Were These Slabs Tampered With?

dfr52 · May 12, 2010 9:17PM

Neither is a "high dollar" card but I can't tell if the cases have been banged up over the years or the have been tampered with. Both were purchased from the same seller.

Opinions appreciated.

Thanks-Dave

Bosox1976 · May 12, 2010 9:59PM

The Bowman Small looks worse to me, but I doubt tampering. He'd have to replace an o/c card with a convincing second o/c card - too much hassle.

UlyssesExtravaganza · May 13, 2010 2:30AM

I would agree that I don't think they were tampered with mostly for motivational reasons. If you were going to tamper, you'd probably look for something that resulted in a huge payoff with cards seriously under the grade on the slab that you could get on the cheap. But I think the cards match the grade and possibly look a little nicer than you'd think for the grade. If I had to guess, someone might have considered resubbing and went through some very initial stages of cracking them and threw in the towel, had a change or heart, had trouble completing it with confidence he wouldn't damage the card, etc.

divecchia · May 13, 2010 2:50AM

Tampering with slabs that are marked OC is definitely not worth the effort unless they are extremely rare cards. I think the slabs may have been dropped a few times over the years.

Donato

dfr52 · May 13, 2010 3:14AM

Thanks for the opinions so far. Those were the same ones I was having but I figured I would ask others who had far more experience than myself.

digicat · May 13, 2010 3:27AM

That looks like the mid-90s era font. Most of the slabs I have from that time period have similar wear.

I'd venture to say that PSA missed that stain on the back of the 54 though.

dfr52 · May 13, 2010 4:05AM

<< <i>That looks like the mid-90s era font. Most of the slabs I have from that time period have similar wear.

I'd venture to say that PSA missed that stain on the back of the 54 though. >>

I was wondering about that myself. I couldn't figure out if they missed it or if the card was switched. Switching cards just doesn't make alot of sense b/c of the value but an oversight would seem more likely.

dfr52 · May 16, 2010 2:21AM

Thanks for the info, I appreciate it.

pclpads · May 16, 2010 5:45AM

RE: the '54 - The substantial water staining on the back upper and lower left and resultant print wash-out trouble me more than the centering on the front. A gift grade to be sure, even w/ the Q. With NQ, looks more like a 5, 6 at best. Cases look ok.

otwcards · May 16, 2010 6:14AM

Lenient grades by today's standards, but those flips are also 10+ years old. Basically, they're graded as EX (if no qualifier were applied) and appear to be in the neighborhood of EX. I wouldn't worry about tampering in this case.

dfr52 · May 16, 2010 6:52AM

Thanks for the responses. I have no experience w/ the older slabs and really appreciate the feedback.

cardbender · May 16, 2010 8:59PM

Agree with all previous posts. Slabs are from '94-96 range. I'm 95% sure the long bar code disappeared from PSA slabs in '96. I had cards graded in '97 that had a shorter bar code and different font style.

Grades seem about right on the money with the qualifiers.
Slabs look okay to me too. I think the small cracks on the '52 card slab are just from rough handling of the holder.

By the way, cool looking Matson cards.

dfr52 · May 16, 2010 10:32PM

<< <i>Agree with all previous posts. Slabs are from '94-96 range. I'm 95% sure the long bar code disappeared from PSA slabs in '96. I had cards graded in '97 that had a shorter bar code and different font style.

Grades seem about right on the money with the qualifiers.
Slabs look okay to me too. I think the small cracks on the '52 card slab are just from rough handling of the holder.

By the way, cool looking Matson cards. >>

Thanks for sharing that, I have not seen many slabs w/ the older barcodes and the rough shape made be a bit unsure. I guess I should expect some wear & tear after 15 years, especially if they have seen alot of owners or shows.lol

Appreciate the comment, I am happy w/ the condition for the grades (especially the '52).

Were These Slabs Tampered With?

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