O-Pee-Chee Rough Cut
ReggieCleveland
Posts: 3,818 ✭✭✭✭✭
Do all OPC cards come with the rough cut?
Are there years that got some good cuts?
Are certain years more hampered with the rough cut than others?
Are there years that got some good cuts?
Are certain years more hampered with the rough cut than others?
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I can answer for Hockey. I've noticed that mid 70's seem to be the worse, getting better by 81.
82 to 89 can be rough cut but generally not as much.
I talked to a worker who was at the factory around 72/73. They said that the pizza cutter wheels started off sharp and became dull as the day progressed and they would get so bad that the strips of cards would be torn apart manually after coming through the wheels, hence the rough cuts. It also means the edges can be fairly smooth on the early run cards.
PSA doesn't discount a grade for rough cut but I much prefer the smoother cut ones and it seems that these cards should be the ones that could get 10's, while the rough cuts get a 9 at best.
I talked to Joe Orlando about this, and while he agreed about the appeal of smoother edges, he stated that this was not PSA's policy.
<< <i>I talked to a worker who was at the factory around 72/73. They said that the pizza cutter wheels started off sharp and became dull as the day progressed and they would get so bad that the strips of cards would be torn apart manually after coming through the wheels, hence the rough cuts. It also means the edges can be fairly smooth on the early run cards. >>
Pizza cutter wheels? My understanding is that OPC cards were cut with wires.
<< <i>
<< <i>I talked to a worker who was at the factory around 72/73. They said that the pizza cutter wheels started off sharp and became dull as the day progressed and they would get so bad that the strips of cards would be torn apart manually after coming through the wheels, hence the rough cuts. It also means the edges can be fairly smooth on the early run cards. >>
Pizza cutter wheels? My understanding is that OPC cards were cut with wires. >>
Maurice is correct. OPC used airplane wires to cut the card stock during this era.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
<< <i>I have some 1972s that are pretty clean and some 1978s that are really sharp. Not sure if QC improved later in the 70s. >>
Cards are typically rough cut out of the pack throughout the 1970s. Every now and then you will get cards with smoother edges which were cut when they changed the wires, but OPC cards should be rougher cut in any case than their Topps counterparts on the whole. A lot of 70s OPC cards are sheet cut, though, and those cards will exhibit smooth edges, as they were not cut using OPC factory equipment.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
<< <i>
<< <i>
<< <i>I talked to a worker who was at the factory around 72/73. They said that the pizza cutter wheels started off sharp and became dull as the day progressed and they would get so bad that the strips of cards would be torn apart manually after coming through the wheels, hence the rough cuts. It also means the edges can be fairly smooth on the early run cards. >>
Pizza cutter wheels? My understanding is that OPC cards were cut with wires. >>
Maurice is correct. OPC used airplane wires to cut the card stock during this era. >>
He told me that they used pizza cutter wheels (1972). Though he was 85 years old, I thought he was remembering correctly and the stories of the ripping the cards apart on incomplete cuts seemed to fit. He also described the boxes the sheets would drop into, then be manually fed into the wheels which caused the poor centering and tilts depending on how accurately the person handling the sheets was.
I thought the airplane wires came later (mid seventies). Anyone have archive pictures?
The sheet cutters now use rough cuts for OPC cards.
<< <i>A lot of 70s OPC cards are sheet cut, though, and those cards will exhibit smooth edges, as they were not cut using OPC factory equipment. >>
The sheet cutters now use rough cuts for OPC cards. >>
That may be the case most recently but throughout the years that has not been the case.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
Topps, Brooklyn NY cut pretty much all of the vending cases in the 70's.
I think Gary Koreen (head of OPC in the 70's), said that OPC never did vending in the 70's.
I know for a fact that Brooklyn NY did OPC vending for hockey in 69, 70, 71, 72, and 73.
Not sure about baseball as I have not much interest there.
So if you have questions about opc hockey or baseball, these are the guys you want to talk to. The are the BBCE of OPC.