Do frosted edges on slabs always indicate tampering?

Dodgerfanjohn

I've noticed quite a few lately where the card matches the grade. However, in this auction, the card seems to be a grade lower than the slab would indicate, not to mention that the slab it self looks like its been kicked around:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/181078682248?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2648

I ask because I have a 1956 Jackie Robinson I bought last year and just noticed that the edges are frosted all the way around(its a PSA 3).

I'm not sure how/why it would have been removed from the holder as theres no obvious chipping of the plastic where a screwdriver might have been inserted to pry it open. The card itself cant be trimmed as it fits snugly in the holder and can't move at all. The corners are badly worn.....It looks exactly like some of the PSA 3's currently listed and so does the label and slab.

The only things I can think of is the owner put a retouched card in there in place of the original or he simply wanted a raw card in his collection and took it out and saved the holder until he decided to sell. Which seems like a heck of a lot of effort for the $5-10 premium he'd realize for the encapsulation, but I've seen people do crazy stuff.

Can the slab get like this from being dropped or something similiar?

Griffins

I've gotten cards straight from PSA with frosty edges. I think it has something to do with the heat of the sealing machine.

ldferg

No!

jwilson6204

I sent some cards back to PSA recently because they weren't just frosted, but were brownish and had extra pieces of plastic around the edges. They happily said they would fix the situation until I was satisfied. These particular cards required a plastic sleeve so I'm not sure if that contributed to the problem. I've never had a problem with excessive frosting before with normal sized cards. The cards are actually "sonically" sealed, but these looked like they were burnt. Anyways, they are finished now and in the process of being shipped back. I can't wait to see them.

itzagoner

<< <i>Can the slab get like this from being dropped or something similiar? >>



yup.

having had thousands upon thousands of PSA graded cards delivered over the years, i can testify that plenty of them with frostiness around the slab perimeters are a direct result of postally inflicted impact.

the only package protection would be the cardboard of the internally placed boxes and that of the outer carton, though they will add some brown paper to fill in gaps, for what it's worth.

after so many deliveries and current reflection, i find it shocking that only on a handful of my cards needed to be reholdered because the slabs were too damaged the first time around.

and i feel pretty darn lucky that NONE of them were truly valuable or precious to me.