Best method to determine if a card is trimmed?

scotgreb

Just bought a group of '72 high number football.

I'm pretty confident in the integrity of the seller but a few of the cards look short / altered.

What's the best way to determine if they have been trimmed?

I've seen some folks here scan and then plot points / lines, etc.

Is that standard functionality with MS Paint or Picture Manager?

Thanks in advance.

Scott

leadoff4

Measure, they should be 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches.

storm888

"...I've seen some folks here scan and then plot points / lines, etc...."

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Download this gadget, to measure your cards.

ruler

RonBurgundy

Find out if it was ever bought or sold in Houston, Texas.

PSARich

Besides the basic measurements, three other observations can help you out. With cards from the 1970's and earlier, three things to look for are:

1. Cardboard toning on the edge. Over the years, the edges will tone with age. If they get trimmied, the cardboard along the edge will look brighter, cleaner, and newer.

2. Smoothness of the edge. Most edges from the years I listed will have some degree of roughness due to the older methods of cutting the sheets that the cards were printed on. This is especially true with cards from the 1940's-1950's. However, cards from the 1960's to the 1980's will have a rougher cut than modern cards. When trimmed, the edge is very smooth and clean. Compare an edge you think is trimmed to the other edges on the card. Use a magnifying glass and a bright light. It will be apparent if trimming has ocurred.

3. Corners of a trimmed card will be very sharp and may even curl out a little.

scotgreb

Thanks folks . . . great answers as usual.

jmoran19

rub your finger lightly over the edges, if it doesn't feel even or uniform that's a good hint

CoinRuckus

take an X-Acto knife to it

stevek

A lot of good pointers here - once ya familiarize yourself with vintage cards, it is actually easy to quickly spot trimmed or doctored cards. Depending on how far ya wanna go with learning it, I would recommend buying some PSA 8 and 9 vintage commons, break open the slabs, and familiarize yourself with what a true raw vintage NM-MT or Mint vintage card truly looks like and the way it is cut. I haven't seen a scammer yet who can doctor a card to look exactly like that. And also recommended if you're planning on spending a lot of money on an expensive raw card, to use a blacklight which further shows doctoring such as filled in corners or recoloring or a pinhole, and other flaws which can turn a potential 8 or 9 card into a 1 or just an "authentic" card worth considerably less money.