Bought the Card, not the Holder (J. West Rookie)

shu4040

I've been looking for a 61 Fleer Jerry West rookie for a little, and 4SC had a PSA 8 up recently. Good centering, corners, but terrible picture and coloring. Check out the color alignment on ball on the top left and the red overbleed in various places (his arm coming out of the red border, etc). I looked at it for a bit and just couldn't pull the trigger knowing i'd stare at the ugliness.

Here is the 8:
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Later on ebay, i found this 6.5. Sure the corners aren't quite as sharp, centering not quite as good, but perfectly framed image and no color bleed. All for 25% of the price. I couldn't pass up on that deal.

Bought the card
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slum22

Originally posted by: djr
I hope it measures up, since it does not fill out the holder as much as the PSA 8.

1961 Fleer cards are similar to 75 mini cards in that their QC regarding the size of the cards was all over the place. There is a wide variance in non-altered original 1961 cards ranging from small to oversize.

Congrats on your pick up. I love this set and have been watching that West and the Baylor PSA 8 they had for a long time. I agree that for both of those cards that the centering, corners and edges are fantastic. I also agree that the print defects on both the West and Baylor ultimately proved too much to overlook for my taste and is why I also never pulled the trigger on either card. I got my West 8 but am still looking for a Baylor 8.

UncleTwoPillow

Both cards have been graded recently, so it would be a safe assumption that the graders felt comfortable with them considering how much folks have been grumbling about MINSIZEREQ cards lately.



It's the grossly angulated cuts from this issue which drive me nuts. I also agree with the OP that the lower graded example has better registration and would be easier to digest.

shu4040

Yep, im just starting to get more into this set and really afraid to buy anything ungraded from PSA b/c I know the sizes are all over the place

PMKAY

I like the 8 better but can't disagree with getting the 6.5 at a quarter of whatever the price is on the 8.

packCollector

I have to say I have no complaints with that 8. Not sure what the prices are on either of these cards but if you are happy with the 6.5 and then have 3X more cash than you paid for the 6.5 left over to get other stuff that may be the way to go. the 6.5 looks like a nice card as well for that grade level. I think buying either of these, you are buying the appropriate card

Dnice

That's a really great card to own. Certainly an important card in the hobby. Congrats

Sdub

I'm not a registry collector, and I don't own any basketball cards, but this set is absolutely gorgeous. If a high grade set ever becomes available, not sure i could help myself.

PSASAP

I like the idea of buying value cards, and the West rookie is a great card to own. PWCC had two West rookies, one PSA 8, the other PSA 8 o/c. Here is the o/c card:
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And here is the straight 8:
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For less than 10% of the non-qualified card, the off-centered card seems like a really great card at a very attractive price.

grote15

There is size variance with the 75 minis but only two color combos should come short straight out of the pack~green top and yellow bottom and red top and yellow bottom.

mikelowell25

Originally posted by: PSASAP

I like the idea of buying value cards, and the West rookie is a great card to own. PWCC had two West rookies, one PSA 8, the other PSA 8 o/c. Here is the o/c card:

link

And here is the straight 8:

link



For less than 10% of the non-qualified card, the off-centered card seems like a really great card at a very attractive price.

The back of the 8OC is horrible; how did that card not get an ST qualifier too?!?! The staining is so bad it looks like it was inserted in a loaf of bread.

PSASAP

I've seen worse staining on backs, but you're right that the card should have been given the ST qualifier. It's an old flip, which probably explains it.

mikelowell25

Originally posted by: PSASAP

I've seen worse staining on backs, but you're right that the card should have been given the ST qualifier. It's an old flip, which probably explains it.

Thanks for the vote of confidence; now that I think about it, I don't think it's possible for a card to have more than one qualifier and since the stain is on the back and the card is more oc on the front than the back and the first thing you see is the front, I'm guessing front trumps back so it gets an OC instead of an ST even though that stain is UUUUGE!!!

PSASAP

Wax stains are very common on '61 Fleers, and the card stock they used tends to darken where the stain is. But, the point I'm making is that it sold for 9.8% of the unqualified 8, which is very low. If I were given the choice between 10 of the o/c cards or one unqualified 8, I'd take the ten cards, but that's just me.