📏 Activity 1: Centering Challenge
Objective: Learn to accurately evaluate card centering.
Instructions:
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How would you assess the centering ratio on the front of each card pictured? This will be diffficult without the cards in hand, but give your best estimate of top / bottom and left / right centering of each card.
- Where does this ratio fall on either PSA's or SGC's grading scale? Assign a condition or number grade (state PSA or SGC) based on centering alone.
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Upload a card from your own collection and talk us through your centering ratio / score.
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Discussion prompt: “How does poor centering limit a card’s grade—even if corners, edges, and surface are perfect?”
Alright @bltofan1 @lindrewdad @jdawg420 @scrondog23 @wildcard @zemansky who wants to go first? I made this guide to help--refer to it as you go.
Would be helpful to see the back, especially on the Banks where the image is light on white. McCovey is OC L/R (70/30)and T/B (80/20). Not well versed on grading down grades but centering alone, maybe a 5. Banks is also OC T/B and L/R somewhere in the 80/20 range, maybe 90/10 if I could see the back. Would grade it at maybe a 3.
From the front of this card, I would estimate a 60/40 centering both ways, but when I flip it over the back suggests something worse, maybe 80/20. I definitely support the centering downgrading, even on an otherwise pristine card. If 10 is the gold standard, even when luck of the draw gives you an OC card, then it should be protected and valued as 50/50 centering and perfect otherwise.
@bltofan1 yeah I'm keeping it simple with front images only, but importantly 50% of the card is on the other side : ) Notably PSA does differentiate between front and back centering allowances for grading, but SGC does not. It's not clear if they "average" but I tend to just use the worst / weakest ratio.
The Banks is technically miscut (missing the top line around the logo) but they do seem to be more friendly to 1954's due to the lack of a really defined top border.
@chvadmin hi I will say I got 2 cards about that centered. Fisk and Henderson rookies.
probably low grade like 2 or 3, maybe even a 1 I’ll break them out tomorrow
@jdawg420 with PSA cards that are OC or miscut will grade with a qualifier if otherwise strong--for example, the Banks above might grade 2.5 (MC) with PSA and 1.5 or 2 with SGC (no qualifier). Glad to take a look at your cards--post em up!
I chose this 52 Spahn. Measured it with my manual tool and a centering app with similar result. My eye test failed on this one as the L/R felt like a 60/40 but it’s actually a bit better when using tools. I’m not sure any grading company would let it slip by at 55/45 though. T/B is very good. This card has a bit of a diamond cut that is more apparent when looking at the back but it measures with a tape really well. Almost an optical illusion. On centering only, I think it might get an 8 or 9 sticky on standards.
@rhippenstiel it's hard for me to measure from pics, but the weakest point of side to side looks weaker than 60/40 to me. My best measurement from the pic is 63/36 lol. My eyeball said 70/30 though--maybe because of the tilt.
Wondering if y'all would rate this Koufax "dead centered"? Looks so to my naked eye. Here's a pic of it holstered in an online centering app. The app disagreed with me--it says 50/50 top/bottom and 48/52 left/right. Good enough for me: I'm a sucker for low-grade but really nicely centered cards.
I've found these apps are tricky to use if the image has the card tilted at all. Also if there is any sort of diamond cut. Do y'all appreciate sellers trying to use images of these with their sales posts?
I would say the Banks is miscut on top and the McCovey is 90/10 off center on the left