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MTG Signed Card and PSA.

Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 6:58 pm
by dragsamou
Hi Members.
Just a quick question,as I never saw one,does PSA authentify Signed MTG cards?Same question for Altered card.Thanks.

Posted: Tue Aug 22, 2006 8:31 pm
by hammr7
Alexis,

PSA does have an autograph certification service (I think its called DNA). I'm sure they don't go any further with altered cards. In their more developed markets (sportscards) any inking is considered extremely detrimental. It usually causes the card to default to a "good" or even "fair" grade as a maximum.

Posted: Wed Aug 23, 2006 1:14 pm
by NightBeing
Well, sportscards aren't usually drawn, so that's a big difference :)

Posted: Wed Aug 23, 2006 5:29 pm
by mintcollector
NightBeing wrote:Well, sportscards aren't usually drawn, so that's a big difference :)
Yes, but you can get them signed by the player...which still gets them a lower grade since they are inked.

Posted: Thu Aug 24, 2006 10:41 am
by dragsamou
Hi Guys.
Thanks,but did you ever saw a MTG Card PSA Signed.I have never seen one on Ebay,and I have checked the PSA Collectors,not one.I try to look all over the PSA FAQ,but I didn't find nothing about it so far.

Posted: Thu Aug 24, 2006 2:45 pm
by hammr7
Alexis,

If you look on the PSA web site under grading standards:

UNGRADEABLE CARDS:

PSA will not grade cards which bear evidence of trimming, re-coloring, restoration, or any other forms of tampering, or are of questionable authenticity. In addition, PSA does not grade autographed cards dated earlier than 1998 or any cards manufactured by Star except Star Baseball & 1996 Star Topps (reprint) Basketball Cards; only factory imprint signatures can be graded.

The link is:

http://www.psacard.com/grading/grading_standards.chtml

They had to be able to grade some of the promotional chase cards offered by card companies (the 1 in a million chance to get a card autographed by some superstar).

The reason they they exclude so many of the products made by Star is that this company made card sets in the 1980s for autograph seekers. Trying to verify the autographs on these cards (which were a favorite of counterfeiters) proved to be a nightmare.

So if Wizards starts offering the chance to find premium autographed cards in packs, PSA will figure out a way to deal with it. They'll probably flip out if those cards also have customized artwork.

Posted: Thu Aug 24, 2006 5:44 pm
by tap4black
Hi Alexis,

I actually own the first few copies of PSA/DNA certified signed MTG cards. I have been working with Roy Alcala, the Sales Director for PSA, to have them offer a service where we would be able to send in signed cards for grading.

To be honest, the first cards I received back were far less than I expected as they were not graded, only certified as authentic. PSA is of the belief that the signature and the artist's name should be prominent on the "flip" which leaves no room for grading information. I am of the belief we as collectors really do not care to have this information featured as it is the grade of the card we desire and that they can place the certification information on the bottom line. I sent off a proposed change to the design last week and am awaiting his reply when he has a chance to run it by Joe Orlando.

The other big hang up at this time is the artist selection they authenticate is quite small as they have to obtain signature copies from the original artist and several of the early ones are not too fond of Wizards and have not obliged the request. I have a list that I can give you of who's cards you can send in if you would like me to mail it to you.

I'll post more details as I get them from PSA.

Len

Posted: Thu Aug 24, 2006 5:50 pm
by dragsamou
tap4black wrote:Hi Alexis,

I actually own the first few copies of PSA/DNA certified signed MTG cards. I have been working with Roy Alcala, the Sales Director for PSA, to have them offer a service where we would be able to send in signed cards for grading.

To be honest, the first cards I received back were far less than I expected as they were not graded, only certified as authentic. PSA is of the belief that the signature and the artist's name should be prominent on the "flip" which leaves no room for grading information. I am of the belief we as collectors really do not care to have this information featured as it is the grade of the card we desire and that they can place the certification information on the bottom line. I sent off a proposed change to the design last week and am awaiting his reply when he has a chance to run it by Joe Orlando.

The other big hang up at this time is the artist selection they authenticate is quite small as they have to obtain signature copies from the original artist and several of the early ones are not too fond of Wizards and have not obliged the request. I have a list that I can give you of who's cards you can send in if you would like me to mail it to you.

I'll post more details as I get them from PSA.

Len
Hi Len :-)
Thanks for the answer.I will appreciate if you mail me the list.Thanks.

Posted: Thu Aug 24, 2006 10:14 pm
by mahdishain
greetings

i think that this list of artists is of general interest to many collectors. if it could be posted it would be great. otherwise i would like a copy sent to me. thanks!

Posted: Fri Aug 25, 2006 8:06 pm
by thulnanth
Thanks for the reply Len - I figured you'd get around to answering this post sooner or later ;-)

Keep us updated!!

Take it easy,
Jared