How much do you value centering on the back of a card?

aro13

Lately I have been seeing a few posts that talk about the damage and centering to back of cards and how it does or does not affect the grade of the card. I think SCD grades the back centering far more difficult than the other companies. Personally, as long as the back is not miscut I do not worry about the centering on the back but it seems plenty of people are concerned. There is a Thurman Munson rookie on ebay now that appears badly OC on the back - but probably still qualifies for the grade. Would the back centering of this card prevent you from putting in a bid?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=16275&item=2772314437Munson rookie

Mantlefan

I'm usually more interested in the front of the card. Sometimes you can get a card at a great price because the back is oc.

Vargha

Not much.

mikeschmidt

re: 1955 Bowman.

It's a terribly frustrating set to put together for a whole host of reasons. Of note -- it is exceptionally rare to find a card that is centered well on the front without significant chips on the border or soft corners. That being said -- back centering is a whole new ballgame.

Many, many 1955 Bowman cards have miscut reverses. I think that PSA grades those much more harshly than SGC. In fact, I do not think that SGC actually has a codified standard for back centering among its grading criteria. That being said -- there are a few instances where PSA clearly disregards its own guidelines. Nonetheless -- I have seen a handful of SGC 92 and 96 1955 Bowman cards (I own a few...) that would not cross over due to back centering.

As for the Munson -- it's not perfect, but I do not think it is egregious or ridiculous for the grade. It's a great card overall.

MS

koby

Hopefully whoever buys that card is not planning to cross-over to PSA. It is unlikely that that card will get a PSA 9. SGC does an OK job of grading usually but clearly SGC is much much more lenient on centering than PSA.

helionaut

The worse it's centered, the more I value it. I mean, if the back is perfectly centered but the front is way off, the perfection of the back won't outweight the front. But there have been a couple rare cases where the back has been so far off it's stopped me from buying an otherwise OK but not great card. Like if the back was the front, it would be an MC. The Munson isn't terrible, maybe 15/85, but might give me pause if I was looking to buy a top of the line card. For a couple thousand dollars, I'd like to get a better one, but it's got enough to hold on to.

minibeers

I don't care as long as it isn't miscut.

Scott

PeterAldridge

i agree with scott. as long as it is not hacked on the back, centering is really an issue for the front.

ChrisKK

the centering on the back of cards is up to you. if you want centered front and back you will have to look harder than if your back standards are lower than your front standards. for me i tend not to look at the backs as much as the fronts. in many eBay auctions you don't get to see the backs so if you don't ask, you get a surprise every time.

here are some backs from my collection that are off center but all have been graded MINT with no qualifyers. the Munson in the auction is not as bad as it looks.