How Important is Centering to You?
quikjam
Posts: 22
I always look at the centering of a card first regardless of grade. Is that wrong? I feel like even if the corners are soft or print defects exist, a centered card encompasses how the card 'was intended to look' IMO. It's all about the eye appeal to me. It seems like the term 'dead centered' is used way to loosely these days especially on EBay. Thoughts? Images? I have attached one of my newest pick-ups that took me 3 tries to find well centered...
I just upgraded my scanning methods.. How's it look?
quikjam
I just upgraded my scanning methods.. How's it look?
quikjam
Collecting: Mays-Banks-Aaron
0
Comments
These factors tell me that the card made it out of the factory perfect, however through time and other factors beyond the original blessing of it's creation did it lose it's mintyness.
CU Ancient Members badge member.
Collection: https://flickr.com/photos/185200668@N06/albums
Scan looks nice!
Even those guys that say they are corner guys first and foremost will see the centering first.
Its just the first thing thats going to pop out at you. Centering is the most focal and eye appeal aspect of any card.
Scan looks good
John
http://www.unisquare.com/store/brick/
Ralph
collecting RAW Topps baseball cards 1952 Highs to 1972. looking for collector grade (somewhere between psa 4-7 condition). let me know what you have, I'll take it, I want to finish sets, I must have something you can use for trade.
looking for Topps 71-72 hi's-62-53-54-55-59, I have these sets started
<< <i>Whenever bigreddog posts here, it makes me want to throw on the 1978 Ace Frehley solo album. >>
Come on now. You know what you really want to listen to is Gene Simmons singing When You Wish Upon Star.
Jeff
Miscut Museum
My Mess
Lou Gehrig Master Set
Non-Registry Collection
Game Used Cards Collection
Doug
Liquidating my collection for the 3rd and final time. Time for others to enjoy what I have enjoyed over the last several decades. Money could be put to better use.
Raw: Tony Gonzalez (low #'d cards, and especially 1/1's) and Steve Young.
I'm still sticking with my long time contention that T/B is far less important than L/R.
<< <i>It's behind registry and color for me, but you guys banging on about it the last few years here has altered my thinking and made me more cognizant of it.
I'm still sticking with my long time contention that T/B is far less important than L/R. >>
T/B even on horizontal cards, like 55 topps?
CU Ancient Members badge member.
Collection: https://flickr.com/photos/185200668@N06/albums
Steve
1. Surface which includes registration/color/scuffing/scratches/heavy creasing easily visible at first glance (I don't care how perfectly centered and sharply cornered/edged a card may be, if it's evenly mildly out of register, faded, or lightly scratched or scuffed, I don't want it.)
2. Centering
3. Corners
4. Wrinkles and light creasing that can only be easily seen by rotating the card or looking through a loupe. I have a few cards in PSA 4 or 5 holders with mild wrinkles that otherwise would be 7's, 8's, or 9's. I'll take these all day long - tremendous bang for the buck.
Donato
Edited to add: Nice scan of a terrific looking card...
Donato's Complete US Type Set ---- Donato's Dansco 7070 Modified Type Set ---- Donato's Basic U.S. Coin Design Set
Successful transactions: Shrub68 (Jim), MWallace (Mike)
<< <i>
<< <i>It's behind registry and color for me, but you guys banging on about it the last few years here has altered my thinking and made me more cognizant of it.
I'm still sticking with my long time contention that T/B is far less important than L/R. >>
T/B even on horizontal cards, like 55 topps? >>
No, not really. The horizontal orientation calls too much attentionm to it then.
This card is not 50-50 but its as close as Ive come to one. Most 8s on this card seem to be 70-30 . Love this card
I would probably pay 150.00 more than regular price for this card if it was an 8 and nuts centered. I think most people feel the same way about certain cards they want dead centered. Its been a big move towards this it seems in the last 4 years.
I agree. One of the few exceptions to my desire for good registration/color over centering is the 1975 mini Bench #260 and Ryan (660), I think because they are both such a challenge to find well centered, especially the Bench.
Very nice 57 Yogi by the way. All of that card's attributes are awesome. Congrats on a nice find.
i've been to many art museums in my lifetime, and have yet to see a piece of fine art in an off-centered frame.
My obsession with centering is the sole reason I still do not have a PSA 8 Lance Alworth 1963 Fleer rookie card
Steve
For me, centering is far and away the most crucial factor. Even if everything else is spot-on, if the centering's not there, I'm not interested. My ideal card in terms of price and presentation is an eight with perfect centering and registration, with the flaw being a touched corner which keeps it from grading higher. These are a few of my favorite cards from my 57 set.
....
....
Collecting:
Brett Favre Master Set
Favre Ticket Stubs
Favre TD Reciever Autos
Football HOF Player/etc. Auto Set
Football HOF Rc's
I thought this Drysdale was perfect til I had it in hand -
"Molon Labe"
<< <i>It's behind registry and color for me, but you guys banging on about it the last few years here has altered my thinking and made me more cognizant of it.
I'm still sticking with my long time contention that T/B is far less important than L/R. >>
I whole-heartedly agree with this assessment.
When I see a card in any grade that's OC T/B and L/R, I cringe. It just ain't pretty to look at -- even from a distance without getting to the registration, etc.
There are some real beauts shown here. Thanks for sharing the artwork!
Jeff, you gotta be one of the most quoted -- and sung about -- board members. I like your quote and plan on saving if for future use. Hope you don't mind!!
<< <i>i've been to many art museums in my lifetime, and have yet to see a piece of fine art in an off-centered frame. >>
<< <i>Let me put it this way.....
My obsession with centering is the sole reason I still do not have a PSA 8 Lance Alworth 1963 Fleer rookie card
Steve >>
And why I do not own, and probably never will own, a Bobby Hull rookie.
With the rise of grading companies and ebay as a shopping medium, all I can really see is the centering. Because the card is graded, I no longer worry about corners or edges. Keep in mind I am talking about PSA 8 or better modern cards. Centering is really all you can determine from a scan.
I still regard corners and edges as the most important, but I no longer have to worry about that if the card is graded.
Even if a raw card were perfectly centered but had a weak corner, I still would not take it because I am dealing in an era of cards where there is so much supply that waiting for the right one is better and realisitic.
The Yogi Berra card is actually really attractive. I can see it is not dead center, but many people would say it is. Even PSA 10s have centering like that many times. As for the Hank Aaron card, it appears to be tilted a little ever so slightly. Not a dead centered card, but very few people will even notice that. It could be the scan is giving an illusion.
BST: Tennessebanker, Downtown1974, LarkinCollector, nendee
<< <i>
<< <i>Whenever bigreddog posts here, it makes me want to throw on the 1978 Ace Frehley solo album. >>
Come on now. You know what you really want to listen to is Gene Simmons singing When You Wish Upon Star. >>
Anomaly is better than ace's 78 album.
anyway, no centering means little to me in terms of eye appeal. Sharp corners are much more important.
2) Centering but only to guarantee that it is within a certain range. I think that my tolerance is around 60/40. With the centering worse than that, I might pass on the card (unless there are other attributes that force me to reconsider). Here's an example of a card where the centering didn't bother me enough to pass on it:
Once the centering is within those parameters, I move on to......
3) Corners and edges. If a card has bad corners, I don't care how well centered it is, I'll still pass on it.
4) Back. I'm not really a back guy, but I can imagine a scenario where I wouldn't buy a card if the ink on the back was smeared or there was a large gum stain.
bobsbbcards SGC Registry Sets
<< <i>Centering is THE most important thing to me as well. I've recently picked up a few lower graded cards that have good centering and I am fine with them. Here is one of them:
>>
Nice card my freind.I would not mind if I had an entire set of 5s that look that good.
Tony
<< <i>Incidentally, almost every '65 Aaron I've ever seen appears to be a bit tilted if you look at the top border. I think it's just the cumulative effect of the way he's holding the bat and tilting his head or something. Like an Escher drawing. >>
I feel like 59 Topps baseball has that effect for me too. No matter how perfectly centered the card is, what's going on inside the border looks off to me. 84 Topps football works in a similar way for me.
We've had the centering discussion many times and I have to say - over the years - going back to around 1988 - I've changed.
Centering wasn't an issue for me back then - if the card exhibited great color, registration and surface luster - I was sold.
I've been working on a 63F BB set since 2004 - and the early cards selected were 60/40 and economical - now I look for well centered cards - no worse than 55/45.
And - the prices that cards bring in the same grade reflect centering with respect to the final hammer.
<< <i> 84 Topps football works in a similar way for me. >>
Definitely. Those cards can give me a headache after a little while.
Oh, and I like my cards centered, too!
quikjam
1958 Topps #310 Ernie Banks. This card was formerly a 7 that I had no isssues with at all becasue of the centering.
1957 Topps #10 Willie Mays. I had searched high and low for a centered copy... LOVE this card.
1959 Topps #561 Hank Aaron. One of my best centered cards... I've seen sharper and more colorful examples..but not with this centering.
Edited for broken photo link.
THANKS! I'm happy with the holder it's in... I've never been brave enough to the crack and resubmit.
<< <i>THANKS! I'm happy with the holder it's in... I've never been brave enough to the crack and resubmit. >>
It's a gorgeous card and it's safe and sound. Leave it right where it is.
The Aaron All Star is really nice, too. That card is a bear to find centered (so is his regular '59 card, in my experience.)