Not Holdered, Miscut

Love of the Game

Sheesh.

Just got another grade report, this one from a bunch of 1977 Topps I pulled out of a vending box. Commons and stars, all graded 8s and 9s (no 10s, and one 9OC Steve Carlton).

However, three of the cards were marked "Not Holdered, Miscut".

I felt like I reviewed these cards very well, and did not see any issues with them at all. I pulled all these cards out of the box myself. I only sent in the star cards, and the ones that I felt could grade 9 or higher, and a few that were a tiny bit worse, just to give the grader some perspective.

Obviously, I was wrong about what I thought would get a 10. However, this "Miscut" designation bugs me. Anyone else get this? What sort of miscuts does it cover? I have a 1953 Topps common that's graded with a MC qualifier. Why would some cards get an MC qualifier, and others not be graded?

TIA,

-Al

PS - DGF, if you're reading this, the '77 Holtzman graded a 9.

boggs301012

Miscut means that the card is on the small side and PSA doesnt think it was trimmed. I have an 1984 Topps that came back miscut. I checked it against another by laying it on top and sure a shiat is smaller.


James

nearmint

The "Not Holdered, Miscut" cards I've gotten back have been too big for the holder, or oddly shaped such that they don't fit in the holder. The MC qualifier is used when the card fits in the holder, but it's so off-center that part of the card is missing--on either the front or back--and maybe you see part of the next card. It's unfortunate--and confusing--that PSA uses the word "miscut" to mean two different things.

I personally haven't gotten "Not Holdered, Miscut" for cards that are too small. For those I've gotten "Not Holdered, MINSIZERQ," meaning that the card doesn't meet PSA's minimum size requirements for cards in that set.

Mike

RepublicaninMass

My personal favorite is "EVIDTRIM"

A761506

I've gotten a couple miscut rejects and when I looked closer at them, I could see why they were not holdered. One was a very slight diamond cut. I would have fit into the holder just fine, and I've seen similar diamond cuts in holders, but this particular grader rejected it. I have also received one back where one edge was uneven, but not trimmed. It was 1/16 too wide in one area and tapered down to standard size.

Theoretically, someone could attempt to fix a miscut by trimming the card, especially if the card is too big, but I think they would then reject it for trimming even if it was standard size. Now that I know what to look for, I can detect even the slightest evidence of trimming, even on a standard size card, which is exactly how their good graders can also tell very easily that an edge has been trimmed. However, a weak grader could easily blow it.

Steve1124

I too, recently had a card "rejected" with that annoying "Mis-cut" notation. It was a 1968 O-Pee-Chee. I measured it, and if anything, it was slightly WIDER than 2 1/2", but it wasn't until i held it against another card that i could see that the top of the card was just ever-so-slightly wider than the compared card. Seems like PSA is really splitting hairs on this--if the card was WAY off, i could understand it, or SMALLER (meaning it could have been trimmed), but if the factory was off by such a little bit that you practically need a MICROMETER to see it--and it's slightly LARGER than "specs", why not just grade it?! My question is whether it's worth trying to send it back, and hope someone isn't as picky, or send it in to another grader?

Love of the Game

It's weird, and I think it's subjective. Last month I sent in a 1962 Al Kaline AS that had a very slight diamond cut, and it came back with an 8OC. I've got LOTS of 1953 and 1961 cards that have rough cuts that were all graded 6 or better.

For the 77s I sent in, though, I was pretty meticulous, using DGF's grading guidelines for 1977s, so I'm surprised about the miscut designation. I'll have to check 'em out next week when I get the package back.

Unfortunate that two of the three cards they wouldn't holder were Thurman Munson and Nolan Ryan. They had no problem holdering Dyar Miller and Manny Trillo, though!

-Al

Fuzz

Novacent,
Please note that there is a difference beterrn diamond printing and diamond cutting.
In a diamond printing situation, all for corners are square 90 degree angles but the picture is turned. In a diamond cutting situation the picture may look OK but the corners of the cards are not square. Some are a little over 90 degrees and some a little under. They tend to grade the printing but not so much the cutting. The cutting does not holder well but the printing will.
The rough cut is due to an entirely different problem and they do tend to not penalize for tough cut borders.
Fuzz

Love of the Game

Gotcha, fuzz. The Kaline was diamond printed, then.

I had heard PSA did not penalize for rough cuts, and that seems to have proven itself out by a few 7s and 8s I have in my 53 set, as well as a 6 Roberto Clemente that I have in my 61 set.

What I thought was very odd was two cards I recently sent in from the 61 set. A Brooks Robinson that was very crisp, well-centered, sharp corners, good registration, nice gloss. I expected a 7 and it graded a 5. The only thing I could see wrong with the card was a very slight roughness - not even a wrinkle - measuring about a centimeter long and a couple of millimeters wide, along one side of the right edge.

Conversely, in the same submission I included a Mantle MVP that had sharp corners and edges, but was otherwise brutal. The 61 set is plagued with print defects, and the Mantle had ALL of them - painfully off center, white AND black print bubbles, AND black roller lines. Plus, the MVP cards are heavily saturated with red or blue ink, and sometimes the ink obscures some of the letters in the player's name - this Mantle had that, too. I expected a 4, and only included it with the submission because I wanted to see how PSA handled all the print defects in the 61 set before I sent in more, and this Mantle had them ALL. Anyway, it came back with a 7OC, so I guess they don't take the print defects into account at the 7 level.

What bugs me a bit about that is that I have a PSA 7 Mantle from that set that is really nice, with no print defects or registration issues, and 60/40 centering. How it gets a 7 and the Mantle MVP gets a 7 (with a qualifier) as well, I think does an injustice to the nice Mantle.

I'll figure this out sooner or later,

-Al

1977topps

Just got back a '78 common, Lamar Johnson, Miscut. I can't believe I didn't notice, the top edge is cut at an angle. Do you get a refund for this?

nearmint

They'll send a voucher good for grading one card free at the service level you used. It comes in a separate mailing, usually a few days after you get the cards.