This Week in Your Collection

[Paul_Maul]

[BumChex]

Where did you get the 10s? Are they yours, eBay, or a private buy?

[Paul_Maul]

Where did you get the 10s? Are they yours, eBay, or a private buy?

Mine, I submitted 19 cards from my 1st series keeper set. I was shocked to get four 10's, eleven 9's, three 8.5's and an 8.
The Mrs. Klean and Horrid are the only existing 10's, pretty cool. I hope my 2nd series stuff does as well!

[Kook]

Mine, I submitted 19 cards from my 1st series keeper set. I was shocked to get four 10's, eleven 9's, three 8.5's and an 8.
The Mrs. Klean and Horrid are the only existing 10's, pretty cool. I hope my 2nd series stuff does as well!

Dave,
Did you get your 1st series set from the same source, or have you upgraded it from multiple sources over the years? Those grades are incredible. Especially for the 1st series, that one's TOUGH!! Congratulations on those great results!!

[Paul_Maul]

Dave,
Did you get your 1st series set from the same source, or have you upgraded it from multiple sources over the years? Those grades are incredible. Especially for the 1st series, that one's TOUGH!! Congratulations on those great results!!

16 of the 19 are from the same source. They're from  a 1st series set I bought at a comic book show in Wayne, NJ in 2005. Ernie will remember this, because the same seller (Anne Marie) was at the Wayne Firehouse Show. She had 1st, 2nd, and 6th series sets I believe, and he bought at least one of the sets. I had gotten the 1st series set at the comic show a month earlier. It was fantastic except some of the stickers toward the end of the checklist had tilt and diamond cut (including Band-Ache and Paul Maul unfortunately). I paid $200 for it because the seller was believing NSU, when the set was actually worth $600 at the time.
They really are uniformly nice, nice whiteness, nice centering...everything!

The Mrs. Klean is not from that source. I paid $25 for it from another collector.

[Alexeirex]

So that's what grade 10 first series Wackys look like!
Alex

[Dr Popper]

16 of the 19 are from the same source. They're from  a 1st series set I bought at a comic book show in Wayne, NJ in 2005. Ernie will remember this, because the same seller (Anne Marie) was at the Wayne Firehouse Show. She had 1st, 2nd, and 6th series sets I believe, and he bought at least one of the sets. I had gotten the 1st series set at the comic show a month earlier. It was fantastic except some of the stickers toward the end of the checklist had tilt and diamond cut (including Band-Ache and Paul Maul unfortunately). I paid $200 for it because the seller was believing NSU, when the set was actually worth $600 at the time.
They really are uniformly nice, nice whiteness, nice centering...everything!

The Mrs. Klean is not from that source. I paid $25 for it from another collector.

They look like they are in fantastic shape, but is it just the pics or do they have that slight magenta tone on the white areas that are soemtimes on series 1 and 2?  Sometimes it isn't noticeable unless you have a very white one to compare to.   
 

[Paul_Maul]

They look like they are in fantastic shape, but is it just the pics or do they have that slight magenta tone on the white areas that are soemtimes on series 1 and 2?  Sometimes it isn't noticeable unless you have a very white one to compare to.    
 

I think it's the pics. The Mrs. Klean is a tad less white than the others, but the other 3 10's are as white as snow in person.

[Dr Popper]

I think it's the pics. The Mrs. Klean is a tad less white than the others, but the other 3 10's are as white as snow in person.

Nice, I always struggled to get scans of anything in a PSA case because it's not flat on the glass, so the image comes out a little blurry.  I usually take them with a camera.  

Speaking of snow, are you getting snow or rain where you are?  We might get 2 feet her in CT

[Paul_Maul]

Speaking of snow, are you getting snow or rain where you are?  We might get 2 feet her in CT

I'm slated for around 12 inches. I have a package out for delivery, I hope it gets here before things deteriorate....

[bandaches]

16 of the 19 are from the same source. They're from  a 1st series set I bought at a comic book show in Wayne, NJ in 2005. Ernie will remember this, because the same seller (Anne Marie) was at the Wayne Firehouse Show. She had 1st, 2nd, and 6th series sets I believe, and he bought at least one of the sets. I had gotten the 1st series set at the comic show a month earlier. It was fantastic except some of the stickers toward the end of the checklist had tilt and diamond cut (including Band-Ache and Paul Maul unfortunately). I paid $200 for it because the seller was believing NSU, when the set was actually worth $600 at the time.
They really are uniformly nice, nice whiteness, nice centering...everything!

The Mrs. Klean is not from that source. I paid $25 for it from another collector.

I have purchased many wackys from Anne Marie over the years.  I don't recall what I bought at that time.  Nice score for you eh?  $200 investment is worth thousands of $ now eh?

[Paul_Maul]

I have purchased many wackys from Anne Marie over the years.  I don't recall what I bought at that time.  Nice score for you eh?  $200 investment is worth thousands of $ now eh?

In theory. I'm keeping all of these, but I did sell off 7 1st series tanbacks I also submitted (all of which were either the single highest graded example or tied). I figure I paid around $300 for them and they sold for $1700, so I plan to try to work further on my 1st series white set using some of that dough.

[bandaches]

In theory. I'm keeping all of these, but I did sell off 7 1st series tanbacks I also submitted (all of which were either the single highest graded example or tied). I figure I paid around $300 for them and they sold for $1700, so I plan to try to work further on my 1st series white set using some of that dough.

That has always been my theory, creating spending money for wackys. 

[Paul_Maul]

Two more 10s...the Gurgle was part of my recent submission. It's the only 10, with the next highest grade being 8.5. The Kook just arrived in the snowy mail today...

[BumChex]

Man, you did really well! That is exciting when you pull an awesome grade. I was happy with 8s & 9s. I would be floored to pull a 10.

[ClubbedCanadian]

By looking at Gurgle I see PSA grading for wacky's still blows.

[BumChex]

By looking at Gurgle I see PSA grading for wacky's still blows.

What do you mean? It looks perfect in the scan.

[Paul_Maul]

What do you mean? It looks perfect in the scan.

Not sure what he's talking about with Gurgle. My opinion of PSA has changed a lot lately, for the better. For one thing, their customer service is excellent. For another, they have very consistent grading standards for the most part. Once one understands them anyway.

The one thing they do have trouble being consistent on with wackys is how the copyright line affects the centering. If you look on ebay, you'll see many examples of wackys where the copyright line is right up against the bottom of the card receiving grades of 8 or 9. In the mind of the grader, the image needs to be centered and the copyright is not really important (sometimes,anyway).

They are definitely wrong about this. The copyright line should be considered part of the image, and treated accordingly when computing centering. Other than that I have no complaints with PSA anymore. They're human like anyone else, but they do a great job all things considered.

[Alexeirex]

The grading does seem to be alittle inconsistent - for the Gurgle the centering horizontally is not perfect (by just a tiny bit) but taking out the copyright, it looks perfect vertically.
For Kook, if you include the copyright, the centering and margins look perfect vertically.
So the card does not have to be perfectly margined to get a 10? There are other factors in play?
A

[Paul_Maul]

Here are the details. The centering for a 10 should be in the neighborhood of 55/45 or better. To me, the way the vertical
centering should be viewed, the Kook is perfect and the Gurgle is not.

http://www.psacard.com/services/psa_grading_standards.chtml

[Dr Popper]

Not sure what he's talking about with Gurgle. My opinion of PSA has changed a lot lately, for the better. For one thing, their customer service is excellent. For another, they have very consistent grading standards for the most part. Once one understands them anyway.

The one thing they do have trouble being consistent on with wackys is how the copyright line affects the centering. If you look on ebay, you'll see many examples of wackys where the copyright line is right up against the bottom of the card receiving grades of 8 or 9. In the mind of the grader, the image needs to be centered and the copyright is not really important (sometimes,anyway).

They are definitely wrong about this. The copyright line should be considered part of the image, and treated accordingly when computing centering. Other than that I have no complaints with PSA anymore. They're human like anyone else, but they do a great job all things considered.

What about the issue of them not deducting for age discoloration like the tanning we see on the tanbacks?  I've seen some horribly colored ones with very high grades, that to me would have been heavily deducted.

[Paul_Maul]

What about the issue of them not deducting for age discoloration like the tanning we see on the tanbacks?  I've seen some horribly colored ones with very high grades, that to me would have been heavily deducted.

You're right, I don't like that either. Particularly since they always tout "eye appeal" as the most important factor in grading. Neither of these issues is a big deal though, because if you're alert for them, they're easy to spot in a scan, and if those things bother you, you can just move on. Something like corner wear being inconsistently penalized would be a bigger problem since that's a lot harder to see in a scan.

[Kook]

You're right, I don't like that either. Particularly since they always tout "eye appeal" as the most important factor in grading. Neither of these issues is a big deal though, because if you're alert for them, they're easy to spot in a scan, and if those things bother you, you can just move on. Something like corner wear being inconsistently penalized would be a bigger problem since that's a lot harder to see in a scan.

I agree that it's not an issue when you are a buyer. There are similar concerns in buying PCGS coins. Toning & discoloration can extremely affect eye appeal, but no the grade.

My issue where it comes into play is in building a registry set. I'd choose a nice bright white set of PSA 7s over a set of crusty old yellow looking PSA 8s, but that will have no effect on your registry ranking. The old crusty 8 will outrank the appealing bright white 7 every time.

[Alexeirex]

I agree that it's not an issue when you are a buyer. There are similar concerns in buying PCGS coins. Toning & discoloration can extremely affect eye appeal, but no the grade.

My issue where it comes into play is in building a registry set. I'd choose a nice bright white set of PSA 7s over a set of crusty old yellow looking PSA 8s, but that will have no effect on your registry ranking. The old crusty 8 will outrank the appealing bright white 7 every time.

Like graded and certified coins, IMHO one of the reasons why people buy graded items is that there is confidence in buying high graded items sight unseen. Now that I know that tanning may not be an issue in downgrading, I'll have to actually see the graded card in person if possible before shelling out any big bucks....
A

[Paul_Maul]

Like graded and certified coins, IMHO one of the reasons why people buy graded items is that there is confidence in buying high graded items sight unseen. Now that I know that tanning may not be an issue in downgrading, I'll have to actually see the graded card in person if possible before shelling out any big bucks....
A

I used to think that too, that grading was supposed to facilitate "sight unseen" internet purchases. There's no way that will ever be the case, though. There's too much subjectivity, and different people have different grading priorities that are important to them. I look at a high grade PSA card as being good enough to consider, not a guarantee of satisfaction.

[Paul_Maul]

[Paul_Maul]

[Paul_Maul]

[Paul_Maul]

[Paul_Maul]

Thanks to John (Scary Lee) for supplying me with this wacky years ago. Great guy, great eye for wackys!

[ratchet007]

All I can say Dave is "Holy Crap". Looks like you hit the motherload. Those are some sweeeet Wackys.

[BumChex]

Look at those 10's! A 9 Bum Chex has to be the best. Did you look a the population report? I think mine is only a 7.

[Paul_Maul]

A 9 Bum Chex has to be the best. Did you look a the population report? 

There is one other 9. I remember when I bought this from Francis Khoury about 10 years ago. I knew it was a beauty at the time. I have a photographic memory for wackys and remember where I got every wacky I have, so it's fun as I'm having some of these graded to recall where they came from.

[RawGoo]

There is one other 9. I remember when I bought this from Francis Khoury about 10 years ago. I knew it was a beauty at the time. I have a photographic memory for wackys and remember where I got every wacky I have, so it's fun as I'm having some of these graded to recall where they came from.

Those are gorgeous!!

[BumChex]

There is one other 9. I remember when I bought this from Francis Khoury about 10 years ago. I knew it was a beauty at the time. I have a photographic memory for wackys and remember where I got every wacky I have, so it's fun as I'm having some of these graded to recall where they came from.

I wonder if there was ever a high grade Choke Wagon? I haven't been on PSA's site for at least 2 years.