CENTERED?

ClockworkAngel

Brett

Well it doesn't say "well centered". Just says centered. Maybe he just forgot to put the "off" in front of centered

LarkinCollector

Flip needs a tap with part of the top under the lip, but agreed it's marginal centering for a 9.

CW

Well, this one has GREAT CENTERING!

LarkinCollector

<< <i>Well, this one has GREAT CENTERING!

>>


If you only care about R/L.

fiveniner

NOTTA!!!!!!!!
also way over priced IMO.

Dialj

This one has sweet centering according to the listing.

BaltimoreYankee

Back in the day (1975, in the case of the Brett), nobody opened a pack and thought, 'this card would be great if the centering were better than 55-45' or 'it's a shame about the tilt on this card'. It was a simpler time. Maybe that's why to this day I'm more of a sharp corners than centering freak.

DezHood

I'm sure I'm in the minority, but neither centering nor corners are huge for me. I care about the surface - bright colors, no snow, no pd, unexplainable dots or blotches - that kind of stuff bothers me. I force myself to be aware of centering just for resale purposes - if I had to resell, I don't want to get the low end price for the grade and that does typically happen with poorly centered cards.

MikeyP

The George Brett card is obviously off centered from top to bottom. The seller may have described it as "centered" because PSA did not give it an OC grade.



<< <i>Back in the day (1975, in the case of the Brett), nobody opened a pack and thought, 'this card would be great if the centering were better than 55-45' or 'it's a shame about the tilt on this card'. It was a simpler time. Maybe that's why to this day I'm more of a sharp corners than centering freak. >>



I agree Baltimore Yankee. I am currently collecting 1978 Topps baseball cards that I am pulling from unopened wax packs, and I am not really concerning myself with the centering. I feel just like I was 8 years old again. By the way, I am a Connecticut Yankee.

fiveniner

As long as a card is not a miscut centering does not mean squat to me.Like my cards to be perfectly clean and sharp corners.PSA 6 and 7s do me fine.

DanBessette

<< <i>Back in the day (1975, in the case of the Brett), nobody opened a pack and thought, 'this card would be great if the centering were better than 55-45' or 'it's a shame about the tilt on this card'. It was a simpler time. Maybe that's why to this day I'm more of a sharp corners than centering freak. >>



Agreed. I really place alot of importance on corners and edges, very little on centering. Centering has to be 70/30 or maybe even worse before it bothers me.

mattyc_collection

I have surely spent far too much time in my life philosophizing about centering and card condition, and what factors are paramount. And let me say upfront that each collector is right and this is a 100% subjective taste issue.

But, for me, here's the logic...

Corner and edge wear was intended by the makers of the card. These were items to be loved by children, possibly for generations. These were items to be played with, flipped, put in bike spokes. Rubber banded. I doubt the founding card fathers intended for cards to be preserved in appraisal slabs for the purposes of weeding out counterfeits and establishing monetary value.

But the cards were intended to be centered. No question, when Topps and Cy Berger envisioned the 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle, for example, or ANY card, the vision was for the card to have perfect centering. It is intended to be seen with even borders. Not anything less. Perfection, as intended by its creators, means perfect centering.

I cannot see a painter creating a magnificent artwork, then framing it for view in a way that is 90-10 OC

So to me, while corner and edge wear was anticipated if not welcomed as a sign of love, handling, and evidence of a journey through time-- even a century plus, imperfect centering was never the intent.

Imperfect centering is a lesser quality example leaving the factory. Imperfect centering is like buying a car or any item with an inherent factory defect. Whereas corner and edge wear on a centered card is buying something that is fundamentally as it was designed, except has the mileage on it from use in society.

In addition, while corners can be worked on and edges can be trimmed, great centering cannot be created after the fact. Either the card is born with perfect centering or not.

Then there is the sheer aesthetic of looking at a card. My eye does not like paintings hanging crooked in my house. The right angle is a beautiful thing, just ask the usual four walls around you (domes and avant grade architecture notwithstanding ).

Then there is rarity to consider. Rarity is a factor that appeals to many collectors. Rarity creates desirability. And the simple fact is that with some cards, centering is far rarer than a sharp corner.

Just look at all the examples one can find of so many seminal cards in the hobby-- whether it's a 52 Mantle or a Ruth RC or a 1975 Topps Mini common or a 63 or 64 Pete Rose, a 54B Mantle, an Aaron, Clemente, or Koufax RC... Sharp corners can be found much easier than perfect centering.

brad31

I have the complete opposite view - to me off centering and tilt is the way it came from the factory so i can live with it to a certain degree. Corner wear, edge wear and creases were done by someone who damaged the card. I guess I can live with factory tolerances but hate use, wear and accidents.

For that reason I am more of a corner guy than a centering guy. Slight tilt does not bother me much (extreme tilt does) but one corner with wear draws my eyes right to it.

DanBessette

Agree with Brad.

Stingray

<< <i>Brett

Well it doesn't say "well centered". Just says centered. Maybe he just forgot to put the "off" in front of centered >>



At first I was only looking at L/R and thought it was fine. But T/B is borderline at best!!