I just got a nice 1988 Fleer update set in a collection I bought, and the Smoltz has the centering where it seems to have a lower border on the bottom, which you have always stated is how it should be, and typically when you flip those kinds of cards over, the centering on the back, t/b, is spot on...I am worried though that maybe they aren't being graded that way? If you search for PSA 10 Smoltz cards, you will see that most all have bottom borders which are about the same as the side borders...mine is a beautiful card, no chipping at all on the back blue edges, and none of those blue and red smudges you sometimes see on the front on the top and bottom borders (ink runs I guess)...I am concerned my card may end up in a 9 holder instead of a 10, due to the t/b centering on the front?
@Kep13 said:
I just got a nice 1988 Fleer update set in a collection I bought, and the Smoltz has the centering where it seems to have a lower border on the bottom, which you have always stated is how it should be, and typically when you flip those kinds of cards over, the centering on the back, t/b, is spot on...I am worried though that maybe they aren't being graded that way? If you search for PSA 10 Smoltz cards, you will see that most all have bottom borders which are about the same as the side borders...mine is a beautiful card, no chipping at all on the back blue edges, and none of those blue and red smudges you sometimes see on the front on the top and bottom borders (ink runs I guess)...I am concerned my card may end up in a 9 holder instead of a 10, due to the t/b centering on the front?
If you have a pic of the card, would love to see it. As you can see in the picture of PSA 10 candidates below, Fleer intended the top/bottom borders to be equal size from the top of the team logo and the bottom of the Fleer stripe. The exceptions to this are the few teams who’s logos were centered lower on the card due to the shape of the logo, such as the Padres and Braves. This flat team logo can make the card appear off t/b when in fact that is not the case. The bottom border on all 1988 Fleer cards is intended to be the same height and consistent with those on the rookie prospect cards as shown in the pic below. My guess is that when PSA is grading a 1988 Fleer card as a one-off, the intended Fleer centering is not always known by the grader and can be missed based on the team logo size and placement.
@Kep13 said:
I just got a nice 1988 Fleer update set in a collection I bought, and the Smoltz has the centering where it seems to have a lower border on the bottom, which you have always stated is how it should be, and typically when you flip those kinds of cards over, the centering on the back, t/b, is spot on...I am worried though that maybe they aren't being graded that way? If you search for PSA 10 Smoltz cards, you will see that most all have bottom borders which are about the same as the side borders...mine is a beautiful card, no chipping at all on the back blue edges, and none of those blue and red smudges you sometimes see on the front on the top and bottom borders (ink runs I guess)...I am concerned my card may end up in a 9 holder instead of a 10, due to the t/b centering on the front?
If you have a pic of the card, would love to see it. As you can see in the picture of PSA 10 candidates below, Fleer intended the top/bottom borders to be equal size from the top of the team logo and the bottom of the Fleer stripe. The exceptions to this are the few teams who’s logos were centered lower on the card due to the shape of the logo, such as the Padres and Braves. This flat team logo can make the card appear off t/b when in fact that is not the case. The bottom border on all 1988 Fleer cards is intended to be the same height and consistent with those on the rookie prospect cards as shown in the pic below. My guess is that when PSA is grading a 1988 Fleer card as a one-off, the intended Fleer centering is not always known by the grader and can be missed based on the team logo size and placement.
Mine looks exactly like this one...but as I stated, it seems almost all of the 10s out there have bottom border equal to side borders...guess i will have to send 'er in and hope for the right grader
Well, a fun rip for sure. Always amazes me how impossible PSA 10s are from this set. I ripped 360 case fresh cards and not a single card was dead centered. However, lots of stars and rookies were pulled. Here they are...
More exciting for me was to ask and receive. The last pack in this stack had my boy Mark Grace staring right back at me. Loved this card as a kid. Keeping this rack in my treasured possessions!
Wow! If only I could call them like this all the time. The 1986 Donruss Canseco RC was the hottest card on the planet in 1989 as he assaulted the base paths and crushed HR after HR. The first 40/40 man in baseball. This card was a must own and at its peak of $125 was quickly out of the range for most young collectors. This one is clearly off-center, but it is still the ultimate rush for a 1980’s nut like myself to slide cards back and watch as this beauty appear from its hidden tomb.
There were 4 candidates for PSA 10 in these three racks...
If you were wondering what 2+ years of ripping looks like, here are the Canseco RCs I have pulled along the way. Show this pic to childhood me and I would have been drooling like a labradoodle!
That Canseco pic reminds me of one of my Card show visits in 1988. Canseco was heating up by that point, but hadn’t hit thermonuclear yet. I had $10 left in my pocket by that point and wandered back to a table with a layout of very similar to
your awesome pic above. He was asking $9 for Fleer rookie and $12 for the Donruss. I didn’t own either as I started collecting in 87. I’m happy to say that I left the show that day with the Rated Rookie. Almost shaking with excitement on the drive home with mom. I took that card with me to all of my friends’ houses when we would meet up to talk cards and trade. Little did I know that in the coming months my 86D Rated Rookie Canseco would become the hottest card on the planet and the centerpiece of my collection. None of my friends had it. I was the envy of our group. Best $10 I ever spent on cardboard as a kid.
John
Conundrum - Loving my unopened baseball card collection....but really like ripping too
This has been one outstanding case of 1988 Topps. It’s rare that this high percentage of centered cards has consistently come out. Here are the stacks of the misses...
There were a whopping 24 candidates for PSA 10 in this round. My personal favorite is the Eric Davis, but lots of other stars too with Winfield, Ryno, Hershiser, Coleman and Glavine all looking sharp...
@NJ80sBBC said:
That Canseco pic reminds me of one of my Card show visits in 1988. Canseco was heating up by that point, but hadn’t hit thermonuclear yet. I had $10 left in my pocket by that point and wandered back to a table with a layout of very similar to
your awesome pic above. He was asking $9 for Fleer rookie and $12 for the Donruss. I didn’t own either as I started collecting in 87. I’m happy to say that I left the show that day with the Rated Rookie. Almost shaking with excitement on the drive home with mom. I took that card with me to all of my friends’ houses when we would meet up to talk cards and trade. Little did I know that in the coming months my 86D Rated Rookie Canseco would become the hottest card on the planet and the centerpiece of my collection. None of my friends had it. I was the envy of our group. Best $10 I ever spent on cardboard as a kid.
John
You took me straight back to my childhood, John. Awesome description. Thank you.
Woke up in an Emmitt state of mind this morning. Happy Mother’s Day to the female collectors out there or any moms who embrace those of us who collect. Let’s see what this 1990 Fleer Update set can produce...
@jordangretzkyfan said:
That was a fun rip. Been awhile since I opened 1989 Hoops. The distribution on these boxes is very uneven, so they can be really hit or miss. Luckily, this was a hit. Here are the stars and rookies that missed the grade...
The key cards are obviously the Robinson RC and Jordan. Was happy to land all of these...
I found 5 candidates for PSA 10. Here are the first four...
And a nice looking 5th contender...
So you are pulling Dan Marlige rookies, but not my man, Jeff Hornacek? #unfollow
J/K I love the thread, but Horny should be a keeper.
@jordangretzkyfan said:
This has been one outstanding case of 1988 Topps. It’s rare that this high percentage of centered cards has consistently come out. Here are the stacks of the misses...
There were a whopping 24 candidates for PSA 10 in this round. My personal favorite is the Eric Davis, but lots of other stars too with Winfield, Ryno, Hershiser, Coleman and Glavine all looking sharp...
I've hit a bunch of 1988 Topps that was stellar as well. All wax. The one card I sent you was from that little stash. It's like hitting a vein of gold in a sea of quartz.
I've hit a bunch of 1988 Topps that was stellar as well. All wax. The one card I sent you was from that little stash. It's like hitting a vein of gold in a sea of quartz.
Since there is a healthy debate in another thread on the quantity of 1987 Topps Barry Bonds RCs that are sitting around in unsubmitted PSA 10 condition, I thought it only appropriate to try my luck today. Here go 2 vending boxes from a pristine case I just cracked this morning...
First box has been ripped. Here are the stacks of 40-60 of each card that have built up from the 4 cases I have ripped over the past 2+ years of this journey, none of which are PSA 10 worthy.
Here are the key cards I pulled from this vending box. Unfortunately none are centered well enough to contend for PSA 10...
Some have asked how I determine if a card is “worthy” of submission for a PSA 10, so I thought I would use this box as an example. Out of these 500 case-fresh, untouched cards there were only 6 cards that were dead centered. That is 1.2% of the cards even centered, which is my first criteria for submission. Next, I move to corners. All four corners must come to a perfect point with no fraying, curl or softness. Unfortunately, the Phillies and Nelson cards both had a slightly soft upper left corner so they are out. Then I use a direct desk lamp to check that the surface does not have any stress marks, pimples, divots, fisheyes or stray print marks. The Orioles had a surface pimple/bump just above the pitcher’s shoulder. The Thornton has a horizontal cut/roller mark about 1/2 inch above his nameplate. So those two are out.
Last, I check to make sure the edges are clean with no chipping or edge lifts. Yep, only this Dave Johnson and Rock Raines made it through all four criteria to be a PSA 10 candidate. That is 0.4% of the cards in this untouched, pristine vending box!! This hit rate still assumes the eventual grader doesn’t find something I missed. Hope this context helps everyone reading understand just how difficult landing PSA 10s from the 1980s can be. The chase is one of the reasons I love this challenging hobby and have never once stopped collecting since I got the bug in 1987. Thanks to those who continue to comment along the way...
The results on the second vending box were a touch better. Here were the key cards pulled, but none were worthy of perfection...
There were a total of 8 dead centered cards in the box and these 5 have all the attributes for a PSA 10, which is a 1% hit rate out of the fresh vending box...
Have you had better luck on ‘87 Topps with wax and rack cases? And your eyes must be bionic. I get tired louping for my Heritage Master Set. I couldn’t do that all year long lol
@softparade said:
Have you had better luck on ‘87 Topps with wax and rack cases? And your eyes must be bionic. I get tired louping for my Heritage Master Set. I couldn’t do that all year long lol
Hey Dan. 1987 Topps are consistently bad. That said, I have a smidge better luck with rack and cello coming in at a whopping 0.6% hit rate while wax and vending are averaging a 0.3% candidate hit rate.
great thread, brings back a lit of memories.
couple questions, don't know if you addressed these previously
what is your time line for finishing this project or at least a set or two?
are you planning on submitting all at once so your set may come back with sequential numbering? that would be cool to have in all PSA 10 numbered in order
will you start sending in for grading before a set is complete?
thanks
good luck cant wait to see what's next
Fred
Fred
collecting RAW Topps baseball cards 1952 Highs to 1972. looking for collector grade (somewhere between psa 4-7 condition). let me know what you have, I'll take it, I want to finish sets, I must have something you can use for trade.
looking for Topps 71-72 hi's-62-53-54-55-59, I have these sets started
3 wax boxes, 1 rack case and the rest 6 or 8 vending boxes.
Bought from a local guy who was selling them at a reasonable price.
First thing I noticed was the centering, At first I figured that the top border and the side borders should be the same, as there isn't really a bottom border. Now I would say to use the bottom of the name box as the bottom border. LOTS of cards centered low.
Looks like PSA likes them centered "high".
Then I noticed there was three distinctly different looks to the borders; tan, dark brown and a greenish brown.
Many of the "tan" bordered cards looked "washed out" especially the name boxes, that looked faded.
Some cards were plagued with print defects. Some were badly out of focus.
Some of the most beautiful cards had ears, (scan attached below).
Very few mis-cut cards. Those that were, all came from vending.
Cards that came out of the rack packs were amazing, but seemed to have fewer Bonds', the Barry's from rack were better centered than in wax or vending. The vending cards were really bowed, especially at the ends. The wax packs all had a "wax" card and a "gum" card that were ruined.
As you will see by the scans to follow, VERY hard to find a mint, perfectly centered card. The Puckett attached won't get a 10 and was found in less than average numbers.
There were 12-16 of almost every card, but as few as 5 of the #593 Chuck Tanner and a few others (#251 Wilfong and #457 Matuszek to name a few).
Bonds centered 85% of the time to the right side.
Palmiero just horrible for me, none centered well enough to consider a 9 much less a 10.
Mattingly was the same, I have 2 that look almost perfect, neither have a shot at a 10.
I did well on the Jackson card. Besides the three pictured, I have a couple that could get a 10 on a good day.
Did well on Ryan too.
2013,14 and 15 Certificate Award Winner Harmon Killebrew Master Set and Master Topps Set
@baseballfan said:
great thread, brings back a lit of memories.
couple questions, don't know if you addressed these previously
what is your time line for finishing this project or at least a set or two?
are you planning on submitting all at once so your set may come back with sequential numbering? that would be cool to have in all PSA 10 numbered in order
will you start sending in for grading before a set is complete?
thanks
good luck cant wait to see what's next
Fred
Hi Fred. Thanks for commenting. My hope is to concentrate on a few sets to close the gap and get the full set in a gradable state. I am closest on 1987 and 1989 Fleer at this stage. No real timeline, since this is intended to be fun as I go versus rushing through the nostalgia. I am trying to hold out for a full set before submitting so I have consecutive serial numbers. I know they won’t all be 10s, but it will hopefully yield a majority of 10s. Thanks for continuing to follow!
@JoeBanzai said:
These look nice to me, two 10's and a 9?
Thanks for sharing your results Joe. 1987 Topps is a tough set condition wise. Nice work on the Bo’s...they look sharp. Your McGwire’s look really clean too! Best of luck on the sub...hoping you land 10s!
@JoeBanzai said:
These look nice to me, two 10's and a 9?
Thanks for sharing your results Joe. 1987 Topps is a tough set condition wise. Nice work on the Bo’s...they look sharp. Your McGwire’s look really clean too! Best of luck on the sub...hoping you land 10s!
My buddy said they were the nicest looking McGwires he had ever seen. Color really pops.
Let's hope PSA agrees!!!
2013,14 and 15 Certificate Award Winner Harmon Killebrew Master Set and Master Topps Set
Thanks again for sharing this thread, by far and away my favorite (beating out your own massive football rip from a few years back).
While I ripped more 88 Topps than anything as a kid, and always loved the design... I still wrestle with the emotions of loving the classic design and great photography or being completely annoyed by the fact that the player has to overlap the team name (or heading for Record Breakers) on EVERY. SINGLE. CARD.
I’m feeling more of those pesky 1988 Donruss tonight. These borders are a nightmare to find in pristine condition, not to mention they are nearly all off-center with tons of print flaws...
Comments
I just got a nice 1988 Fleer update set in a collection I bought, and the Smoltz has the centering where it seems to have a lower border on the bottom, which you have always stated is how it should be, and typically when you flip those kinds of cards over, the centering on the back, t/b, is spot on...I am worried though that maybe they aren't being graded that way? If you search for PSA 10 Smoltz cards, you will see that most all have bottom borders which are about the same as the side borders...mine is a beautiful card, no chipping at all on the back blue edges, and none of those blue and red smudges you sometimes see on the front on the top and bottom borders (ink runs I guess)...I am concerned my card may end up in a 9 holder instead of a 10, due to the t/b centering on the front?
If you have a pic of the card, would love to see it. As you can see in the picture of PSA 10 candidates below, Fleer intended the top/bottom borders to be equal size from the top of the team logo and the bottom of the Fleer stripe. The exceptions to this are the few teams who’s logos were centered lower on the card due to the shape of the logo, such as the Padres and Braves. This flat team logo can make the card appear off t/b when in fact that is not the case. The bottom border on all 1988 Fleer cards is intended to be the same height and consistent with those on the rookie prospect cards as shown in the pic below. My guess is that when PSA is grading a 1988 Fleer card as a one-off, the intended Fleer centering is not always known by the grader and can be missed based on the team logo size and placement.
Mine looks exactly like this one...but as I stated, it seems almost all of the 10s out there have bottom border equal to side borders...guess i will have to send 'er in and hope for the right grader
https://ebay.com/itm/1988-Fleer-Update-John-Smoltz-HOF-RC-U-74-BRAVES-PSA-10-/114126435398?hash=item1a92773446%3Ag%3ARA4AAOSw7oleUW6V&LH_BIN=1&nma=true&si=b%252BscSa1VZMUe7ubAfQe%252Bb5%252BW%252BtQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
Perhaps you are defining "border" differently. That is one is measuring from the top of the word "Fleer" and the other from the bottom.
I’m in a Mark Grace kind of mood tonight. Here are 8 racks fresh from a newly opened case...
Well, a fun rip for sure. Always amazes me how impossible PSA 10s are from this set. I ripped 360 case fresh cards and not a single card was dead centered. However, lots of stars and rookies were pulled. Here they are...
More exciting for me was to ask and receive. The last pack in this stack had my boy Mark Grace staring right back at me. Loved this card as a kid. Keeping this rack in my treasured possessions!
I’m feeling like a hunt for Canseco is in order. Here are 3 racks from 1986 Donruss...
Wow! If only I could call them like this all the time. The 1986 Donruss Canseco RC was the hottest card on the planet in 1989 as he assaulted the base paths and crushed HR after HR. The first 40/40 man in baseball. This card was a must own and at its peak of $125 was quickly out of the range for most young collectors. This one is clearly off-center, but it is still the ultimate rush for a 1980’s nut like myself to slide cards back and watch as this beauty appear from its hidden tomb.
There were 4 candidates for PSA 10 in these three racks...
If you were wondering what 2+ years of ripping looks like, here are the Canseco RCs I have pulled along the way. Show this pic to childhood me and I would have been drooling like a labradoodle!
That Canseco pic reminds me of one of my Card show visits in 1988. Canseco was heating up by that point, but hadn’t hit thermonuclear yet. I had $10 left in my pocket by that point and wandered back to a table with a layout of very similar to
your awesome pic above. He was asking $9 for Fleer rookie and $12 for the Donruss. I didn’t own either as I started collecting in 87. I’m happy to say that I left the show that day with the Rated Rookie. Almost shaking with excitement on the drive home with mom. I took that card with me to all of my friends’ houses when we would meet up to talk cards and trade. Little did I know that in the coming months my 86D Rated Rookie Canseco would become the hottest card on the planet and the centerpiece of my collection. None of my friends had it. I was the envy of our group. Best $10 I ever spent on cardboard as a kid.
John
John - stories like yours are what make this thread great. You are my brother from another mother. Thanks for sharing!
Here Griffey, Griffey, Griffey...
A solid box overall. Here are the ones that miss the mark and keep piling up...
Pulled these key cards, but all missed the mark...
I did find a respectable 12 candidates for PSA 10 though...
Time to chase some 1988 Topps perfection...
This has been one outstanding case of 1988 Topps. It’s rare that this high percentage of centered cards has consistently come out. Here are the stacks of the misses...
There were a whopping 24 candidates for PSA 10 in this round. My personal favorite is the Eric Davis, but lots of other stars too with Winfield, Ryno, Hershiser, Coleman and Glavine all looking sharp...
You took me straight back to my childhood, John. Awesome description. Thank you.
Andy
Woke up in an Emmitt state of mind this morning. Happy Mother’s Day to the female collectors out there or any moms who embrace those of us who collect. Let’s see what this 1990 Fleer Update set can produce...
This Emmitt card has such a clean and good looking design. Unfortunately the centering on this one will keep it in the PSA 8-9 range...
So you are pulling Dan Marlige rookies, but not my man, Jeff Hornacek? #unfollow
J/K I love the thread, but Horny should be a keeper.
I've hit a bunch of 1988 Topps that was stellar as well. All wax. The one card I sent you was from that little stash. It's like hitting a vein of gold in a sea of quartz.
ISO 1978 Topps Baseball in NM-MT High Grade Raw 3, 100, 103, 302, 347, 376, 416, 466, 481, 487, 509, 534, 540, 554, 579, 580, 622, 642, 673, 724__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ISO 1978 O-Pee-Chee in NM-MT High Grade Raw12, 21, 29, 38, 49, 65, 69, 73, 74, 81, 95, 100, 104, 110, 115, 122, 132, 133, 135, 140, 142, 151, 153, 155, 160, 161, 167, 168, 172, 179, 181, 196, 200, 204, 210, 224, 231, 240
Fear not...I keep Hornacek too. He just wasn’t in this box 😉 Horny is always one you want to keep 🤣
Amen brother!
Since there is a healthy debate in another thread on the quantity of 1987 Topps Barry Bonds RCs that are sitting around in unsubmitted PSA 10 condition, I thought it only appropriate to try my luck today. Here go 2 vending boxes from a pristine case I just cracked this morning...
First box has been ripped. Here are the stacks of 40-60 of each card that have built up from the 4 cases I have ripped over the past 2+ years of this journey, none of which are PSA 10 worthy.
Here are the key cards I pulled from this vending box. Unfortunately none are centered well enough to contend for PSA 10...
Some have asked how I determine if a card is “worthy” of submission for a PSA 10, so I thought I would use this box as an example. Out of these 500 case-fresh, untouched cards there were only 6 cards that were dead centered. That is 1.2% of the cards even centered, which is my first criteria for submission. Next, I move to corners. All four corners must come to a perfect point with no fraying, curl or softness. Unfortunately, the Phillies and Nelson cards both had a slightly soft upper left corner so they are out. Then I use a direct desk lamp to check that the surface does not have any stress marks, pimples, divots, fisheyes or stray print marks. The Orioles had a surface pimple/bump just above the pitcher’s shoulder. The Thornton has a horizontal cut/roller mark about 1/2 inch above his nameplate. So those two are out.
Last, I check to make sure the edges are clean with no chipping or edge lifts. Yep, only this Dave Johnson and Rock Raines made it through all four criteria to be a PSA 10 candidate. That is 0.4% of the cards in this untouched, pristine vending box!! This hit rate still assumes the eventual grader doesn’t find something I missed. Hope this context helps everyone reading understand just how difficult landing PSA 10s from the 1980s can be. The chase is one of the reasons I love this challenging hobby and have never once stopped collecting since I got the bug in 1987. Thanks to those who continue to comment along the way...
The results on the second vending box were a touch better. Here were the key cards pulled, but none were worthy of perfection...
There were a total of 8 dead centered cards in the box and these 5 have all the attributes for a PSA 10, which is a 1% hit rate out of the fresh vending box...
Have you had better luck on ‘87 Topps with wax and rack cases? And your eyes must be bionic. I get tired louping for my Heritage Master Set. I couldn’t do that all year long lol
ISO 1978 Topps Baseball in NM-MT High Grade Raw 3, 100, 103, 302, 347, 376, 416, 466, 481, 487, 509, 534, 540, 554, 579, 580, 622, 642, 673, 724__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ISO 1978 O-Pee-Chee in NM-MT High Grade Raw12, 21, 29, 38, 49, 65, 69, 73, 74, 81, 95, 100, 104, 110, 115, 122, 132, 133, 135, 140, 142, 151, 153, 155, 160, 161, 167, 168, 172, 179, 181, 196, 200, 204, 210, 224, 231, 240
Hey Dan. 1987 Topps are consistently bad. That said, I have a smidge better luck with rack and cello coming in at a whopping 0.6% hit rate while wax and vending are averaging a 0.3% candidate hit rate.
great thread, brings back a lit of memories.
couple questions, don't know if you addressed these previously
what is your time line for finishing this project or at least a set or two?
are you planning on submitting all at once so your set may come back with sequential numbering? that would be cool to have in all PSA 10 numbered in order
will you start sending in for grading before a set is complete?
thanks
good luck cant wait to see what's next
Fred
collecting RAW Topps baseball cards 1952 Highs to 1972. looking for collector grade (somewhere between psa 4-7 condition). let me know what you have, I'll take it, I want to finish sets, I must have something you can use for trade.
looking for Topps 71-72 hi's-62-53-54-55-59, I have these sets started
Here's my 1987 Topps results.
3 wax boxes, 1 rack case and the rest 6 or 8 vending boxes.
Bought from a local guy who was selling them at a reasonable price.
First thing I noticed was the centering, At first I figured that the top border and the side borders should be the same, as there isn't really a bottom border. Now I would say to use the bottom of the name box as the bottom border. LOTS of cards centered low.
Looks like PSA likes them centered "high".
Then I noticed there was three distinctly different looks to the borders; tan, dark brown and a greenish brown.
Many of the "tan" bordered cards looked "washed out" especially the name boxes, that looked faded.
Some cards were plagued with print defects. Some were badly out of focus.
Some of the most beautiful cards had ears, (scan attached below).
Very few mis-cut cards. Those that were, all came from vending.
Cards that came out of the rack packs were amazing, but seemed to have fewer Bonds', the Barry's from rack were better centered than in wax or vending. The vending cards were really bowed, especially at the ends. The wax packs all had a "wax" card and a "gum" card that were ruined.
As you will see by the scans to follow, VERY hard to find a mint, perfectly centered card. The Puckett attached won't get a 10 and was found in less than average numbers.
There were 12-16 of almost every card, but as few as 5 of the #593 Chuck Tanner and a few others (#251 Wilfong and #457 Matuszek to name a few).
Bonds centered 85% of the time to the right side.
Palmiero just horrible for me, none centered well enough to consider a 9 much less a 10.
Mattingly was the same, I have 2 that look almost perfect, neither have a shot at a 10.
I did well on the Jackson card. Besides the three pictured, I have a couple that could get a 10 on a good day.
Did well on Ryan too.
Here's my best two Bonds cards. colors one one quite a bit darker on the other (neither is perfectly centered, but close enough?).
Hoping one (well sure, both) grades a 10. Prolly two 9's.
These look nice to me, two 10's and a 9?
The Murphy on the left has greenish borders. Shows up more in hand then in the scan. Spot on shoulder is from scanner.
The Larkin rookie was easy to find well centered, but most would be 9's at best. Here are my best two.
I did pretty well on the Ryan card. Spot above wrist on first card from dust on scanner. :-(
Lots of horrible Canseco's, these were by far the best, print defects and centering being the problems.
McGwire had several mint looking cards, these two stood out color wise.
Several of the Ripken cards had print spots, this one is the best, prolly a 9.
A dozen of each of these guys and here's the best three. Hoping for the 10. Two 9's?
Puckett centered high and print dot in blue box, other two look good.
Hi Fred. Thanks for commenting. My hope is to concentrate on a few sets to close the gap and get the full set in a gradable state. I am closest on 1987 and 1989 Fleer at this stage. No real timeline, since this is intended to be fun as I go versus rushing through the nostalgia. I am trying to hold out for a full set before submitting so I have consecutive serial numbers. I know they won’t all be 10s, but it will hopefully yield a majority of 10s. Thanks for continuing to follow!
Thanks for sharing your results Joe. 1987 Topps is a tough set condition wise. Nice work on the Bo’s...they look sharp. Your McGwire’s look really clean too! Best of luck on the sub...hoping you land 10s!
Time to try my luck with some 1987 Topps Traded sets...
Such an underrated set from the 1980s. Here are the stars and rookies that missed the mark...
Neither Maddux XRC made the grade either...
There were 2 candidates for PSA 10 out of these two sets though, headlined by Mr. October’s final card...
Been having lots of luck with this 1988 Topps case, but down to the final four boxes. Here goes another box...
My buddy said they were the nicest looking McGwires he had ever seen. Color really pops.
Let's hope PSA agrees!!!
Wait.....there's a bottom to all this? Say it ain't so, Chris.
Andy
This case continues to deliver. Here are the ever growing piles of non-10-worthy candidates...
The Glavine RC missed the mark too...
But I was happy to land 15 candidates for PSA 10 with plenty of HOF talent among them!
Haha...don’t fret Andy! Just the final four of this case. I have plenty more cases 👍
Thanks again for sharing this thread, by far and away my favorite (beating out your own massive football rip from a few years back).
While I ripped more 88 Topps than anything as a kid, and always loved the design... I still wrestle with the emotions of loving the classic design and great photography or being completely annoyed by the fact that the player has to overlap the team name (or heading for Record Breakers) on EVERY. SINGLE. CARD.
Is it possible to share a link to the football thread?? I would love to see that
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/926279/jgfs-unopened-rip-thread-1981-1991-topps-football-boxes-final-rounds-35-36
I’m feeling more of those pesky 1988 Donruss tonight. These borders are a nightmare to find in pristine condition, not to mention they are nearly all off-center with tons of print flaws...
Pulling a 1988 Donruss Gregg Jefferies RC always brings a smile to my face. Here are the cards that didn’t make the grade...
Just two lone candidates for PSA 10 across these eight rack packs...
Seems like with all the sudden Canseco love, it is time for three 1986 Fleer racks...
No Jose this round. These cards are really tough with the dark blue borders. Here were the stars and rookies...
I was happy to land these 3 candidates for PSA 10. Hard not to love Nolan Ryan!