Per Box Items:
36 Packs per box
7 cards per pack

The standard sized 220 card base set cards feature a full color action shot of the player. Bordered in white, the card fronts have the player name and team logo at the bottom. The card fronts are trimmed with the team’s primary color. The card backs are photo-less and are horizontal in design. The card fronts also have teh Opening Day logo. The backs include moderate biographical information, a ‘career chase’ statistic, complete career statistics, and brief career highlights or a player quote. The backs are also trimmed with the team’s primary color. This is the same design as 2013 Topps Series 1 and 2013 Topps Stickers.

What I pulled:
252 total cards
1 duplicate
211/220 base set cards = 96% of the base set
7 serial numbered parallels
33 other inserts

Base card front and back:

Insets and parallels: (not all scanned)
7 Superstar Celebrations
7 Playhard
7 Ballpark Fun
4 Team Mascots
8 Opening Day Stars (3D card, incl. Strasburg, Darvish, Trout, Miguel Caberea)
7 Sparkle Blue parallels #/2013

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I really like the design of this year’s Topps cards. The very simple clean design is very appealing. I think that the photography from Topps has really improved over the past couple of years. Topps again uses occasional horizontal card fronts when the shot dictates. Topps really appeals to younger collectors with the Play Hard, Mascot, and Ballpark Fun insert sets. There are 10 variations available. Most of these subjects are star players on there new teams at a press conference. There are not many rookie cards, but again this product is made with a younger fan in mind. The Topps Opening Day set set is loaded with inserts and parallel sets. I would have liked to see a few less inserts to get that many more base set cards. That being said though it will not be difficult to complete the base set and some of the inserts look pretty cool!

The Bottom Line:
I give 2013 Topps Series 1 a buy rating. It will be very easy to complete a base set with a box, and some light trading. There are lots of inserts and parallels to chase.

The Final Score:
Final Ratings (Out of 10):
Base set collect-ability: 9/10
Big-hit Hunter: NA
Prospector Hunter: 6/10
Value: 10/10
Overall Quality: 10/10

Overall: 35/40 (88% = B)

Thanks to Topps for making this review possible!

Per Box Items:
50 packs per box
8 stickers per pack

Topps sell sheet

What I pulled:
406 cards (6 came with the book)
107 duplicates
313/315 cards of the set
15 stickers make a SF Giants puzzle
The 30 team logo stickers come 2 to a sticker card.

The 2013 Topps sticker cards have a color action shot of the named player, Bordered in white the sticker cards have a simple graphic at the bottom with the players name and team logo. The graphic is trimmed in the teams primary colors. The card design is similar the 2013 Topps base set card design. The sticker card backs are photo-less and void of any statistics and player information. The plain white backs just have the sticker number and copyright information.

Sticker card samples:

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O. My. Gosh! I love Topps stickers books! It has been years since I completed one. I eagerly busted the packs as memories of my childhood came flooding back to me. This is the perfect product to get your kids into this great hobby. My sons and I had a couple of hours of fun while we sorted and placed the stickers. Nine players per team makes them really easy to sort. Most of the teams have either a mascot and or a veteran player sticker card. The team logo pages in the book also have a post season tracker bracket. I absolutely love the mix of retired stars and current players.  My oldest son got excited when he recognized a name he saw.  I had the same twinkle in my eye when I saw a player that I recognized from when I was his age.  No rookie cards or hits, but overflowing with value and awesome fun!. The only negative thing I have to say is that with over 100 duplicates I was still 2 cards short of completing the book. Really Topps? I know this is an entry level product, but you can do better than that!

The Bottom Line:
I give 2013 Topps Stickers a strong buy rating. You should be more than able to complete a base set with one box with lots of doubles to spare. Buy a box a trade me #34 Ben Zobrist and #172 Bryce Harper because I need them for my book and your extra Rickey Henderson and Tigers stickers!

The Final Score:
Final Ratings (Out of 10):
Base set collect-ability: 9/10
Big-hit Hunter: NA
Prospector Hunter: NA
Value: 10/10
Overall Quality: 10/10

Overall: 29/30 (97% = A)

Thanks to Topps for making this review possible!

The 2013 Topps Heritage set features today’s stars in the 1964 Topps design. The standard sized cards feature a color head or posed shot of the player. Bordered in white, the cards list the team name on the top of the card. The player’s name and position are on the bottom graphic. In most of the pictures and poses, the players are not looking at the camera. The card backs are photo-less and have a two tone orange and cream color to them again in the 1964 design. The backs list moderate biographical information, complete career statistics, brief career highlights, a trivia questions and spot for an autograph.

What I pulled:
215 cards + one box topper
201 base set cards
8 duplicates
11 inserets
2 Heritage Chrome
1 ‘Real One Autograph’

Base card front and back:

The inserts: (not all scanned)
Memorable Moments: Trout, Miguel Caberera
New Age Performers: Cespedes, Kershaw, Granderson
Flashback: Robinson, Jeopardy!, Yaz, World Fair
Then and Now: Aparicio/Trout, Mathews/Dunn
Heritage Chrome #/999: Scherzer, Jones

Box Topper:

The Hit:
Tom Brown autograph

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Personally, I have never been a big fan of throwback style and designed cards. 2013 Topps Heritage really is not that bad though. the first thing I noticed was that in most of the pictures the players are not looking directly at the camera. This is typical for the design however. Manager, league leaders and World Series highlights cards are sprinkled throughout the base set. The inserts are pretty cool and should provide some fun in chasing. The autograph is ‘on-card’ and looks good. the Heritage Chrome cards are real sharp. This is the first Topps product that I have received in a long time that has this many duplicates. Obviously no duplicates and a few less inserts would get us that much closer to a complete set.

The Bottom Line:
I give 2013 Topps Heritage a buy rating. You will need at least two boxes plus some light trading to complete the base set. Shop around for the best price on your boxes!

The Final Score:
Final Ratings (Out of 10):
Base set collect-ability: 4/10
Big-hit Hunter: 8/10
Prospector Hunter: 9/10
Value: 9/10
Overall Quality: 9/10

Overall: 39/50 (78% = C)
the biggest reason being that you will need 2+ boxes to complete the base set

Thanks to Topps for making this review possible!

I have already discussed the reasons to have your cards graded and cited some examples from different companies.  This week I will provide an in-depth look at the card grading service offered by Sportscard Guaranty, SGC.

SGC has long been a popular choice for card grading with collectors, especially for vintage cards.  One of the most popular features SGC offers is their detailed grading scale.  Their 1-100 scale offers accurate and consistent grading of all cards.  For collectors more comfortable with a 1-10 scale, they also offer the equivalent grade.  Other popular features SGC offers are their guarantee and unique holder.

SGC does offer several different tiers of grading fees, based on the type of card and desired turnaround time.  SGC also offers many different monthly and themed grading specials.  SGC allowed me to send in four cards under the ‘EXPRESS’ tier (10 day turnaround time) for purposes of review.  My cards were returned in six days.

When starting the on-line submission form, the first thing I noticed was that the form was buried and required lots of clicking to get to.  I did have to create an account and sign-in, but even with expecting that, the from was not right there.  The form itself is very easy to use and complete.  The form has fields to input very detailed information about the cards you are submitting and charts to calculate the service fees, return postage and insurance required to send your cards back.  There were a couple of broken links and fields that did not allow me to complete the on-line submission form though.  In the defense of SGC, at the time  of my submission, I do know that they were in the process of creating and up-loading new monthly specials which may have created the broken fields.  Collectors can hand write an invoice for cards they are submitting or request a submission form/kit.

Cards that I submitted for grading:

1980 Topps #482 Rickey Henderson RC – SGC Grade 84 – NM

This card came back graded pretty much exactly what I thought it would.  The card is just a touch off center, has one rough spot on an edge and a very small amount of fraying on one corner.  For cards from 1980 and earlier, the industry standard expects them to be in Near Mint condition.  Price guides have their high book price meant to be for cards that are Near Mint.  Vintage cards with a higher grade than Near Mint can easily command prices several times that of the high book price.

1979 TCMA Rickey Henderson Minor League card – SGC Grade 20 – Fair

I was a little surprised at the grade assigned to this card.  The centering is comparable to the Henderson Topps RC but the edges and corners or much cleaner and in better shape.  I will admit that there is a small blue ink mark on a back corner of the card.  I thought based on the physical condition of the card, especially the front, that this would have graded in the 50′s or 60′s.  After reviewing SGC’s grading scale though this grade is accurate and consistent with the descriptions of a 20 grade.

2003 Magic the Gathering Lone Wolf Foil – SGC Grade 88 – NM/MT

One of my geeky pleasures, Magic is a collectable card game in the genre of  Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokemon, and other non-sports cards.  Magic players often put more weight on the playability of their cards rather than the collect-ability of them.  The super rare and valuable cards are usually put in a case never to see the light of day and  a “proxy” card is used to represent them in a deck.  If you actually want to play with your cards, people may just put every card of a deck into a penny sleeve and use them that way.  All this in mind though I sent in a foil version of a card in my signature deck to illustrate that SGC also grades non-sport cards.  I was pleased with the grade of this card knowing that it had been shuffled and played out of my deck a couple of times.

2008-09 Upper Deck Champs C373 Gray Wolf Mini – SGC Grade 96 – MINT

This is another non-sport card even though it was packed out in a Hockey card product.  The illustration here is that SGC grades and has holders for 206, Tobacco, and Allen & Ginter sized cards.  I selected this specific card as it was recently pulled form a pack and presumably in Mint condition.  I was correct in my assumption of a grade as this came back graded as an almost perfect example of the card.

I highly recommend SGC’s grading service for a few reasons.  SGC’s prices for both the per card grading and return postage are much more reasonable compared to other similar grading services.  I really enjoy the 100 point grading scale.  I feel this gives you a more accurate description of the condition of your cards.  Many other companies only use a 10 point scale or only use half grades like 8.5.  I absolutely love the black frame SGC puts around the card.  It really highlights your card and makes it stand out.  The very quick turn around time was a nice surprise and the customer service is top notch.  Keep an eye out for SGC’s monthly specials for submission.  Depending on the amount and type of cards you want graded, these specials can save you a few dollars.

Until next week, keep collecting, collect for the joy of the hobby and collect for the fan in all of us.

ISA’s website and submission form are very user friendly and easy to use.  ISA does grade most licensed sport and non-sport cards.  It is recommended that you contact them first if you have any questions about getting something graded.  ISA offers custom encapsulation of cards from tobacco to standard sized cards up to 40 points thick.  ISA will be adding slabs for “tallboy” and 80 point thick cards soon.

Cards I submitted for grading:

1996 Topps Sean Casey RC – ISA grade 9 Mint

This was the easiest to identify card I submitted to be graded.  I was expecting a grade of 8 due to the slight yellowing of the card.  I was very surprised that the corners, edges, and surface of the card are all in outstanding shape which held this card to the high grade.

1931 John Player and Sons Wild Animals Heads #48 Wolf – ISA grade 7.5 NM+

1937 Ogden’s Ltd. Zoo Studies #49 Wolves – ISA grade 4.5VG-EX+

W.D. & H.O. Wills Birds Beasts and Fishes #40 The Wolf – ISA grade 2 Good

These were the cards I was hoping would stump the research department.  Only one card proved to be a little difficult however.  The 1931 wolf head card is probably my favorite of the three.  Four sharp corners, clean edges, and a clean back free of glue and tape common in tobacco cards, this card is in great shape for a card over 80 years old.  The 1937 Zoo Studies cards is another favorite card of mine.  I really like the horizontal layout and picture of the wolf pack.  Three of the four corners have a slight touch of wear and the card is a little off center top to bottom.  I thought the card would have graded at a 5, but I am not disappointed in the final grade.  The last card proved to be the most challenging to identify.  I was told that there are several different versions of this card printed from 1938 to 1942.  Some have a blank back, some do not have the scoring to have the card stand up.  Even though this card does have a printed back ISA was still unable to pinpoint the exact year.  This is similar to T series cards which were printed from 1909-1911 for example.  The slight off-centering and dirty appearance aside, the biggest reason for the grade of 2 is the big area of dried glue on the back of the card.  Any pencil, pen ink, tape, glue or waxy stains on cards from the era are pretty much unilaterally graded a 2 from all third party graders in the business.  The black inserts really make the cards pop.  Also notice the different size of inserts used to accommodate different sized tobacco cards.

2012 Magic the Gathering M12 core set Hunter’s Insight – ISA grade 10 Gem Mint

ISA also grades collectable gaming cards like magic, Pokemon and Yi-Gi-Oh.  The interesting part this this card though is that it graded at a perfect 10.  Gaming cards often are played and show the signs of being handled and shuffled in decks.  Black border cards are especially difficult to get good grades on as the black edge on both the front and back of the cards is almost always chipped or dinged.  Even taking these cards out of the package, a lot of these cards get damaged enough to not be a perfect gem mint copy.

2011 Panini Adrenalyn XL Superbowl promo Tim Tebow – ISA grade 9 Mint

This is another example of a game card only with a twist.  These cards were only available at the Fanfest event at the Superbowl.  The only thing keeping this from a grade of 10 is that there is a slight raise or bump in one of the corners.

1988 NWA Superstars #102 Sting – ISA grade 7 NM

Though not necessarily hard to Identify, this is definitely an oddball card.  Pretty badly off-center left to right, this is the exact grade I was expecting for a 25 year old possible rookie card of the professional wrestler Sting.

2008 Upper Deck Champ’s Hockey Natural History Collection Dire Wolf – ISA grade 8.5 NR-MT+

If you have not guessed by now, I like wolves and wolf cards, a lot.  To my naked eye, I would have graded this as a 9.  The right edge and bottom right corner of the card both have a slight ding in them.  This is just another example that ISA grades all types and sizes of cards and has the inserts to match.

1980 Topps #482 Rickey Henderson RC – ISA result, not graded due to being trimmed.

1908 International Tobacco of Canada Silk Animals and Country Flags, Wolf, Siberia – ISA graded, ungraded.

The edges and corners of the Henderson looked perfect to my untrained eye.  The only flaw being that it is severely off-center, almost mis-cut.  It turned that the edges were too perfect as it was determined that all four were trimmed.  Cards from the early 1980’s are near impossible to find this clean.  The card also measured slightly smaller than industry standard sized cards.  I am disappointed that the card is altered, but happy with the quality of work from ISA to determine that it is.  The silk card was my fault for sending in.  I did not completely research what cards ISA could and could not grade, nor did I call first.  It is always recommended that you contact ISA first with any questions you have about unusual cards.  There is also really no standard to grade silk cards against.

I really like the custom holders ISA uses.  They have combined popular elements from other grading companies into their slabs.  This makes for a very eye appealing and unique protective holder for your cards.  To date, similar cards with similar grades have shown that auction prices are higher between other third party grading companies and ISA.  It seams that dealers and “flippers” are waiting for ISA to become more established before using them.  As a collector who will never get rid of his graded cards though, ISA’s prices and turnaround times cannot be beat! Looking to have your personal collection cards graded and protected for display?  I encourage you to use ISA Grading services!

Until next week, keep collecting, collect for the joy of the hobby and collect for the fan in all of us.

Per box items:
36 packs per box
10 cards per pack
1 autograph or relic per box

The standard sized base set cards feature a full color action shot of the player. Bordered in white, the card fronts have the player name and team logo at the bottom. The card fronts are trimmed with the team’s primary color. The card backs are photo-less and are horizontal in design. The backs include moderate biographical information, a ‘career chase’ statistic, complete career statistics, and brief career highlights or a player quote. The backs are also trimmed with the team’s primary color.

What I Pulled:
338 unique cards, no duplicates. Packs with thicker cards had fewer total cards in them.
287 base set cards, 287/330, 87% of the base set
50 inserts, parallels including 3 die cut cards and 4 gold cards #/2013
1 relic card

Base card front and back:

Inserts and parallels: (not all scanned)
The Greats: Henderson, Pujols
Gold #/2013: Clipparo, Holt, Encarnacion
Green Sparkle: Capuano, Rasmus, Downs,, Zito, Hill, Venters
Calling Card: Chapman, Youkilis, Pujouls, Sabathia, Ortiz
Chasing History: 5, 6, 20, 22, 25, 28, 29, 33, 47
Chasing the Dream: 2, 3, 7, 12, 13, 21
Cut to the Chase Die Cut: Jeter, Hamilton, Lawrie
Minis: 7, 8, 13, 20, 26, 27, 42, 45, 47
6 Million Dollar Chase cards
1 Spring Fever redemption card

The Hit:
Proven Mettle Roberto Clemente copper #2/99

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I really like the design of this year’s Topps cards. The very simple clean design is very appealing. I think that the photography from Topps has really improved over the past couple of years. Topps again uses occasional horizontal card fronts when the shot dictates. We also see checklist and league leader cards. Topps has issued several short prints cards of players. These alternate variations show the player making a play at or over an outfield wall. The Topps base set is again loaded with inserts and parallel sets. I would have liked to see a few less inserts to get that many more base set cards. That being said though it will not be difficult to complete the base set and some of the inserts look pretty cool!

The Bottom Line:
I give 2013 Topps Series 1 a buy rating. It will be very easy to complete a base set with a box, a few extra packs and some light trading. There are lots of inserts and parallels to chase.

The Final Score:
Final Ratings (Out of 10):
Base set collect-ability: 8/10
Big-hit Hunter: 8/10
Prospector Hunter: 10/10
Value: 8/10
Overall Quality: 10/10

Overall: 44/50 (88% = B)

Thanks to Topps for making this review possible!

Until next week, keep collecting, collect for the joy of the hobby and collect for the fan in all of us.

Becket Media has long been the premier resource for collectors of sports cards.  Starting with their monthly price guide magazines, Beckett Media now offers on-line price guides, collecting forums, a safe on-line trading environment, monthly, quarterly, and yearly publications.  Beckett also offers pricing guidelines for cards, autographs, figurines and more for all sports, non-sport and entertainment cards.

Two very popular features offered by Beckett Grading are the simple but detailed grading scale and sub-grade report card.  In addition to just giving a card a grade of 8.5, Becket assigns grades to the four different attributes the card is graded on.  This way you can see that a card graded 8.5 has sub-grades of 10 for centering, 8.5 for corners, 9 for edges, and 8.5 for surface condition.  Beckett also offers the industry’s first on-time money back guarantee.  Either your cards are returned to you on time or you get a refund on the grading services.  Other features offered by Beckett grading can be viewed here.

When staring a submission to Beckett grading collectors have several different options to chose form.  They offer standard grading and encapsulation, vintage card grading for pre-1981 cards, an economical Collector’s Club Grading and a raw card review.  Details and pricing of each can be viewed here.  Both the on-line and printable submission form are very easy to use and understand.  As with other companies, Beckett offers several different tiers of turn around time at varying costs and monthly specials.  Beckett allowed me to send in four cards at the 5-day service level.  My cards were returned in exactly five business days from the date Beckett received them.

Cards that I submitted for grading:

1980 Topps #482 Rickey Henderson RC – Beckett Vintage Grading  7.5 Near Mint+

This card came back pretty much what I expected it would.  I was hoping for an 8 based on my comparison to other graded Henderson RC cards I have seen.  After reviewing Beckett’s grading scale, the grade this card received is very consistent with the guidelines they have established.  I was a little disappointed that the vintage grading did not include the sub-grades for the different card attributes.  These are not included on any vintage graded cards, but it still would have been nice to know these sub-grades.

2009 Americana Stars Material Gold Proofs #1 Jackie Chan #/25 – Beckett Grading 8.5 NM-MT+

This card has sub-grades of 10 for centering, 8.5 for corners, 9 for edges, and 8.5 for surface.  This card received the grade that I thought it would.  I submitted this card to show that Beckett also grades memorabilia cards.  I was very pleased to see that the thicker memorabilia card was placed into the same thickness holders as the rest of the cards.  The recessed area inside the holder is just deeper to allow for the thicker card without adding thickness to the holder itself.  From the side though you can see where the inner sleeve is separating on the edges.

1997 Magic the Gathering 5th Edition Wyluli Wolf  (Rare)- Beckett Grading 8 NM-MT

One of my geeky pleasures, Magic is a collectable card game in the genre of  Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokemon, and other non-sports cards.  Magic players often put more weight on the playability of their cards rather than the collect-ability of them.  The super rare and valuable cards are usually put in a case never to see the light of day and  a “proxy” card is used to represent them in a deck.  If you actually want to play with your cards, people may just put every card of a deck into a penny sleeve and use them that way.  All this in mind though I submitted this card to illustrate that Beckett also grades non-sport cards.  This card received sub-grades of 9.5, 7.5, 9, and 8.5.  I was impressed that Beckett was able to identify not only the edition this card is, but also the rarity.

2010 Topps Allen & Ginter Mini National Animals #NA26 Gray Wolf – Beckett Grading 9.5 Gem Mint

Receiving sub-grades of 10, 9.5, 9.5, and 9.5, this is practically a prefect example of this card.  I was very pleased as this came back graded a little higher than I thought it would.  For collectors and dealers looking to flip and make money off their graded cards, grades of 9, 9.5, and 10 often command higher premiums.  The illustration here is that Beckett grades and has holders for 206, Tobacco, and Allen & Ginter sized cards.

Beckett has many strong points for collectors to consider when shopping for a grading service.  From the very beginning both the on-line and printable submission forms are among the easiest I have used.  I was able to track the status of my submission with e-mail updates of when Beckett received, graded and shipped my cards.  I was actually able to log in and view the grades before they were shipped.  In my opinion the two best features of Beckett grading services are the sub-grades and color coded labels.  The sub-grades printed on the front of the label sticker give much more detailed information about your card.  The highest graded cards, 9.5 and 10 receive a gold colored label and 8.5 and 9 grades receive a silver label.  All other grades have a white label.  This makes for easy identification of the highest graded cards.  Compared to other services, Beckett’s holders appear to me to be a little less secure.  The holders are nested and stack-able.  Thicker memorabilia cards do not require thicker holders which is nice.  Three of my four cards all had damage to the bottom left corner of the holders though.  This damage is visible in the pictures above.  The Allen and Ginter card which received the highest grade suffered the most damage, compromising the seal of the holder itself.  I assume that this damage occurred in shipping  as the damage is all on the same corner.  Dealers who pay for insurance will not want to receive a Gem Mint card in a cracked holder.  For collectors who plan to keep their cards will enjoy the ease of use, service and features offered by Beckett Grading services.

Until next week, keep collecting, collect for the joy of the hobby and collect for the fan in all of us.

Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) is the largest and most trusted third-party grading and authentication company in the world. PSA is the preferred choice of collectors, dealers and auction houses worldwide. PSA has processed over 16 million cards and collectibles with a cumulative declared value of nearly a billion dollars.

Founded by PSA in 1998 in response to widespread counterfeiting, forgery and piracy of autographed collectibles, PSA/DNA is the world’s leading third-party authentication service for autographs and memorabilia.

Cards that I submitted for grading:

1980 Topps #482 Rickey Henderson RC – PSA Grade 7 NM

1982 Granny Goose #35 Rickey Henderson – PSA Grade 7 NM

1990 Score McDonald’s #5 Rickey Henderson – PSA Grade 7 NM

I will admit that some of the cards I submitted for grading I was hoping I would stump the researchers at PSA.  These were some of the easier ones though.  The 1980 Topps Rickey Henderson RC is one of the cornerstone cards to own from the 1980′s.  Common printing problems from the early 1980′s include off centering, printing marks and rough edges.  This Rickey Henderson RC card has evidence of all three.  I am surprised with a grade of 7.  Compared to other graded Rickey Henderson RC cards I have witnessed I was expecting a grade of 6.  Possibly a little challenging was the 1982 Granny Goose Henderson card.  This is a good example of a regional food issue card.  Cards in this set were distributed on the west cost in potato chip packaging.  The centering is better than on the Henderson RC card but still a little off center.  There is also some yellowing on the card.  I was expecting a 7 and satisfied that my suspicions were verified.  The 1990 Score McDonald’s is another example of a regional food issue.  These cards were available only in select Iowa McDonald’s locations.  To my untrained eye this card looks pretty good, perfect centering, sharp edges, good eye appeal.  There is a little fuzzing on one of the corners.  I was expecting a grade of 8.  Upon closer inspection, it appears that the corners are a little more damaged than I thought.  Still a nice grade, I am happy to have it protected from further damage because of how rare it is.

1910 E29 Philadelphia Carmel Zoo Animals, Wolf – PSA Grade 1 Poor

1937 Ogden’s LTD Zoo Studies, Wolves – PSA Grade 5 EX

1937 Gallaher LTD Wild Animals, The Wolf – PSA Grade 6.5 EX-MT+

1978 Brooke Bond & Co., Vanishing Wildlife, Wolf – PSA Grade 6 EX-MT

My next few cards I submitted I hoped would prove more difficult to identify but the research team at PSA was up to the challenge.  Pre World War Two tobacco cards are very popular.  Some of the highest realized auction prices of graded cards have been of sports figures from this era.  Maybe slightly less popular are other subjects and themes on tobacco cards.  The 1910 card deserved the grade of 1  besides the very obvious layering of all four corners, there are three pin holes in the top of the card.  The 1937 Ogden’s card has really great eye appeal and looks very clean.  It is very slightly off-center from the top to the bottom of the picture.  I thought the card would be graded a 6.  The corners are not noticeably bad to me.  Inks, papers and printing techniques have changed in the past 85 years and PSA grades accordingly.  This is the one card I do not quite understand the reason for the grade.  The 1937 Gallaher was graded just as I though it would.  To me this card actually has one worse corner than the Ogden card.  I am very happy with the grade this card did get however.  I thought the 1978 wolf card would grade at a 6 or 7  The physical characteristics of the card look alright but there is some yellowing on the card.  Overall I am pleased with the grades of these vintage cards and like the inserts for the tobacco sized cards compared to regular sized cards.

2011 Goodwin Champions, Animal Kingdom Patches, Timber Wolf – PSA Grade 8 Nr-Mt

I knew that this card would not be difficult to identify, but submitted it to illustrate that PSA will grade memorabilia style cards.  What I did not expect was the awesome display encapsulation case the card was put in!  I did not even know that such holders existed.  The card itself graded exactly like I thought it would.  I just love the holder though.  The recessed holder actually sits 1/2 inch tall.  The arrowhead corner protection design not only provides superior card protection, but make the card pop as well.  This card is now a centerpiece on my desk.

1999 Wizards of the Cost, Magic the Gathering (MTG) Portal Three Kingdoms (P3K), Wolf Pack (Japanese version) – Not Graded

2007 Nintendo Legend of Zelda, Twilight Princess, Wolf Link Gold G6 – Not Graded

I actually thought these cards would have been easier to grade than the vintage cards.  I know PSA does grade MTG cards, however the foreign language may have disqualified it.  Modern non-sport and entertainment cards can sometimes be the hardest to identify.  The sheer number of card sets produced and the lack of checklists add to this problem.  The gold foil chase cards from the Twilight princess are very rare and can command a premium in on-line auctions.  Do not fret though collectors.  If you submit cards that PSA is unable to grade you will receive vouchers for future submissions.  It will help to check out their website however for a list of cards that PSA will and will not grade.

PSA is the most popular grading service for several reasons.  PSA has been around longer than other grading service.  They have graded a larger volume of and realized a larger dollar amount of graded cards and memorabilia then others.  These reasons make PSA the most trusted and recognized name in the hobby.  Just walk around a card show or search an on-line auction site.  The total number of PSA graded cards is greater than all of the cards graded by other companies combined.  This is especially true with vintage cards.  I have seen entire sets of cards all graded and encased by PSA.  I really like the holders used by PSA.  They are much thinner than other companies holders and in fact seem to by much more sturdier.  PSA’s website is nicely laid out and very easy to use.  There is a wealth of resources available from a graded price guide, population reports, card registry, caparisons of card values before and after PSA grading and even an introduction to third party grading a “collecting 101.”  The customer service was good with e-mail updates of when they received my cards, when the grades were available to view on-line and when they shipped my cards.  Being the most popular and arguably the best comes at a cost though, for customers.  PSA does have some of the highest submission prices.  Unless you are like me and are going to keep your cards no matter what, single and small quantity card submissions can add up quickly.  For dealers looking to flip cards for profit or groups of collectors working together, PSA is the industry standard.  PSA does offer monthly and themed grading special which offer some savings.  I do recommend PSA/DNA services for everyone.  Depending on what and why you collect though will determine if the cost is worth the benefit.

Until next week, keep collecting, collect for the joy of the hobby and collect for the fan in all of us.

James Spence Authentication (JSA) does not grade cards specifically, rather they authenticate and grade autographs.  JSA offers this service for sports figures, celebrities, actors, music entertainers, historical and political figures autographs.  From former Presidents to rock stars to sports heroes, JSA is the place to go to verify if the autograph is authentic.

A black eye on the hobby of sports card collecting has been people trying to sell fake autographs.  As the industry leader, JSA has provided piece of mind to collectors for years.  JSA authenticates autographs on cards and other memorabilia including bats, balls, gloves, helmets and jerseys.

Besides the obvious reason of a higher resale vale for graded autographs, JSA’s service can also include a Letter of Authenticity for insurance purposes.  While other grading services may appeal to dealers and resellers, JSA autograph authentication will also benefit other collectors and historians.

JSA does have a partnership with Beckett Grading Services, BGS.  Thanks to this partnership collectors can have their autographs authenticated and graded as well as the card itself graded and encapsulated.  This offers a collectors a ‘one-stop-shopping’ experience where they send in a raw ungraded autographed card and receive back an encased dual graded collectible.  For purposes of this article I will be reviewing the autograph authentication by JSA only.  Among other techniques, JSA authenticates and grades autographs against other know autographs from the subject and considers legibility, penmanship, and cleanliness or neatness of the autograph.

Autographs I submitted to JSA for grading:

2002 SP Authentic #87 Sean Casey – JSA autograph grade – 9 MINT (BGS card grade – 9 MINT)

I obtained this autograph through the mail, (TTM).  I have and have seen several other Sean Casey autographs on baseballs, in person, and on pack pulled cards to be very confident in the authenticity of this one. Sean Casey’s autograph has been very consistent through the years.  Another positive indicator that this autograph is real is that Sean Casey was never a super star that commanded a high premium.  No one is going to make money from selling fake Sean Casey autographs.  It may be difficult to see in the picture, but there is ‘streaking ‘ in the ‘S’ and ‘C’ of the autograph.  This is a sign that the autograph is hand signed with a Sharpie marker and not auto-penned.

1987 Topps #478 Dave Dravecky – JSA autograph grade – 8 NM-MT (BGS card grade 8 NM-MT)

This is another autograph I acquired through the mail.  I have also observed several Dravecky autographs and felt confidant about the authenticity of this when I sent it in.  Although very consistent with his autograph during his retirement, the biggest difference and probably the reason for a grade of 8 is that this autograph was signed with a ball point pen.  Pen ink can be more likely to fade over time than a Sharpie marker.

1983 Topps #180 Rickey Henderson – JSA Unable to Authenticate

This was a little bit of a disappointment for me.  I was not disappointed in the services provided by JSA, rather I was disappointed that I paid a fair amount of money to purchase this card on-line.  This makes me  two for two at buying fake Henderson autographs on-line.  On the contrary, I am happy that JSA has expertise and experience to accurately identify legitimate and questionable autographs.  Rickey Henderson is a Hall of Fame whose autographs and memorabilia can command premiums, if they are real.  Maybe what made this autograph difficult to authenticate, or easy for a scammer to fake, is the fact that it is signed with a felt tip marker.

Before sending an autograph into JSA be sure to visit their fees page to not only check their prices, but also to verify then can take and authenticate your autograph.  There are several benefits of having your autographs authenticated by JSA.  Some of these advantages are: Quick and simple online confirmation of your certification number.  Increased value, for faster sale of memorabilia.  Secure, virtually impossible to replicate proprietary watermark James Spence Authentication Letter of Authenticity with corresponding high-resolution image and a unique certificate sticker.  Guaranteed acceptance of our Letter of Authenticity by collectors, dealers, and ALL auction houses worldwide, or your submission fee will be reimbursed.  Peace of mind that your memorabilia is deemed authentic and ready to be sold, passed along to a family member, or cherished forever, and all numbered Letters of Authenticity are fully transferable without resubmission.  For these reasons, I recommend James Spence Authentication services for collectors, dealers and historians alike.  The piece of mind and protection offered by JSA when coupled with Beckett Grading services will be worth the money.

Until next week, keep collecting, collect for the joy of the hobby and collect for the fan in all of us.

OK, so it is the middle of winter. the MLB Winter Meetings are over and pitchers and catcher do not report for a while yet.  What is a die-hard baseball fan to do?  For many of us simply collecting baseball cards is enough.  You can troll your favorite baseball sites for tidbits of baseball news and information, but that can be like teasing yourself by smelling a steak on the grill but not eating it.  When collecting baseball cards is not enough for me (gasp!)  I turn to my collection of baseball movies.  The following are my list of top six movies I use to survive the off-season blues.  This is by no means an authoritative or exhaustive list, so please comment and tell us what is your favorite baseball movie and why!

#6 – Major League – 1989

The new owner of the Cleveland Indians puts together a purposely horrible team so they will lose and she can move the team. But when the plot is uncovered, they start winning just to spite her.  Starring Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Corbin Bernsen, Wesley Snipes and Bob Uecker.

A funny storyline and funnier acting and antics.  Maybe not a top choice for baseball purists, but always good for a laugh.  Usually after watching this movie I always feel like eating a bucket of chicken and rocking out to “Wild Thing.”

#5 – Eight Men Out – 1988

A dramatization of the Black Sox scandal when the underpaid Chicago White Sox accepted bribes to deliberately lose the 1919 World Series.  Starring John Cusack, Clifton James, Michael Lerner, D.B. Sweeney, and Charlie Sheen.

Great film for a baseball historian.  Maybe not the happiest of all baseball films, but superb acting help make this a great movie about one of the most controversial teams in MLB history.

#4 – Bull Durham – 1988

A fan who has an affair with one minor-league baseball player each season meets an up-and-coming pitcher and the experienced catcher assigned to him.  Starring Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon, and Tim Robbins.

A romantic comedy rich in baseball and love triangles.  While not necessarily a ‘chick-flick,’ this is still a good movie for anyone who like baseball and love.

#3 – A League of their Own – 1992

Two sisters join the first female professional baseball league and struggle to help it succeed amidst their own growing rivalry.  Starring Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Lori Petty, Madonna, and Rosie O’Donnell.

Historically based movie about the All American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL).  A feel good story that has produced one of the most famous baseball movie quotes ever.  “Are you crying?  There’s no crying in baseball!  An interesting side note, I have a baseball card with a personalized autograph of Jackie Mattson.

#2 – Field of Dreams – 1989

An Iowa corn farmer, hearing voices, interprets them as a command to build a baseball diamond in his fields; he does, and the Chicago Black Sox come.  Starring Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones and Ray Liotta.

This was a real toss up between my top 2 favorite baseball movies as this has been and is THE baseball movie for many a fan.  James Earl Jones’ monologue near the end of the movie still sends tingles down my spine every time I hear it.

#1 – The Rookie – 2002

A Texas baseball coach and former MLB prospect makes the major leagues after agreeing to try out if his high school team made the playoffs.  Starring Dennis Quaid, J.D. Evermore, and Rachel Griffiths.

Based on a true story with a bit of Disney magic thrown in, this is always the last baseball movie I watch just before Spring Training.  A great family film where hope springs eternal and you learn to never give up on your dreams.

Please comment on what your favorite baseball movie is and why!

Until next time, keep collecting, (and watching baseball movies!) collect for the joy of the hobby and collect for the fan in all of us.