Uncut 1921 W551 Strip cards ADVICE NEEDED

XanaduNow

First off, sorry to disappoint most of you but this isn't a strip with the Babe Ruth on it. I know, I know. I'm a big tease.

I picked this up recently because as some of you know I'm on a bit of a junkie's run with the old boxing cards. The year 1922 is commonly accepted as Jack Dempsey and Georges Carpentier's RC year (both HOFers) so this find from 1921 was a can't miss pick up for me. As you can tell from the scans the outside corners are rounded (with a little paper loss) but both the Dempsey and Carpentier are in the middle portion of the strip. There is no damage to the top and bottom edges of the strip and there are zero markings or printings on the blank back.

My question to all of you is this ... do I cut?

There are defined edges represented by the black dotted line splitting the individual cards. It would be possible to cut the cards so that the defined borders are visible (necessary in order to get a high grade from PSA) but it would have to work on an every-other-card basis as one border would only be able to be used for one card. If I were to cut I would be able to salvage four cards with defined borders on each side (including the Dempsey and Carpentier RCs) but the other cards would probably just come back as Authentic since the borders would be missing.

There has been only one other Dempsey graded (listed under the 1-2 grade column) and I'm assuming it came back as Authentic. This truly would be a one-of-a-kind find if I were to pull a grade closer to 10 than 1. But which is more rare? The high grade Dempsey/Carpentier RCs or an uncut sheet of these strip cards?

Obviously, I'm not in any hurry to cut as once I do I can't go back. But assuming I did cut, what would be the best method? What tools should I use to ensure damage-free cutting with the sharpest and most even cut? Any advice, opinions or comments by all would be greatly appreciated. I'm hoping there are some of you out there that have experience with these Hand Cut strip cards. How much does the discoloration affect the grade?

If you're checking the pop report the set is listed under Baseball in the year 1921.

Thanks in advance everybody. Either way I decide, I think this is one hell of a find and I'm really happy about it!




Close-up of the Jack Dempsey


Close-up of the Georges Carpentier


Edited to add: I need to clean my scanner. That marking on the top left portion of the Carpentier is from my scanner and is not on the card.

blindflyer

Arthur,

That's a tough, tough call...

My gut instinct is to keep it as is. It really is a beautiful piece. I think the choice probably comes down to what your ultimate objective is. If you want to flip it into a sale for highest profit, getting the two cards in a PSA holder with a high grade will probably pay you handsomely. However, if it's for your personal collection, who really cares ---- go with whatever form you like the most.

If you do decide to cut, you'll want to use a metal straightedge and a very sharp (brand new) exacto knife. Get the metal straightedge with the cork bottom, but turn upside down (cork up) when you use it). I used to work for a graphic design company and that's what the artists did.

All said that, as I mentioned earlier, my gut instinct is to leave as is. It's gotta be rare and it looks great!

-Tom

XanaduNow

Thanks for the info Tom

To be honest, I have no desire of ever selling no matter what I do. I recently started a Jack Dempsey Master set so that does make me lean towards getting them cut since as of now this card isn't even listed in the registry and I think I would clearly have a large upper-hand over everyone else doing a Dempsey set with this find.

Hmmm .... the competitive juices of a set registry

Arthur

A761506

Keep it intact. You can always cut it up down the road, but since you're not planning on selling it, there is no good reason to cut them up. My guess is that in the future, the uncut ones will be worth far more than graded ones, grading is still extremely new and there are tons on ungraded cards still out there. As time goes by, graded examples of these cards will surface, and the value of the strip will only increase as fewer strips are available because they've been hacked up.

-Josh

blindflyer

Arthur,

I agree with A76 ....

... also, knowing your intentions, my thought would be to keep the strip you just purchased intact .... and keep your eye out for ANOTHER strip ... one of the two will be in worse condition --- cut that one up and keep the other intact.

If you cut now, you can only regret it. Keep intact and who knows what you'll find down the road.

-t

DaddyRich

Arthur, if I may - I agree that if patience serves you well that a continued search may turn up another strip you can chop. These are far too nice to look at and would be quite presentable framed, in my opinion.

Rich

KyleBicking

Hey Arthur,

Shoot me an email, kylebicking@yahoo.com.

Thanks!
Kyle

GraphingAddict

Where in the world do you find those?

LWMM

Is that a nick at the top os the Dempsey (top edge above his right ear)?

XanaduNow

<< <i>Where in the world do you find those? >>



Ebay



<< <i>Is that a nick at the top os the Dempsey (top edge above his right ear)? >>



No, that's my cruddy scanner. I try to wipe it down every once in a while but stuff just finds its way on there.

Arthur

boxingcarddigest

My opinion - do not cut.
You found a nice little uncut strip and you obviously don't need to cut them right now, so don't bother.

I agree with the former poster who suggested framing them up - they would look great.

ajw

Wow. Great find. Can I ask how much you paid for it?

Estil

I would advise against cutting. I mean, these cards are rare enough as-is, but to get an uncut strip of them, wow. You could very well have the only one left in existence. Shoot, I'd be tempted to get 1980s Topps uncut sheets if I had any way of properly displaying them.

ZodiacMindwarp

I too would recommend keeping the strip intact but if you do choose to cut the strip, the cuts have to be perfect. I had the baseball strip and I showed it to Joe Orlando at the 05 National and he said that if the cut wasn't straight down the dotted line the cards would not receive a numerical grade.

If you do cut the strip, please let us know how it turns out. I have a complete (but damaged) strip of actors/actresses from the same series and have been contemplating submitting them for grading.

cmoking

I agree with those that say not to cut it, especially if you are not selling it. Here are my thoughts:

Both PSA and SGC are just too random at grading strip cards. Sometimes they'll return them with "minimum size not met". Sometimes they'll grade them as Authentic. Sometimes they'll grade them with a number. I think it is a complete crapshoot.

I own a W551 baseball sheet with Cobb and Ruth on it. I think they would all grade if I cut it correctly. However, I have no idea exactly what the grading companies want...and I'm not sure they know either. Since I am keeping the sheet myself, there is no point for me to cut it..and so I didn't.

I did explore the possibilities by cutting a W516 sheet. I cut it perfectly and actually left a bit more room on the two HOFers on the sheet. Guess what? Both PSA and SGC graded it as authentic because it was too short top to bottom! I had no idea that would have been a problem. That W516 sheet was pretty cheap, and the two HOFers, even in PSA Authentic holders, will get me back the value I paid for the sheet. The W516 are much more common (I think) than the W551, and there was no Ruth/Cobb so I was willing to use that as a test case.

I also agree with the comments about the intact strips possibly being more valuable as a strip in the future. You can always cut a strip, but once cut, you can never put it back together. In that sense, it is kinda like a pack. It is my understanding that the average contents of a vintage unopened pack is worth less than the price of the unopened pack itself. So it doesn't make sense to open it and gamble.

kingraider75

never cut anything, reminds me of the 80-81 Topps basketball cards. Of course those are a lot cheaper. Keep it together. You can buy a cut up Dempsey somewhere down the line.