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Example of a GAI 10 card

You'll never guess who's pictured on it... image

The '82 Topps is one of my favorite Topps Trammells, and this one is awfully nice, especially the edges. Setting aside the fact that the edges make one wonder if this came from an uncut sheet, about the biggest critique I can make of this copy is the bits of white in the green background on the back, although I have to say that the green's color depth overall makes the back of this nicer than most '82 Topps I've seen. Minor print defects on the backs of cards were something I'd never really thought about before looking at this card. Is this like centering where grading afficianados simply cut the back a lot more slack? Should it be allowed on a grade of "10 - Perfect"? Here's GAI's descriptions of 9.5 and 10 for reference:

Global Perfect (10)

This superior example exhibits no wear or blemishes. This card must possess four perfectly sharp corners and superb print quality. Approximate centering of 50/50 on the front.


Global GEM-MT (9.5)

This superior example exhibits no wear or blemishes. This card must possess four perfectly sharp corners and no chipping. One minor print imperfection may be allowed. Approximate centering of 55/45 on the front.


Returning briefly to the uncut sheet issue: are there any tricks to distinguish cards cut from sheets on the secondary market from those cut by the manufacturer as part of normal production? I'd be curious to learn.

That's enough rambling from me. The main thing I wanted to do was throw up the picture and stimulate some grading company comparison dialogue, since there seems to be a fair amount of curiosity/sizing up regarding GAI in the last several weeks. Enjoy.

Peter G.

imageimage
Always looking for PSA 9 or better Alan Trammell basic set cards. Visit my Trammell card web site at "www.trammellcards.com"

Comments

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    wolfbearwolfbear Posts: 2,759 ✭✭✭

    Beckett graded cards that have been recently cut from sheets,
    seem to always display the same pattern of sub-grades.

    The centering, corners, and edges are usually 9's and above,
    but the surface grade is nearly always a couple of grades less.

    Obviously, the first 3 sub-grades are easy to control when you're cutting from a sheet,
    but if the sheet has been rolled or even stacked, then the surface is bound to suffer.

    eBay Beckett sheet cut card 1

    eBay Beckett sheet cut card 2

    Does GAI even have a policy toward cards recently cut from sheets ?
    Beckett seems to think it's perfectly okay to slab them, but PSA does not.

    Pix of 'My Kids'

    "How about a little fire Scarecrow ?"
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    SOMSOM Posts: 1,555 ✭✭✭
    IMO, the 82 Trammell graded by GAI is not centered well enough t/b to merit a Perfect 10 grade.

    Nick
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    as someone who has graded 1000's of 82's i can tell you how tough this card really is (not that anyone cares) i have no problem calling this a 10 by the way looks 50-50 centered to me 82's are the type of issue that look oc when they are centered its the design of the card
    later
    dave
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    mikeschmidtmikeschmidt Posts: 5,756 ✭✭✭
    Dave:

    Can you find me a #100 Schmidt or #101 Schmidt In Action in PSA 10? They've been dogging me for years - and seem to be extraordinarily tough. Not even easy to find in 9 quality.

    ~ms
    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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    RG58RG58 Posts: 119
    The grader at GAI forgot to look at the back of that card- he must have been grading at "rocket speed". It cetainly ain't "perfect" from the back side. But who really cares about the back of the card? another GAI overgrade and ploy to get your business

    beautiful front however-

    Should have been a 9-9.5 at best!
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    AlanAllenAlanAllen Posts: 1,530 ✭✭✭
    The back centering alone should keep it from GAI 10. Per their own standards, there is no tolerance for defencts at all to garner a 10 (unlike PSA). Beautiful card though image. It would probably deserve a PSA 10, assuming it wasn't sheet-cut.

    Joe
    No such details will spoil my plans...
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    mikeschmidtmikeschmidt Posts: 5,756 ✭✭✭
    I have found that ALL grading companies apply inconsistent standards as it applies to grading card backs. The only exception is paper loss - as most of them will find it and appropriately downgrade for it. That being said - no one really seems to care about back centering or back print dots that much - back corners and back edges do play a factor, for sure. Especially on white-bordered obverses that have different reverses. (like a 1986 Topps Tiffany, for example...)
    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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    Grading at rocket speed? I dunno you couldn't be much of a grader if you zipped through a card and gave it a 10... I mean if you're giving something a perfect score you figure you'd take a step back and think about it...
    Collector of T201 Mecca double folders. Graded and Raw...
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    Peterredshoes,

    If the card is in your possession, look for arching of the card, that is a pretty good tip that it came from
    an uncut sheet. If its flat in the holder, I would say that you have a really nice 82 Trammell there!!

    Scott Jeanblanc
    jeanblanc@iconnect.net
    Ebay UserId: sjeanblanc
    --------------------------------------------
    Collecting Nolan Ryan cards (68-94)
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    jimtbjimtb Posts: 704 ✭✭
    Peter,
    Where'd you find that? Are you going to cross it over? I'm not sure about the "is it a 10 debate" but it's the best looking 82 Tram that I've seen! Great find!
    Collecting all graded Alan Trammell graded cards as well as graded 1984 Topps, Donruss, and Fleer Detroit Tigers
    image
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    Re-examining the card revealed a slight curl--if the card were sitting naked on a table the top and bottom edges would be touching it and the middle would be slightly raised. This lends some ammo to the uncut sheet theory on the assumption that the sheet was rolled top-to-bottom. It's impossible to tell whether the holder is helping the card remain in a flatter position than its natural state, so I don't think I can safely conclude how much curl the card really has.

    I've observed that some sets, even low-tech ones with no foil/gloss considerations, can acquire a top-to-bottom curl like this even if they've come from wax packs. Don't know whether that applies to '82 Topps or not, or whether it's more a function of set or storage among cards of this composition.

    I'm not too concerned with it either way because I'm very happy with the overall eye appeal of the card and don't currently plan to re-grade it. I want an example of a GAI graded card for my collection, and when you throw in the grade received, hazards of cracking or crossing over, and the fun bonus of the "1st graded" notation that's enough for me to keep it as-is.

    Jim and others curious about where I got it: it was listed on eBay, but there was a misspelling of Trammell's name in the title ("Alen" instead of "Alan", if I recall correctly), which probably contributed to the low number of bids the card received along with the fact that there's not really much of a market for Trammells graded by companies other than PSA.

    Peter G.
    Always looking for PSA 9 or better Alan Trammell basic set cards. Visit my Trammell card web site at "www.trammellcards.com"
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    Oh, and since I guess I didn't exactly make this clear: yes, I was the high bidder. image

    Peter G.
    Always looking for PSA 9 or better Alan Trammell basic set cards. Visit my Trammell card web site at "www.trammellcards.com"
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    you guys are nuts and i am sick of it you accuse gai of grading a sheetcut trammell 82 topps give me a brake who has time for this trust me if you have time for this than you need a life gai offers a garding service that caters to the people they are fully accessible to anyone who wants to talk at anytime even people who talk about sheet cut trammells try getting that type of service from psa good luck as someone who has graded 1000's of cards with both companys trust me i like where gai is heading and how they do things sure they make an occasional mistake or handle a situation not completely up to the high
    0 tollerance standards that some people on here seem to have but look at psa i am sure for every gai complaint there are 100's of psa complaints you dont hear about by the way how many people live there lives mistake free how would you like to be followed around every day and your every screw up you make
    to be talked about by your neighbor or boss? bottom line gai is trying to build a company and they are good enough for dmitri young and many other collectors with millions at stake so they ought to be treated like a legitimate player which like it or not they are quickly becoming so cut them a little slack and if you cant than come at them with something better than a sheet cut 82 tramell
    this is not directed at any one person in particular just venting
    thanx
    daveimage
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    if there are spelling and grammer mistakes sorry i was pissed when i typed this hope you can see your way clear and forgive me for thisimage
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    A few questions and clarifications, as I'm clearly missing something here:

    First: is hypothesizing that a card's origin is an uncut sheet equivalent to questioning the card's authenticity? If so, why? I guess I can think of some reasons why there would be a loose relationship between the two but don't see why all uncut sheets would be of questionable background. There are multiple ways for a manufacturer's cards to reach the secondary market. As I understand things, one relatively unusual but still possible way for this to happen is for the legit card to get distributed by the manufacturer as part of an uncut sheet, cut by some third party and redistributed as a single.

    On a similar note, is it common to question a grading service's authentication process based on willingness to grade cards from uncut sheets? If so, what's the basis for that reasoning? With so many other variables and a certain subjectivity that must be employed once science reaches the limits of its usefulness, doing so seems risky to me.

    Due to the combination of thoughts and lack of knowledge described above, it didn't occur to me that musing over whether this particular card came from a sheet or not would really be a question of the card's authenticity or validity of the GAI grading process. My curiosity on the subject was mostly for the trivia, plus a little bit for the crossover implications in the event that some day off in the future I change my mind and consider crossing the card to PSA for the set registry.

    Peter G.
    Always looking for PSA 9 or better Alan Trammell basic set cards. Visit my Trammell card web site at "www.trammellcards.com"
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    jimtbjimtb Posts: 704 ✭✭
    Geez Dave, tough day?
    Collecting all graded Alan Trammell graded cards as well as graded 1984 Topps, Donruss, and Fleer Detroit Tigers
    image
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    wolfbearwolfbear Posts: 2,759 ✭✭✭

    Just guessing here, but it seems that anyone who would convert a client's high dollar collection from PSA to GAI,
    would be doing it for their own personal gain, and would not be acting in the best interests of their client.

    Again, just guessing here ...



    Pix of 'My Kids'

    "How about a little fire Scarecrow ?"
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    Peter,

    Send me your email address. I tried to send a list of Trammells to you, but got the email returned. I used the one off the PSA site. Mine is the same.

    Tony
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    what are you insinuating? if you want to accuse someone of something dont beat around the bush come on with it. no ones collection was converted and as far as personal gain goes you havent the slightest idea of what you are talking about? a second company benifits all of us. get your head out of your rear for a second and wake up. with a 2nd legitimate company out there we no longer have to accept what we are told or given by psa. we have an alternitive a second choice this benifits us all even you. how many times have you disagreed with your grades? and till now you had no choice but to take it. now you have a second source
    or chance if you will i know the presidents and most of the staff at both companies i just happen to believe in the current direction gai is taking at the moment. they actually care about the collector not saying psa doesnt but they are much larger and things tend to slip through the cracks at a higher rate over there.
    all i can say is gai is working harder than any company i have ever seen to build there company not saying they are perfect but they are doing the best they can and all of there employees actually care about the fate of there company. they are all commited to making this work its impressive to see an entire organization
    from the president to the shipping clerk all working together for the same goal. they are a family and given the oppourtunity they treat there customers like family as well. i am just saying that i have never gotten that type of feeling from psa well i hope i cleared up any of your questions you may have had reguarding dmitris collection i can assure you he agrees with my statement here and is very happy with the service and the staff at gai have if you have any further questions i would appreciate them in the pm form
    just my 2 cents
    dave
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    by the way peterredshoes sorry if it appeared i was jumping on ya i wasnt like i said was just trippin for a minute you are the man
    peace
    dave
    image
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    peterredshoes hey by the way i can help you with your trammell collection i know the king of trammell dealers he has stuff you would never believe pm me if you want me to hook you guys up
    dave
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    VirtualizardVirtualizard Posts: 1,936 ✭✭


    << <i>peterredshoes hey by the way i can help you with your trammell collection i know the king of trammell dealers he has stuff you would never believe pm me if you want me to hook you guys up
    dave >>




    Dave,

    Speaking of "hooking guys up", if you're interested, I have an extra image and image available. image


    JEB.
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