Koufax rookie & grading! SCAN ADDED

CocoaBeachDodgers

Let's take a Koufax rookie that has 3 NM-MT corners & 1 NM corner. Centering is 55-45 all the way around. Back is clean & perfectly centered. There is none of the PD that is characteristic of this card & the focus is clear, color is bright. Would you agree that this card would grade a PSA 8 or 8.5?

Now, take the same card and nick an edge with your finger nail. A very small nick, not noticeable at a glance, but at a closer look the nick can be seen by the naked eye. What would this card grade out at now by PSA? 7? 7.5?

Would you agree? I know without a pic you can not say for sure, but with the above information, what do you think?

KendallCat

Would have to see it before giving an opinion. Cards today are scrutinized a lot more than in the past, so descriptions along make it hard to determine what it would grade. Plus what we think and what PSA graders think will vary, but the opinion of the grader counts more than that we think ??

wilkiebaby11

Not being a troll, but if you want others to take time and give you an honest opinion, you should take time and scan the card. Everyone has a different definiteion of what NM or NMMT is.



All being said, if your grades were right in line with PSAs, then I would say a 7.



But I just was on another forum where a guy posted a pic of his 56 Jackie Robinson asking if it had a shot at a 9. It was a 4, maybe a 5 at best, with touched corners and 10/90 centering. Not saying this is your level of grading expertise, but as the old saying goes, pictures are worth a thousand words.

CocoaBeachDodgers

I may have accidentally misled you. I do not have this card and I am not asking you to grade a card. I am just asking how much do you think PSA will downgrade a card because of a small nick as described above.

To elaborate a little more, this is a possible crossover situation.

70ToppsFanatic

My experience is that in the last 3-5 years the corners alone without any nick would be enough
to take make the card a 7 or 7.5 if it was raw. With the nick, probably a 6.5 or 7.

As a crossover, depending on which TPG name is on the current slab it sounds like you are in 6.5 territory.

But this is certainly all conjecture without being able to see a scan of the card, and even if we saw a scan
you never know what you will get until the submission pops.

TheMick6

To me if you starting to get in the 7.5 to 8.5 area on vintage a scan won't cut it I think you need the card in hand. After all I've seen scan's make some cards look great and others not so much. About all you can really tell from a scan is centering and maybe a glaring defect or two. With that said I think it's pretty well known that PSA has tightened up on vintage a bit. I've seen a lot of newly graded older stuff getting 7's and 7.5's that were easy 8's in years past.

ugaskidawg

One of the best things I have done that helps with higher grade vintage, is do the standard high res scan (you can see borders, corners, centering, etc.). Then take the card and go towards a natural light source and take a picture at an angle where the light is reflecting off the surface of the card. I've been able to really see the natural imperfections, light bends, or those creases that seem to hide under the surface. It also shows what the natural bend to the card is. In a scanner, the image can be flattened, but sitting up on it's own might show some imperfections along the edges.

CocoaBeachDodgers

OK, here's a scan, the nick is just above Koufax's cap. Now what do you think this would grade with nick & without nick?

[URL=http://s1269.photobucket.com/user/mankin043/media/c62f5ef4-d836-4358-a57d-8b06d1bfc5fc_zps3df8ails.jpg.html][/URL]

MrNearMint

Not sure how psa will downgrade that chipped edge but without it I'd say a very solid 7.

jay0791

Could actually be as low as a 5

I have seen where a small imperfection like above the cap really urts the grade.

eye appeal is very nice.

BaltimoreYankee

I would say no higher than a 6. Could easily see a 5. What grade is it in now and what TPG is it graded by?

mrmint23

5..weak corners

CocoaBeachDodgers

It is currently in a 7.5 BVG holder. By what you are all saying I am going to pass on it even though I think you are being pretty strict on the nick. Why I say this is because in the past I had a Fisk rookie that was as nice as any I have ever seen with the exception of a nick that was a little larger than this one. Assuming that it would have been a 9 without the nick, this one was given a 8.5 by PSA, only half point deduction. But at the price of this Koufax, starting bid is over $2300, I would want at east a PSA 7 to make it a decent deal.
By the way, SCP just sold a Koufax PSA 7 that was very nice but the corners were much weaker than this card

70ToppsFanatic

I haven't had very good results in crossing over vintage cards slabbed by BVG. Probably a good thing you passed.

LarkinCollector

Originally posted by: 70ToppsFanatic
I haven't had very good results in crossing over vintage cards slabbed by BVG.

+1, far more 2 full grades lower than within 0.5.

I think it's probably a PSA 7 without the nick/gouge. Only the top right corner appears sharp, unless it's just an artifact of the scan. 6.5 on a good day with, but I'd go in expecting a 5.5.

jeff8877

Here is my two cents...

All four corners are touched which to me merits a 6. Reduce by one full grade for the nick and I believe your looking at a 5. If it were me, I would not pay more than 5 money for it.

Jeff

mintonlypls

Centering stands out as above average...the problematic yellow backdrop contains no extraneous ink...image appears sharp...corners look to be 7 quality but better than those on the SCP psa-7 Koufax you referred to. Therefore...I would say 7.5 w/o nick...and 6.5 w/nick.

RyanAdmirer

Looks like a 6

wilkiebaby11

One rule of thumb that I've found pretty consistent is on average 1 point below for BVG. I've seen 0.5 and 1.5 less pretty often too, but normally 1 below is a good assumption. In this case, I dont see that getting into a 7. The centering makes up for the corners, so without the notch, I could see a 7, but with it I think that's a 6 all day. But I would be surprised to see them grade it even worse.

TheMick6

5 with Nick maybe 7 without I just think PSA has tightened up
On vintage a bit so I wouldn't be surprised if it came back a 6.

TheMick6

Wouldn't touch a BVG card if I was looking to cross. I've had decent results crossing SGC as long as the centering holds up.