessment of the overall centering and how it might impact the grade. If a card is 60/40 both ways, then the sides add up to 120/80. A card with a "small" score of 80 would fit within the parameters for an 8. The more off center a card is either way, the more likely it is to be dropped down a grade or qualified. The Schmidt, for example, looks like about 58/42 r/l and 80/20 t/b, scoring 138/62. To me, that seems like it would be out of the range for an 8, but maybe the other qualities hold it up.
BTW, prediction: Michael Jack will be managing the Phillies by 2006. He just signed to manage single-A next year, and I think he has what it takes even after being away from the game for a long time.
Prediction 2: The Cubs get over it and win tonight.
2005 Origins Old Judge Brown #/20 and Black 1/1s, 2000 Ultimate Victory Gold #/25
2004 UD Legends Bake McBride autos & parallels, and 1974 Topps #601 PSA 9
Rare Grady Sizemore parallels, printing plates, autographs
Nothing on ebay