Are PRO and PGS good at authenticating vintage?

Skinpinch

I have a chance to buy some Goudey's that are in a PRO holder and one in a PGS holder from a local dealer. I know that trimming is rampant among those companies, but are they at least authentic??? Do those companies actually know their stuff?

2323

No!

sagard

It is widely assumed that PRO turns a blind eye to trimming, but I don't think they intentionally slab counterfeits.

elway65

no.

Skinpinch

Hi. It is the authenticating I am most concerned with. I would offer a price based on the cards being trimmed. What about PGS? I don't know much about them.

mudflap02

<< <i> I don't know much about them >>



I think you just answered your own question. I know that most of us (myself included) have paid our dues when dabbling with grading companies other than the big three. I have even learned some expensive lessons thanks to Dr. Beckett and his excuse for a service. I kind of look at it like being married to PSA. Yeah, it may piss you off alot of the times, and you may find yourself questioning if it's worth it in the long run, but it's a choice you made and in your heart of hearts you know to stick with it. As far as the cute young grading companies go, look but don't touch.

This analogy assumes that you didn't knock PSA up at 17. In that case, all bets are off.

EagleEyeKid

There is no reason for any vintage to be in a PRO holder or any second rate grading company.
Obviously there is something wrong with the card to begin with. I believe I've read in another
thread about a PRO Choice Grading (PCG) that slabbed a 52 Topps Mantle that many of the veterans
on here believe it was counterfeit. So why risk it? Why pay for a questionable 6-10 grade from PRO or from Joe Blow grading service hoping for it to be authentic when you can probably pick up the same
card in a PSA 1 or 2 grade if all you want it to be is authentic.

Stone193

This would make a better investment than Pro or PGS:

A761506

PGS is a phony company, you will only find counterfeit cards in those holders. PGS is a guy out of Las Vegas area. He also has several other flips he uses for other "companies". Hall Of Fame Grading is one, and I know there is at least one other.

Vintage cards that would have any value that are found in PRO holders are likely authentic, but altered. I have not seen cases of PRO holders containing counterfeit cards.

Since you can actually see the cards in person, you can easily identify them as authentic or not by simply looking at the print characteristics. Solid areas on Goudey cards will appear solid under a 10X loupe, while only the image of the player is printed in half-tone dots. Counterfeit Goudey's are likely to be printed entirely in half-tone, and if you look closely at the back of the cards in the PGS holders with a loupe, you can probably find a small area where there is paper loss where the "reprint" designation was scratched off.

ranger63

really should stick to the big four...psa sgc beckett and NGS!

NickM

A761 is thinking of the wrong grading co. PGS is not a phony company, nor is it based in Las Vegas. It is based in Tennessee, and has been around for a number of years. Based on the cards I've seen in their holders, I would rate tham as being significantly better than PRO - I'm not sure how many alterations they are able to catch, but I believe they don't turn a blind eye to alterations. On a commonly collected vintage set like a Goudey set, I would expect that they would recognize reprints or counterfeits.

Nick