1953 Topps & 1953 Bowman Color Complete Sets - To grade or not to grade?

Mister2Bits · 10-19-2015, 12:25 PM

I have finally completed both sets of 1953 Topps and 1953 Bowman Color. I'm considering grading both sets but I'm not sure how much additional capital I want to fork over having these graded. Should I grade the whole set? Just the HOF'ers? Just the big ticket cards? Leave it raw?

I'm concerned about
1. Cost (Will the value of the sets increase to cover the cost of the grading? - I'm NOT selling anytime in the next 30 years)
2. Shipping and insurance on such a big ticket item. I would be crushed if they got stolen in the mail.
3. Insurance post grading
4. How to store post grading (in home safe? Safety deposit box?)

I'm no expert in evaluating card condition but I feel like these could be in the 6-8 PSA range on average with a few outliers. I think the worst card out of the bunch is the 1953 Topps Jackie Robinson which is a pretty rough card but should grade a 3 maybe worse, maybe better.

I contacted PSA regarding my concerns with shipping the sets and they basically sent me a link to the submission page telling me the information was out there and I should research myself (ouch to PSA customer service). I dont think they realized the value of the sets and the amount of cards I wanted to have graded but it left a really bad taste in my mouth.

Would BVG be a better option? I like these cases much better and again i'm not going to sell so I would rather have the nicer looking cases.

There are 160 cards in the '53 Bowman Set and 280 cards in the '53 Topps.

Any input would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

John

mfw13 · 10-19-2015, 04:33 PM

If you are not planning to sell, then there is no point in getting them graded. Take the $5000+ you would otherwise spend on grading and buy some more cards!

However, if you were to get them graded, SGC has by far the best looking holders (and the best customer service).

mjohnatgt · 10-19-2015, 05:13 PM

I would recommend grading them with PSA and calling Joe Orlando to ask for a bulk pricing on both sets. If your cards are in the PSA 6-8 condition, that is VERY impressive. Congrats on completing them.
If you sign up for the annual membership, you can grade cards in bulk from pre-1956 for $6 a card (value of $100/raw or less). So you could grade 15 cards (up to $250 value) with your freebie subs from your membership, then the majority of the sets in a bulk shipment.
I would do it for the peace of mind of having them slabbed and them make sure to add them as a rider to your homeowner's insurance policy!!! They are likely not covered unless you have a high collectibles value or you itemized with your company.

Mister2Bits · 10-21-2015, 07:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mfw13

If you are not planning to sell, then there is no point in getting them graded. Take the $5000+ you would otherwise spend on grading and buy some more cards!

However, if you were to get them graded, SGC has by far the best looking holders (and the best customer service).

Thanks for the reply. Would using SGC reduce the value? I've always been under the assumption it was PSA or BGS and nothing else. Sorry if that's a dumb question.

Mister2Bits · 10-21-2015, 07:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mjohnatgt

I would recommend grading them with PSA and calling Joe Orlando to ask for a bulk pricing on both sets. If your cards are in the PSA 6-8 condition, that is VERY impressive. Congrats on completing them.
If you sign up for the annual membership, you can grade cards in bulk from pre-1956 for $6 a card (value of $100/raw or less). So you could grade 15 cards (up to $250 value) with your freebie subs from your membership, then the majority of the sets in a bulk shipment.
I would do it for the peace of mind of having them slabbed and them make sure to add them as a rider to your homeowner's insurance policy!!! They are likely not covered unless you have a high collectibles value or you itemized with your company.

Thanks for the comment. I'll look into Joe Orlando.

The sets took a while to complete. It started as a project with my father and I many years ago. His health started to fail rapidly and we thought it would be best for me to finish the set. It took quite some time but it's finally done. Thus the reason for not selling. He's as much a part of these cards as I am. I hope to pass them off to my 2 boys in the future. One gets the 53 Bowman, the other gets the 53 Topps.

We live in Florida so the thought of flooding scares me. Getting them slabbed would reduce my fears of keeping the cards in the condition they are in.

Scottish Punk · 10-21-2015, 01:34 PM

There is a higher resale value for PSA slabbed cards over SGC. However, SGC is a fine company with great customer service and better looking holders. If your decision is strictly monetary, than PSA is the one to go with. The biggest issue with slabbed cards is storing all the plastic. There are monster boxes you can put them in. Then store the boxes in a safe.

From personal experience, if you state grades are all 6-8, they are probably lower. Almost universally, people over estimate the condition of their cards. It takes awhile to get the grading down, I am still learning myself. You can post scans of a few and get feedback on the grades to see if they align with your estimates.

Great job on completing the sets!!

Whodey14 · 10-21-2015, 01:40 PM

I'm working on a fully graded 53 bowman set myself, all psa 5. If your set would average a 7 or so that's an amazing feat but as mentioned I would love to see pics to see.

Mister2Bits · 10-21-2015, 02:17 PM

I'm no expert on grading (but who is!) so you guys could be right - I may overestimate the grades. I would imagine I would get a pretty consistent statistical bell curve between 4.5-7 with majority (70-80%) being 5.5 - 6.

I have a newborn at home, but I'll try and get some scans together of the sets in the next few days. I would love to see what everyone's thoughts are.

mjohnatgt · 10-21-2015, 04:23 PM

SGC is also a good company. BGS/BVG isn't great for cards from this age, because vintage collectors don't trust that Beckett can detect trimmed cards. SGC is trusted, but their registry set website is clunky and doesn't normally contribute to the highest prices for cards in this range. For stuff in the 1870s-1920s they are almost as respected/collected as PSA.

But with the bulk discounts from PSA and their collectability, I would still use them.

cowboyzqna · 10-21-2015, 06:06 PM

If it was my collection... I would go with psa. I would do 5 or 6 bulk subs to help absorb the cost of the submission. The set took years to accumulate so we know you have patience.

Very cool story. Cards are more than cardboard!
Gl. With whatever you decide to do... Would love to see some scans if you get the chance.

smalltown · 10-21-2015, 06:26 PM

If you're not planning to sell and time is of no issue. Instead of doing the whole set at once just do 10-15 a year. Not as big a chunk out of your pocket all at once.

camden_yardage · 10-21-2015, 09:32 PM

Keep them raw. Spend the money it would take to grade the cards on other heirlooms for your kids.

10-19-2015, 12:25 PM	#1
Mister2Bits Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Florida Man Posts: 5,544 mistertwobits mistertwobits	1953 Topps & 1953 Bowman Color Complete Sets - To grade or not to grade? I have finally completed both sets of 1953 Topps and 1953 Bowman Color. I'm considering grading both sets but I'm not sure how much additional capital I want to fork over having these graded. Should I grade the whole set? Just the HOF'ers? Just the big ticket cards? Leave it raw? I'm concerned about 1. Cost (Will the value of the sets increase to cover the cost of the grading? - I'm NOT selling anytime in the next 30 years) 2. Shipping and insurance on such a big ticket item. I would be crushed if they got stolen in the mail. 3. Insurance post grading 4. How to store post grading (in home safe? Safety deposit box?) I'm no expert in evaluating card condition but I feel like these could be in the 6-8 PSA range on average with a few outliers. I think the worst card out of the bunch is the 1953 Topps Jackie Robinson which is a pretty rough card but should grade a 3 maybe worse, maybe better. I contacted PSA regarding my concerns with shipping the sets and they basically sent me a link to the submission page telling me the information was out there and I should research myself (ouch to PSA customer service). I dont think they realized the value of the sets and the amount of cards I wanted to have graded but it left a really bad taste in my mouth. Would BVG be a better option? I like these cases much better and again i'm not going to sell so I would rather have the nicer looking cases. There are 160 cards in the '53 Bowman Set and 280 cards in the '53 Topps. Any input would be much appreciated. Thanks, John __________________ Collecting: Ohtani, Judge \| Skateboarding Cards, Autographs & Decks

10-21-2015, 01:40 PM	#7
Whodey14 Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Kentucky Posts: 9,769	I'm working on a fully graded 53 bowman set myself, all psa 5. If your set would average a 7 or so that's an amazing feat but as mentioned I would love to see pics to see. __________________ thesportcardking on IG

10-21-2015, 02:17 PM	#8
Mister2Bits Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Florida Man Posts: 5,544 mistertwobits mistertwobits	I'm no expert on grading (but who is!) so you guys could be right - I may overestimate the grades. I would imagine I would get a pretty consistent statistical bell curve between 4.5-7 with majority (70-80%) being 5.5 - 6. I have a newborn at home, but I'll try and get some scans together of the sets in the next few days. I would love to see what everyone's thoughts are. __________________ Collecting: Ohtani, Judge \| Skateboarding Cards, Autographs & Decks

10-21-2015, 06:06 PM	#10
cowboyzqna Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Moundridge KS Posts: 9,265 cowboyzqna	If it was my collection... I would go with psa. I would do 5 or 6 bulk subs to help absorb the cost of the submission. The set took years to accumulate so we know you have patience. Very cool story. Cards are more than cardboard! Gl. With whatever you decide to do... Would love to see some scans if you get the chance. __________________ I am a Lucky Man

10-21-2015, 06:26 PM	#11
smalltown Member Join Date: Sep 2013 Location: Canada Posts: 17,243 ifeature	If you're not planning to sell and time is of no issue. Instead of doing the whole set at once just do 10-15 a year. Not as big a chunk out of your pocket all at once. __________________ Collecting: Raptors, Canadian Basketball Players, Vintage & More. PC: https://www.instagram.com/smalltown.cards/

10-19-2015, 04:33 PM	#2
mfw13 Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 18,092	If you are not planning to sell, then there is no point in getting them graded. Take the $5000+ you would otherwise spend on grading and buy some more cards! However, if you were to get them graded, SGC has by far the best looking holders (and the best customer service).

10-19-2015, 05:13 PM	#3
mjohnatgt Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Niceville, FL Posts: 14,860 mjohnatgt mjohnatgt	I would recommend grading them with PSA and calling Joe Orlando to ask for a bulk pricing on both sets. If your cards are in the PSA 6-8 condition, that is VERY impressive. Congrats on completing them. If you sign up for the annual membership, you can grade cards in bulk from pre-1956 for $6 a card (value of $100/raw or less). So you could grade 15 cards (up to $250 value) with your freebie subs from your membership, then the majority of the sets in a bulk shipment. I would do it for the peace of mind of having them slabbed and them make sure to add them as a rider to your homeowner's insurance policy!!! They are likely not covered unless you have a high collectibles value or you itemized with your company.

10-21-2015, 01:34 PM	#6
Scottish Punk Member Join Date: May 2013 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 10,309 scottishpunk	There is a higher resale value for PSA slabbed cards over SGC. However, SGC is a fine company with great customer service and better looking holders. If your decision is strictly monetary, than PSA is the one to go with. The biggest issue with slabbed cards is storing all the plastic. There are monster boxes you can put them in. Then store the boxes in a safe. From personal experience, if you state grades are all 6-8, they are probably lower. Almost universally, people over estimate the condition of their cards. It takes awhile to get the grading down, I am still learning myself. You can post scans of a few and get feedback on the grades to see if they align with your estimates. Great job on completing the sets!!

10-21-2015, 04:23 PM	#9
mjohnatgt Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Niceville, FL Posts: 14,860 mjohnatgt mjohnatgt	SGC is also a good company. BGS/BVG isn't great for cards from this age, because vintage collectors don't trust that Beckett can detect trimmed cards. SGC is trusted, but their registry set website is clunky and doesn't normally contribute to the highest prices for cards in this range. For stuff in the 1870s-1920s they are almost as respected/collected as PSA. But with the bulk discounts from PSA and their collectability, I would still use them.

10-21-2015, 09:32 PM	#12
camden_yardage Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 307 Smithvintagecards smithdfs	Keep them raw. Spend the money it would take to grade the cards on other heirlooms for your kids.