GAI 10, NOT REALLY PRISTINE....MORE LIKE 9.5

EagleEyeKid

Just got my crossover grades back from SGC.
I posted a thread about 2 weeks ago regarding my crossover
experiment. Now I can't seem to find that thread dang it!
Any who.....I sent off 15 GAI 10 Perfect to SGC and stated I only
wanted it to crossover to SGC 100 if it is indeed pristine.
Here are my results:

Card ID Player Name SGC Grade
1 KOBE BRYANT 0 - Minimum Grade Not Met
2 VINCE CARTER 0 - Minimum Grade Not Met
3 CARMELO ANTHONY 0 - Minimum Grade Not Met
4 CARMELO ANTHONY 0 - Minimum Grade Not Met
5 MILAN MICHALEK 0 - Minimum Grade Not Met
6 MARIAN GABORIK 0 - Minimum Grade Not Met
7 KRISTAN HUSELIUS 100
8 RICK NASH 0 - Minimum Grade Not Met
9 ALES HEMSKY 100
10 JOFFREY LUPUL 100
11 MATT STAJAN 100
12 JORDIN TOOTOO 0 - Minimum Grade Not Met
13 JIRI HUDLER 0 - Minimum Grade Not Met
14 ALEXANDER SEMIN 0 - Minimum Grade Not Met
15 ANTTI MIETTINEN 0 - Minimum Grade Not Met

4 out of 15 is pretty crappy IMO. I love the SGC 100....a truly elusive grade. BGS is pumping more 10s out due to butchers; and GAI....well, I don't know anymore. I just want the ultimate toughest grader, and I still haven't concluded my decision yet.

maxXposure

<< <i>I posted a thread about 2 weeks ago regarding my crossover >>

ZodiacMindwarp

Is this the thread you were looking for?

Interesting cross-over results...from the big 4

EagleEyeKid

Yeah thx.

EagleEyeKid

Yeah thx.

SDavid

Some points:

1) I've seen some of your PSA results. If you thought the cards were pristine, I'm sure they were.

2) The SGC grader would have had to be sure the card would cross to 100 BEFORE cracking the card out of its GAI holder. I'm sure they err on the side of caution when grading a card through a thick holder.

3) You have only tried crossing GAI 10's to SGC 100's; you haven't tried the opposite.

4) There's the "grading the population report, not the card" thing.

5) Because of the volume of work professional graders handle, consistency at the gem mint level is tough enough. Pristine is really pushing it. I'm sure a lot of truly flawless cards get graded gem mint (or maybe even mint, lol) due to time constraints and graders' fear of assigning grades that will be challenged by angry buyers later. More on this later.

metsfan

I think it would be harder to get an SGC 100 then a GAI 10, since SGC uses a 100(really 50) pt. scale.But thats just a thought.

helionaut

I don't see how they can grade a card 100 without cracking it out. SGC 100s are probably the toughest grades to get from any of the top services, and I'd expect them to look at a card on a microbial level before assigning it that grade. How you can do that through plastic I don't know. Still, congratulations on 4 ot of 15. What cards were they exactly?

EagleEyeKid

Still, congratulations on 4 ot of 15. What cards were they exactly?

1 was a 2001 Parkhurst; 2nd was a 02 Parkhurst Retro, and
the last 2 were Black Diamond (all foil) so I was pretty glad
on the last 2 due to the sensitivity of the issue.

mikeschmidt

Honestly - you probably got more SGC 100's in one submission that anyone else ever has. SGC 100 is a tough grade - but at the end of the day, PSA, BGS, GAI and SGC will never ever agree with each other on the nuances between MINT, GEM MINT and PRISTINE. All have different grading standards - and all measure things a little differently. You talk about a card being truly pristine - there is always a threshold. I guarantee you that if you look at it with a 25x loupe, it will no longer be pristine. At the end of the day, collect what you enjoy. It seems like you are enjoying how you collect - but I honestly would not read much of anything into your results.

EagleEyeKid

I actually got the cards by Fedex today and was pretty impressed.
I think SGC did a great job.
They put all my cards in graded sleeves. With the ones that didn't
make the minimum crossover grades of Pristine; they actually marked it on the graded sleeves
(the outside of course using circles or whatever) so I can actually see for myself. There were usually 1 or 2 miniscule imperfection in some way. All the ones that didn't cross all had 1 imperfection except for 2 cards. I mean they were pin dot size blemishes like an out of place foil in the player's name, or a minisucle dot on the player's hand....size of a individual salt granule. It was that small. I guess they used their microscopes. It's easy when it's all marked for you to see because I most likely would of missed it, and they did it all through a holder. I now have a better understanding of what a Pristine card actually looks like. I have no problem getting Gem Mint grades from any of the Top 4; I know what to look for. I'll tell you what though. Cards do look great with that 100 grade. I never get tired of looking at them. I'll be sending in more stuff.

aconte

If you sent the cards in raw you would of never gotten that many Sgc 100's out of the 15 cards. I bet
you would of gotten zero or maybe one.

aconte