How Long Has PSA Been Slabbing Sketches With Grades?

[glorbgorb]

How would they authenticate older cards before companies supplied a place on the back, and the artist doesn't sign the card? Like a Spider-Man Archives card by Adam Cleveland who "signs" it as abc?

[mjohnatgt]

"abc" is a signature.

[HiltonL]

some artist sigs are just symbols - like Prince

Jomar Bulda comes to mind since he changed his sig

[glorbgorb]

OK, so Adam Cleveland was a bad example because he has been on verified lists and is easy to figure out since he has used the same "signature" for over a decade. Buddy Prince used to sign "Prince". Tony Perna signs "Perna <year>". Anthony Tan has always done "AJT". Warren Martineck, Veron O'Connell, Rich Molinelli--all easy to tell with a minute of research.

But who, aside from experienced collectors, is going to know this is Tone Rodriguez?


Or that this is Aaron Houston?


Or Fernando Ramirez?


Othell?


Noval Hernawan?


The Houston is a DC set, the rest are all from Marvel sets.

I could go on. But go look at any SW group on Facebook. A few times a week someone is asking whose signature is on the back. I don't think Topps (reliably) releases checklists.

[finfangfan]

If they can’t verify the artist, CGC uses “unverified artists”. Which is something even the dude above who doesn’t slab but stores and labels his own sketch card collection encounters with his system, I’m sure. You are def going to encounter sketches that can’t be easily identified no matter if you slab or not… see below.



Ironically, this one is pretty easily identifiable if you contacted one or two of the Dinosaurs sketch collectors on ePack.

[finfangfan]

I’m sending this guy to PSA… loved the 2009 SW die cut sketches and KaToPe was my favorite artist in that set.

[maneonemo]

One thing to consider with painted sketches is that the surface of the sketch might stick to the front of the slab, and when trying to take the sketch out some of the paint might inevitably come off. I've seen that happen on yt with magnetic holders. Which is why sleeve is the way to go - either sleeve + magnetic holder, or if necessarily grading then Beckett.

[aggie4ever]

A couple of thoughts on id'ing artists when grading. I would not rely on the grading companies to correctly id the artist. When sending sketch cards into COMC, they attempt to id the artist, but I would guess they correctly id less than half of the cards. Most of the others are left unidentified, but unfortunately there are others that are mis-identified. I would guess the grading companies attempt to id the artist if you don't provide it, but I would not expect them to spend much time on it.

For CGC and BGC, if they can't id the artist, they will probably list it as unidentified or not even list any artist info. For PSA, I think there is a higher probability they will send it back ungraded, and they will tend to err on the side of caution, and not grade something that doesn't appear on a checklist.

Luckily, not a lot of sketch cards get sent in for grading. And for the majority that do, I would hope the person sending the cards in has already identified the artists, and has listed that in the submission details. Much easier for the grading companies to verify an id provided to them than to figure it out on their own.

[glorbgorb]

How is this handled if you grade from COMC? Sketches through ePack already have artists identified; but you could send in your cards, "correct" the listing if COMC does not have one, then submit it?

[mjohnatgt]

Originally Posted by glorbgorb

How is this handled if you grade from COMC? Sketches through ePack already have artists identified; but you could send in your cards, "correct" the listing if COMC does not have one, then submit it?

Yes. I frequently recommend fixes for their "Unknown Artist" category or correct ones that I've seen them get wrong. Then once they have the correct artist, submit them.

For example:

[boxbuster7]

Originally Posted by mjohnatgt

I sent some PSCs (private sketch cards) to PSA through the autograph authentication bulk sub that raiderguy10 puts on here. Just got them back days ago. If the signature is on the front, they slab the image the correct way. I had a Juan Rosales sketch he signed on the back, and since they're authenticating the autograph, they put the sketch on the back side of the slab. But for $15, I'll take the lesson and submit smarter in future years.

Are they seriously that incompetent?

[mjohnatgt]

Originally Posted by boxbuster7

Are they seriously that incompetent?

Technically the service I was paying for was authenticating the autograph, which was on the back of the PSC. My interest in having the sketch on the front was implied, but I didn't put any kind of note on the card for them to know that.

[boxbuster7]

Yeah but I feel like Common sense should prevail

[PurplesaurusRex]

As a binder guy, I always skip slabbed sketches. I'm not going to waste time trying to crack it out or spend extra money on special slab binders or holders. All sketches are 1/1's so it's easy to move on and find another 1/1 of the character I want. Also, my space is limited and binders are the best option for storing and browsing my collection. It's nice to pull a binder off the shelf and thumb thru the collection.

[PurplesaurusRex]

And whether you are pro or anti-slabbing can we agree that assigning a grade to a sketch card is silly? It's a 1/1, what are you comparing it to? Not to mention the artist is literally altering the card so it will never be mint or look like it's fresh from the printer. Basically it's an official aftermarket card. People get so focused on the number sometimes...

[nabzy28]

I probably won't be using their service as all I'm really looking to do is get a sketch in an 'authentic' slab with the set and artist's name on the flip. They're wanting to 'research' and do a whole lot of nothing to collect $35, or whatever authentication runs right now. As noted in a previous post, I don't think there's anyone out there 'faking' artist sketches. They'd get destroyed by that community so quick.

This was their response:

As for your Marvel/DC sketches, if you are unsure if we are able to encapsulate those, you can send in a Research Request to our team through the Customer Request Center on your PSA Account Dashboard.

A Research Request is a great tool to use since the images you'll be submitting go directly to our Research team so they can review the images and information and verify whether we can or cannot process an item. This will ensure that you get the answers you need directly from the source.

To get started, please log in to your PSA Account (a free account is required to use this tool) and utilize the Customer Request Center. You'll then click on "Research Request" and fill out the required fields. Here you can submit your images directly to our operations team so they can assist you further. This will ensure you receive a timely response and get the answers you need directly from the source.

Will probably just look into moving mine over into the new magnetics that hold the sleeved cards. Likely will cost less than getting 2 or 3 of them just 'authenticated'. They're missing out on a huge opportunity here, I think, though. There's absolutely zero reason to grade a sketch card. It's literally got handling by the artist factored in by any collector. If they had something like just a basic encapsulation/authentication service for sketch cards for the general public, they'd clean up at $12-15, easy.

[DynaEtch]

Originally Posted by PurplesaurusRex

And whether you are pro or anti-slabbing can we agree that assigning a grade to a sketch card is silly? It's a 1/1, what are you comparing it to? Not to mention the artist is literally altering the card so it will never be mint or look like it's fresh from the printer. Basically it's an official aftermarket card. People get so focused on the number sometimes...

For me, condition with sketches is more just about the extremes. If a sketch has a crease running through it, or paper loss/stain affecting the art in any way, I would find that much less desirable (as Im sure others would). But whether it's a 7,8,9 or 10...no that's not really relevant to my assessment of a sketch in terms of desirability, so I agree with you there. It's possible the market may disagree with me and pay sizeable premiums for a PSA/CGC 10 or BGS 9.5 sketch, but it seems to be not that common to find such examples (and could be hard to gauge what that premium is, being a 1/1).

In marvel, gem mint graded cards are a bigger factor in terms of premiums with non-autos or sketches like parallels, inserts, and base. Things like PMGs, 1990 MU holograms, 1992MM base/inserts, and 1996MM base. The focus of those is the card...and people want them in highest grade to stand out. The focus of an auto or 1/1 sketch, on the other hand, is the auto or work of art itself (a Daniel Radcliffe auto is still a signed card by him whether an 7 or 10, a Nar sketch is still art drawn by him whether a 7 or 10).

[glorbgorb]

Honestly I think the grading companies shouldn't even grade, just offer slabbing (via authentication, I guess). But they'll do it to take more money.

[PurplesaurusRex]

Yeah, I completely understand the need to preserve a sketch. Especially if its rare or from an amazing artist. It's just the grade part that seems unnecessary.

[webjon]

If they can't authenticate that a card is original and not modified after market then I don't see the use.

[maneonemo]

Originally Posted by nabzy28

As noted in a previous post, I don't think there's anyone out there 'faking' artist sketches.

You'd be surprised. For instance, the twins shared that someone forged their signature on a 2016 Marvel sketch that was for sale.

[PurplesaurusRex]

Originally Posted by maneonemo

You'd be surprised. For instance, the twins shared that someone forged their signature on a 2016 Marvel sketch that was for sale.

That one guy that posts in the sketch card section comes to mind. Got called out by Fred.Ian for swiping his cards, other artists as well.

[finfangfan]

Neal Adam’s came back as a PSA 6





I did do well on a CGC submission of a hard-to-get Marvel Throwbacks achievement… happy to get a 10 on this one…

[finfangfan]

In one of my more frivolous submissions… I’m sending this off to PSA to see how they handle obscure characters. Not too many Bonebreaker sketches around (or even regular cards of the character for that matter)…



And kudos to the artist (Tim Shinn) for honoring the spirit of the 1989 Throwbacks set… this character first appeared in 1988 and likely showed up in 1989 X-books as well. If not, close enough.





So we will see (in likely about 10-12 weeks) if PSA correctly identifies Bonebreaker on the slab label. For science!

[mjohnatgt]

Originally Posted by finfangfan

So we will see (in likely about 10-12 weeks) if PSA correctly identifies Bonebreaker on the slab label. For science!

Zero chance unless it's already identified as the character by COMC in the submission form.