Joe Orlando's SMR column

Link

<< <i>Thanks for the link. Now I understand why so many altered cards get through. >>

7) PSA graded cards in the old cases (hologram back) were given better grades then more recent graded cards.

9) There is a "grader of death" - True
10) The first three digits of the cert# identifies who graded a card and when -No Comment

Nice to see Joe respond to some of the concerns posted regularly on this board.

However some articles regarding issues in the hobby (trimming, recoloring, etc.) would be nice. The grading companies have the most exposure to altered cards and could help the collector by further educating us on how to spot alterations. They have done some pieces on autos in the past, why not altered cards?

SGC had an article on this subject. I have not seen it.

We need more articles published to help the collector. Seeing everyone's collection is great and we have some fantastic SMR contributors from this board, but for my annual fee I would like to see articles with more substance.

Keith

Wouldn't this provide a walkthrough on how to make counterfeits BETTER?

Justin

<< <i>Wouldn't this provide a walkthrough on how to make counterfeits BETTER?

Justin >>



Examples of alterations can be shown without compromising the hobby.

Techniques for recognizing these alterations can be shared.

Card doctors will always find new ways to steal from collectors and try to fool the grading companies.

The more that we all know about how to spot a doctored card the better. As new doctoring procedures are used we can all become educated.

Less of these will be sent to the grading companies and more will be taken off the market.

On the issue about wrinkles or creases--- I'm able to angle the cards using a strong flourensense(sp?) light, that I'm about to submit, to see most every one of these problems. I'm hardly a great grader but many cards that I wanted to submit were shoot down using this method, because wax , wax stains, mini-creases, etc, etc, again are easily seen doing this.

I always knew that someone related to Stevie Wonder or my mother -in- law(not blind , just acts like it ) , was grading some of my cards. No magnifying glass or loupe , WOW. On a more realistic thought , that probably explains why some of my lower graded cards, look much better , up close.

I need more 10's , I wonder who I submit through or contact.

Wow!

I can actually save his sig!!!

Now that's pretty darn cool - the sig has it's own URL!

Tinkerbell is the worst poster, ever

Sincerely,

Card Grading and Urban Legend

Over the years, 16 to be exact, there have been many theories offered about the PSA grading process. While it is pure speculation in most cases, some of those theories have become Urban Legend in the hobby. Most of the time, the rumors are honest misunderstandings about the process.

Here are the five biggest misunderstandings about the PSA card grading process.

1) Graders Measure Each and Every Card With a Ruler – False

When a card is evaluated by a grader, they may or may not choose to physically measure the card. Many people are under the false impression that locating evidence of trimming, for example, is a simple product of measurement and nothing could be further from the truth. Graders will measure the card if they think the card needs to actually be measured. Their eyes, due to their experience, are much more crucial than a ruler.

2) Graders Consider the Population Report or the Marketplace When Grading – False

This is a conspiracy theorist favorite. The people who believe this statement think that if a card is scarce in a particular grade or hot in the marketplace that the graders will be extra tough on it. The graders consider one thing and one thing only when grading the card – the card!

3) From Time to Time, Graders are Ordered to be “Looser” or “Tighter” in Company Meetings – False

I hear this one a lot. We do not have meetings where I or anyone else asks the graders to loosen up or tighten up on the grading line. We do meet about grading and discuss particular grading issues but never and I repeat – NEVER – do we instruct the graders to do such a thing. The grading process works best if they have autonomy.

4) Graders Use Magnifying Glasses or Loupes to Grade Every Card – False

Do graders utilize these tools to assist in grading when they feel the need to use them? Of course, but the vast majority of cards are graded with the naked eye. Yes, I said it – the naked eye. In order to be a full-time grader, you need to have an extraordinary eye and these tools can, at times, distort aspects of the card.

5) Graders are Heartless Robot Minions Who Have Been Sent from the Future to Kill Your Submissions and Sarah Connor – Partially True – Kidding

Alright, this one was just thrown in for kicks but the point here is that the graders approach their job with neutrality. They are not trying to help or harm anyone like The Terminator; they have to focus on the characteristics of the cards. If they can justify 100 PSA 10’s out of 100 cards, they will. There’s no rationing of grades based on the overall outcome of an order or anything of that nature that occurs. They just grade the cards, for better or worse, as they see them.

I hope this clears up some of the misunderstandings that exist in the graded card marketplace and helps put to rest some of the urban legends that still roam the hobby. For a more detailed breakdown of the grading process, please visit our website at www.psacard.com for our grading video demonstration.

Never Get Cheated,

Joe Orlando
Editor In Chief


<<< The grading process works best if they have autonomy. >>>

I think I understand everything except what does looking at the sky through a telescope have to do with the grading process?

I thought the fact that Joe had to write a column to address these issues was telling.



Ron

6) I was an "extra" in Saturday Night Fever. FALSE.





Or maybe true?

<< <i>That column was full of more crap than a men's room in a Mexican restaurant >>



Are you implying that -

1) men's rooms tend to contain more fecal matter.

or

2) Mexican restaurant bathrooms are full of more defacation.

Which is it, racist or sexist? A little of both maybe.

How about the restrooms at SGC? As if they don't stink?

I quit using any type of magnifier for grading cards a long time ago, and most of my cards grade as expected with all of the different graders. Loupes are sometimes necessary to verify that a card has been altered, but not for determining the number grade. If you look at threads where people post disappointing grading results, their comments almost always include "I louped every single card..." There are often flaws that actually won't show up under magnification, but are apparent when a card is rotated under a bright light.

Mine just expired, and things like Joe's column are great reasons for me not to renew.



<< <i>The expiration date of my membership can't arrive fast enough. >>

<< <i>Thanks for the link. Now I understand why so many altered cards get through. >>



You are a friggin' riot!!!! LOL chaz

It's a shame the c---suckers of the hobby have even made authentication necessary.

<< <i>It's a shame the c---suckers of the hobby have even made authentication necessary. >>




I remember the days before any grading. I walked into a coin shop to buy some supplies, and the experienced coin shop owner had just been scammed and showed me the coin. A 1909-S penny had been altered to make a 1909-S VDB. Back then, normally a 1909-VDB, about a 75 cent coin, was altered to put the S on front to try to make it a 1909-S VDB, a $200 coin. "Nobody" would alter a 1909-S and add the VDB on the back because that is harder to do and the 1909-S was about a $25 coin so nobody wanted to risk messing up a $25 coin. But that's exactly what happened - someone came in with the coin, the dealer carefully inspected the S, determined it was genuine and paid the scammer - the dealer didn't figure out until later the VDB had been added.

Cards back then were just as bad with alterations, coloring, etc, and excellent quality fakes. The 63 Rose rookie fakes are still fooling people - somebody obviously in the printing business made new plates and counterfeited them to look just like a real card. I've never seen one but have been told that at first glance they are very difficult to tell from an original and that even some experienced collectors get fooled by these 63 Rose fakes.

Steve