For Anyone Who Trusts Global Authority.....

[Paul_Maul]

Check out this auction:

http://cgi.ebay.com/1971-Topps-Baseball-unopened-Jumbo-Cello-Pack-GAI-5-5-/120714036587?pt=US_Baseball&hash=item1c1b1e056b

The pack in question purports to be a 1971 baseball cello pack, and yet the box it is in is from a 1972 cello pack. While this doesn't conclusively prove the pack is fake, it conclusively proves I know more about Topps baseball cellos than Global does, since they encapsulated it this way. Pretty hard to argue a pack was produced in 1971 and put in a box that wasn't made until 1972.

[hurricanes]

Paul Maul

I am not sure why these mistakes occur. Perhaps, not a good system of checks and balances. Or it is simply that mistakes
happen. Here is an example of a pack I sent to PSA about 2 years ago. They mistakely listed the year as 1960. Pack is
from the 1970's. I dont sweat it though, I was more interested in the grade for this pack.

Frank

[Paul_Maul]

Paul Maul

I am not sure why these mistakes occur. Perhaps, not a good system of checks and balances. Or it is simply that mistakes
happen. Here is an example of a pack I sent to PSA about 2 years ago. They mistakely listed the year as 1960. Pack is
from the 1970's. I dont sweat it though, I was more interested in the grade for this pack.

Frank

Mistakes in the flip are one thing, a typographical error can happen. In this case, someone submitted a 1971 cello pack with a box that wasn't made until the following year. I strongly suspect the pack itself is fake, and was made up by someone who doesn't recognize the difference between the boxes from the two years. Not catching something like this is more than a mistake, it's a lack of attention to detail, and calls into question the value of the entire process.

To me, at this point, Global is a slabbing service, and is not trustworthy for authentification purposes.

[BustedFinger]

The pack in question purports to be a 1971 baseball cello pack, and yet the box it is in is from a 1972 cello pack.

I must have missed something here.  What box are you talking about?  I don't see any box mentioned in the auction.

[BustedFinger]

Well at least you got a high grade on the pack.  It looks very nice!  I don't think I've ever heard of this set before.  Sounds pretty cool though!

[Paul_Maul]

I must have missed something here.  What box are you talking about?  I don't see any box mentioned in the auction.

The cello pack itself is wrapped in clear cellophane. Each individual pack was put into a pack-sized blue cardboard box, which the pack is within inside the holder.

But that box is really from the 1972 cello run. Here's what the correct box from 1971 looks like:
 

The 1971 box has the number "30" before  "baseball cards" instead of the Topps logo.

[hurricanes]

Paul Maul

Good points. Do you have an example of a 1971 true Cello Box with pack(cello) inside?

PSA has made some mistakes in past on grading including grading the wrong card to wrong set on flip. Dont know about SGC.

On the Pre War baseball side, GAI is not taken seriously by most as many believe they have made errors in past. SGC appears to be most trusted with PSA second. I deal with pre war baseball forum and dont know much about post war cards.
(OF NOTE, SGC DOES NOT GRADE PACKS)

Hence, I dont know about ID of these Cello Boxes. I did find a 1970 one which showed the number 33 in front of Baseball Cards. Included is a pic(from Mark Murphy's book on Unopened Packs and Boxes).

Would love to see a 1971 correct Cello Box if you have one.

Frank

[Paul_Maul]

PSA is by  far the most reliable company for grading packs at this point, but GAI had a big head start, so most of the product out there is graded by GAI. GAI started out reliable (Mark Murphy was the one who started the company) but went off the rails at some point. Steve Hart of the BBC Exchange is in charge of weeding out fakes for PSA and is both honest and competent.

I don't own a 1971 cello pack, though I will someday. I'm assembling a run of wax, cello and rack packs from 1971-1980. The 1971 is the only cello pack I'm missing, while I still need racks from 1971-1973.

You're right that SGC is preferred by pre-war collectors, though PSA seems much more popular for post-war. I know little about pre-war stuff, though with the REA catalog for bathroom reading I'm learning!

[hurricanes]

Know what you mean about REA Catalog.

Am partnering with a group on one particular lot(in REA auction). Some of these lots can get way out of sight in terms of cost. Only affordable in groups sometimes.

[Gen 4]

   I saw the thread title and thought it was about one-world government stuff!! LOL!