Slabbing Thick patch cards. Grade or patch???

Fabfrank

I've been building all the SP and SP Authentic football sets for the Registry for the last 10 years. In 2001, SP Authentic started including the thicker patch cards to the sets. If anyone else has submitted these thicker cards, you can attest to how tough PSA is on grading them. After 3 recent submissions (whicj I received mostly 8's and few 9's and 10's)
and started realizing that the grade of the card didn't matter so much to me. Instead it was the character of the patch and autograph (most are also signed), that really caught my eye when I acquired the card.
I wanted to see how other collectors feel. As an example, would you prefer a plain white patch LaDainian Tomlinson RC card graded PSA 9 or 10, or would you prefer a PSA 8 or 7 multi-colored patch?

alifaxwa2

7/8 Multi

Fabfrank

7/8 Multi

What??

alifaxwa2

<< <i>7/8 Multi

What?? >>


Seriously? Re-read your last sentence...." prefer a plain white patch LaDainian Tomlinson RC card graded PSA 9 or 10, or would you prefer a PSA 8 or 7 multi-colored patch? "

CardboardKeeper

this is the most confusing thread ever

1989FleerBillRipkencollector

In all fairness, he said 8 or 7.

NOT 7 or 8.

CollectorAtWork

Yea, for game used or auto cards, I also think character of the patch/bat/auto is much more important than the card grade. (If all those things are equal, then the card grade takes effect.) So, I'd also prefer a multi color jersey to a plain white one regardless of grade. This is also why I'm thinking that it's not much use to slab game used cards other than for protection. Auto cards are useful for authentication and grade of the auto, especially if it can come close to a 10.

CrazyMind2017

If you get them graded, you won't be able to touch the jersey swatches. I don't get why anyone would avoid grading a regular card due to the fact that it will never be touchable again, but for relic cards I understand. I have about 25 relic cards, many with autographs (sticker or on-card) that I keep in Ultra Pro magnetic holders. Most of them fit in 100pt. holders, although some are 75pt. and others are 130pt.

They're well protected, and if I feel like opening the case, it's easy to do without any danger of damaging the corners or edges. I suppose touching the bat/jersey pieces could put the surface at risk, but I'm careful about that.

The character of the relic is of great significance. I don't go crazy over pieces of jersey numbers or patches, but I'm very particular about pinstripes. I like having at least one pinstripe that's centered within the individual swatch. I passed up a card at a show recently that had a pinstripe that was partially obstructed on the edge of the individual swatch and no other reason. If the pinstripe had been in the middle of the swatch, I would have bought the card without hesitation.

Fabfrank

Thanks for the responses guys. I thought I was clear in my initial post, but I'll clarify.

would you prefer a plain white patch LaDainian Tomlinson RC card graded PSA 9 or 10, or would you prefer a PSA 8 or 7 multi-colored patch?

Should have read : would you prefer a plain white patch LaDainian Tomlinson RC card graded PSA 9 or PSA 10, or would you prefer a PSA 8 or PSA 7 multi-colored patch?

I hope the removes some of the confusion.

FleerBillRipkenCollector- LOVE those baseball Furies cards. Are they re-makes or photoshop? I'm still waiting for a good remake of "The Warriors"

Collectoratwork- Thanks for the post. If the grade is the same, I will always prefer a multi-colored patch to a plain white or solid colored one. For myself, I'm trying to determine at what point does the grade overcome the eye appeal of the patch? I'm willing to go 1 grade lower on a card, if the patch has better eye appeal on the lower graded card. I wanted to see if others had the same inclination.

Crazymind- I agree with what you say about storing the cards in magnetic plastic holders. Those holders have been a god-send. I don't feel the need to hold the actual card and since I am building these sets on the registry, for me it makes sense to get them graded. I also, agree with you on the pin stripe patchs. Being a Yankee fan, I only buy patch cards of Yankees that have pinstripes. Precise centering for me is less of an issue, but I do want the patch to have good eye appeal.

What I have determined though is that PSA is way stricter on grading the thicker cards than they are on regular cards. There is also an inconsistency in the usage of the holders. I have some thinner patch cards that are in regular holders, and others from the same set in the bigger holders.
Thanks for the responses guys and I would love to hear more comments/opinions.