TAG, You're It!

I attended the Burbank Show in September and decided to submit a few cards to each of the third party grading companies set up at the show. I submitted the most with PSA (a few have been show in previous posts) because I have a few sets I'm working on in their set registry. The Steve Garvey Master Set has been my main focus. It only includes cards issued during his playing career (1969-1988) though there are no 1969 and 1970 issues for him. 

For cards that I collect of Steve Garvey that fall outside of his playing career (1989 to present) as well as cards of other players that I like, I decided to give TAG Grading a try. 

Below is a recap of the entire submission after it arrived back to me.

The box the cards are packaged in.

The inside of the box with the graded cards sealed in packs of their own, a TAG wristband and instructions on how to submit cards in the future.

Here's another shot of the wristband and instructions.

I submitted three cards to get graded. Two did get grades. A third was rejected due to size restrictions.

The card that had size issues and couldn't be graded was a Charles White 2013 Upper Deck 1995 SP Design Autograph. Charles was a favorite of mine when I was a kid. Sadly, he's no longer with us.

The first graded pack I opened included a 2006 Upper Deck Legends - Legendary Signatures Charles White #72. 

It came back with a Gem Mint 10 grade (978/1000). According to TAG's website, this is a pretty strong grade and not far from a Pristine 10 grade (990/1000 or higher).

Here's a picture of the final pack I got back. I like the idea of putting the cards you submit for grading in an unopened pack. It adds to the suspense when you get the cards back in the mail.

It's a 2021 Topps Stadium Club Signatures Steve Garvey Autograph #SCBA-SGA. This time I received a lower grade on this card. It was a Mint 9 (904/1000).

I can see myself using TAG Grading again for my personal collection because I like their use of technology to eliminate the human portion of grading. I also like the quality of their holder, the way the grading results are etched in it and the packaging of the cards themselves.

I got a couple more items graded at the show including one that I submitted with Beckett that I'm still waiting to get back. I'll include them in future posts.

Michael Schechter and Associates

 

I recently got back from PSA my 1977 MSA Cup Lid. It received a grade of VG 3. I wasn't sure if PSA graded these so I was happy to find out that they did. 

MSA stands for "Michael Schechter and Associates". Michael Schechter had an MLB players association license to produce trading cards from the mid-1970's until the early 1990's. Most sets from that era without MLB logos on them were very likely produced by MSA. His firm was based out of Florida and after doing a quick search on Google, it appears that someone with the same name has a law firm in Florida today. I wonder if it's the same person or if they're related because there are a bunch of questions I'd love to know the answer to about their business. 

Some that come to mind include: "Where did you design and print your cards?", "Do you have a master list including checklists of all your products?" and "Is anybody that worked for MSA still involved in the hobby today?" 

Below is an image of the back of the lid. I'm not 100% sure, though I do remember having one or two of these as a kid, but I believe these were lids for drinks at 7/11 though if I'm wrong, please let me know. The coolest part of this particular lid is that the straw hole hasn't been punched through yet.

I have a few more items that I got back recently from PSA and another grading company that I'll post about soon.

 

Dynamite!

 

Haven't posted on this blog in a long, long time. I recently submitted this to PSA. It's a panel of six 1977 Topps cards that were inserted into the old magazine Dynamite. They did this from the mid-70's to mid-80's with quite of a few different panels released each year.

Wasn't expecting a high grade because the panel was inserted inside the magazine so that four cards showed up on one page and two cards showed up on another. It meant you were guaranteed to get a crease on the panel where it folded in the magazine. You can see the crease on this one beneath 1970's All-Name 1st Team member Bombo Rivera and Steve Garvey.

I actually remember having this one as a kid but sadly I did a horrible job cutting the panel up and my guess is that my mom threw that one away years ago.

 

He's a picture of the back of the panel. The card numbers are the same as in the Topps set.

I received a few other interesting items back from PSA and another grading company as well. I'll save that for the next post. Hopefully, it doesn't take twelve years for the next one.