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| Industry | Collectibles |
|---|---|
| Founded | July 1991 |
| Services | Card Grading |
| Parent | Collectors Universe |
| Website | psacard |
Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) is a US based sports card and trading card grading company.
PSA was launched in July 1991 by David Hall, owner of the coin grading company Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS), to serve collectors as a third-party card grader. [1] At the outset, the business faced difficulties owing to a limited demand from collectors who sought card grading services. [2] Initially, many sports card dealers were against the concept of relying on an external organization to evaluate and grade their cards. They declined to utilize card grading services. However, over time, there was a significant change in the market's perspective, leading to a strong demand for graded cards. This shift was primarily prompted by the widespread problem of deception and fraudulent practices observed at trade shows. Buyers seldom felt confident when making purchases, as there was a constant uncertainty about whether they were acquiring genuine cards or counterfeits. As a result of these concerns, the adoption of third-party grading companies became progressively more widespread.
PSA was able to benefit from the dot-com boom, which had eBay prevail as an online auction website. As a result, a larger number of individuals were able to participate in the sports card collecting and trading hobby. Getting a card graded by a third-party entity offered the assurance that an image displayed in an eBay listing represented an authentic card. Moreover, this practice provided a clear understanding of the card's condition, eliminating the need to rely on potentially subpar image quality in the listing. Consequently, these developments significantly boosted the popularity of PSA. [2]
The first significantly controversial card grade was in fact the first card ever graded by PSA. This was the T206 Honus Wagner card. Originally it achieved a NM-MT 8 grade. This card was originally owned by Sotheby's Sport's Consultant Bill Mastro, and purchased by Wayne Gretzky and Bruce McNall. [3] However, it was then speculated that the card was cut from a sheet with scissors. [3] This caused some people to question the legitimacy of PSA as a 3rd party grading service. [1] In 2005, PSA Grader Bill Hughes, a grader of the T206 Honus Wager card, admitted in an interview with New York Daily News reporter Michael O'Keeffe that he knew the card had been trimmed when he graded the card. [3] He emphasized that regarding that particular card as trimmed would have been regarded as sacrilegious, significantly diminishing its value. This card is currently recognized as the last remaining example in its original card slab and has been showcased at the National Baseball Hall Of Fame and Museum.
The second significant controversy arose in 2019 when online collectors began noticing instances of altered cards. These collectors took the initiative to document these cases, resulting in the identification of at least 316 modified cards. These altered cards collectively held a value exceeding $1.4 million, and the modifications were attributed to nearly a dozen individuals. This practice has been termed "card doctoring." Subsequently, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) initiated a criminal investigation into this matter, which also involved an examination of PSA's grading procedures. During their investigation, the FBI uncovered evidence indicating that there might be thousands of tampered cards circulating within the market. This tampering occurred as a result of individuals seeking to enhance the grade assigned by PSA, with the intention of maximizing potential profits. This strategy involved speculators purchasing cards of lower quality and then making modifications, such as trimming worn edges or corners. These alterations aimed to secure a higher grade and, consequently, a higher selling price, particularly if the modifications went unnoticed by the grading process.
A person allegedly involved with doctoring cards is Gary Moser, who was reported to the FBI by online collectors who found his cards to be suspicious. In an interview with the Washington Post , Moser stated that he does not alter cards, and that he assesses cards to determine if they are "undergraded" - a term used to explain when a card may have been inaccurately graded by a grading company such as PSA. If Moser saw a card that looked to be undergraded, he would remove the card from the card slab and resubmit it to PSA for grading, hoping for a better grade. Oregon-based auction house PWCC said in a statement that it will no longer sell cards that were submitted to PSA by Gary Moser, and would "make it right" to any of their customers who may have purchased a doctored card from them, which included paying refunds and cooperating with other dealers to offer refunds as well. [4]
PSA's grading scale provides purchasers of graded cards with a clear understanding of what to anticipate when they examine the card, solely based on its assigned grade.
PSA employs a 10-point grading scale, outlined below: [5]
In computing, a printer is a peripheral machine which makes a persistent representation of graphics or text, usually on paper. While most output is human-readable, bar code printers are an example of an expanded use for printers. Different types of printers include 3D printers, inkjet printers, laser printers, and thermal printers.
Garbage Pail Kids is a series of sticker trading cards produced by the Topps Company, originally released in 1985 and designed to parody the Cabbage Patch Kids dolls, which were popular at the time.
A trading card is a small card, usually made out of paperboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person, place or thing and a short description of the picture, along with other text. There is a wide variation of different types of cards.
A baseball card is a type of trading card relating to baseball, usually printed on cardboard, silk, or plastic. In the 1950s, they came with a stick of gum and a limited number of cards. These cards feature one or more baseball players, teams, stadiums, or celebrities.
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Notaphily is the study and collection of paper currency, and banknotes. A notaphilist is a collector of banknotes or paper money, particularly as a hobby.
The Upper Deck Company, LLC, founded in 1988, is a private company primarily known for producing trading cards. Its headquarters are in Carlsbad, California, United States.
Mint condition is an expression used to denote the quality of a pre-owned good as displaying virtually no imperfections and being in pristine condition relative to its original production state. Originally, the phrase related to the way collectors described the condition of coins. As the name given to a coin factory is a "mint", then mint condition is the condition a coin is in when it leaves the mint.
A flattop is a classic hairstyle characterized by short hair on the sides and back of the head, with the top hair cut short and styled to stand upright in a flat, level plane.
A label printer is a computer printer that prints on self-adhesive label material and/or card-stock (tags). A label printer with built-in keyboard and display for stand-alone use is often called a label maker. Label printers are different from ordinary printers because they need to have special feed mechanisms to handle rolled stock, or tear sheet (fanfold) stock. Common connectivity for label printers include RS-232 serial, Universal Serial Bus (USB), parallel, Ethernet and various kinds of wireless. Label printers have a wide variety of applications, including supply chain management, retail price marking, packaging labels, blood and laboratory specimen marking, and fixed assets management.
The 1954–55 Topps hockey set was Topps' first attempt at producing trading cards for the National Hockey League. At the time, the league consisted of six teams known as the Original Six. Topps included all four American teams in this popular 60-card set - Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, and New York Rangers.
In the trading card collecting hobby, an error card is a card that shows incorrect information or some other unintended flaw. It can contain a mistake, such as a misspelling or a photo of someone other than the athlete named on the card. Depending on whether the manufacturer noticed the problem while the cards were still being produced, a card may exist in both correct and incorrect versions. If the correction is made sufficiently early in the print run, the error card may be significantly rarer and more valuable than the corrected version. However, the opposite may be true if the error is corrected late in the printing cycle, resulting in a smaller population of the corrected version of the card compared to the error version.
The T202 Baseball cards, also known as the Hassan Triple Folder were baseball cards manufactured and distributed by the American Tobacco Company in 1912. The cards were inserted into packs of "Hassan Cork Tip Cigarettes". Several characteristics make this vintage card a standout amongst other forms of tobacco advertising of the time and lend to its value as a highly sought-after collectible.
A rookie card is a trading card that is the first to feature an athlete after that athlete has participated in the highest level of competition within their sport. Collectors may value these first appearances more than subsequent card issues. Athletes are often commemorated on trading cards which are highly collected based on the popularity of the athlete. Prices for rookie cards fluctuate based on consumer interest, supply and demand and other factors, but can surpass thousands of dollars.
The T206 Honus Wagner baseball card depicts the Pittsburgh Pirates' Honus Wagner, known as "The Flying Dutchman", a dead-ball era baseball player who is widely considered to be one of the best players of all time. The card was designed and issued by the American Tobacco Company (ATC) from 1909 to 1911 as part of its T206 series. Wagner refused to allow production of his baseball card to continue, either because he did not want children to buy cigarette packs to get his card, or because he wanted more compensation from the ATC. The ATC ended production of the Wagner card, and a total of only 50 to 200 cards were ever distributed to the public. In 1933, the card was first listed at a price value of US$50 in Jefferson Burdick's The American Card Catalog, making it the most expensive baseball card in the world at the time.
Singles are individual trading or game cards sold by hobby stores, online stores, or by individual collectors. These individual cards are usually of higher value than contemporary cards which are often sold as "bulk" or as a personal collection. Ordinary collectible cards serve little function beyond memorabilia, but CCGs are also used in game tournaments. Generally, collectible card games (CCG) fetch initial higher prices than trading cards because of the dual nature of being both a game and a collectible. Prices will fluctuate for CCGs as cards become legal or illegal to play in certain game formats.
The 1954 Bowman Football Card Set was a set of football cards released by Bowman Gum in 1954, consisting of 128 cards. They were packaged in two ways: 1-cent wax packs, which had one card inside, and 5-cent packs, which contained 7 cards. Both came with a piece of gum, causing some cards to have permanent stains on them. The two most popular cards of the set were Otto Graham (#40) & the rookie card of George Blanda (#23).
Alan "Mr. Mint" Rosen was an American sports collectibles dealer who was especially active in the 1980s and 1990s. He advertised heavily and was a fixture at card conventions. Eventually organizers would give him a table or booth in a prime location for free because they knew he would boost attendance. In a July 4, 1988, Sports Illustrated article, Dan Geringer called him the "King of Cards" in the "high-stakes baseball card game". In 1986, he was offered and purchased the "1952 Topps Find" of baseball cards, considered one of the greatest finds ever in the hobby. He also sold nine T206 Honus Wagner baseball cards over the course of his career.
Comic book grading is the process of evaluating the condition of a comic book and assigning it a grade that reflects its overall quality and preservation. This grading system, often done by third-party professional grading companies, provides a standardized way to assess the condition of a comic book, taking into account factors such as wear, creases, discoloration, and other imperfections. Many scales and standards can be used, although the most accepted assign a condition ranging from 0–10.0, or Poor to Near Mint+.
