THE JOKE AND SCAM THAT IS PSA SPORTS CARD GRADING
What a concept. Give a baseball card a grade from 1-10. Encapsulate the card, protecting it from harm. Then, when selling the card to someone across the country, they will have confidence that the card is of a certifiable condition. Right? Well.....maybe...and many times not. Below, I give you two examples of the same card, a 1971 Topps High Number, Lee Maye. Now, this card is a little tougher to find in great condition than some of the other high numbers. Both cards are graded NM-MT 8. Yet, in my humble opionion, there is an entire grade that separates the two. The top one appears to have a fair amount of "chipping" along the black border for a card that is an 8. It has a definate "touch" to the upper right corner and it's other corners are not black. More disturbing, there is a printer's line or two or scratches that show through his hat into his face on the left side of his head. These are visually distracting to the card. I will even give the benefit ...