Guess the grade - Ramly edition

Ok, you guys. I know you love this game. How about taking a shot at the grade on this Ramly square frame? It's faults are all pretty much obvious. One bigger crease and a few other random spidery creases of varying size. A little debris on the surface of the card near the ear. This will probably end up at SGC so I I'd like to hear what any of you think they might give it.

First off, that's a beautiful card. Very nice Ray!

I'm guessing SGC will give it a 20 due to the creasing.

Nice SFR, I think 20 also

nice PU there ray...i think that's an sgc20. i'm kinda interested in what psa gave it, maybe a 1? let us know both grades when you send it into sgc and find out the grade.

too bad you don't live closer, i have a couple cards to send to sgc also but shipping is always like $50 back and forth.

Thanks, guys. I think it'll be a 20 from SGC as well. PSA gave it a 1 (you were right, Quan)..an awfully nice 1 I think, at least compared to some of the real dogs of 1/10's I've had, but I guess a 2 would have been pushing it.

Would be nice to band together on shipping cards to SGC Quan, no doubt! If I can get to the White Plains show on Sunday I can take the Anderson and some other things as SGC always sets up there. Nice to save the time and money on half the shipping equation.

If anyone wants to see my slowly growing accumulation of T204s, here's a link. If you use the tab to expand the screen you'll see the cards a little better:

http://jalbum.net/browse/user/album/733150/

I think it has a reasonable shot at a 30. I might try cleaning off the debris on the ear before submitting.

It is REALLY well centered, but cleaning any debris on cardboard that old will probably cause even more damage. Best to leave the image under the debris unscathed. PSA was probably torn about this gem, but 1 - 1 1/2 is fair.

Awesome card....would look great in a SGC holder.

I agree with the majority here....SGC 20 is my guess.

these are like paper thin right? although the creases might not look bad (for a 30 grade) but raw those bends could be worse. imo realistically let's shoot for a 20 and if it comes back a 30 ray will treat us out sometimes

crazylocomerk wrote:I agree with the majority here....SGC 20 is my guess.

Yep.

cccc wrote:these are like paper thin right? although the creases might not look bad (for a 30 grade) but raw those bends could be worse. imo realistically let's shoot for a 20 and if it comes back a 30 ray will treat us out sometimes

Ok, in the unlikely event it gets a 30 and we all make it to the national next year in Chicago, it'll be hot dogs for everyone! If it gets a 20, well, no hot dogs. I buy cards, not food.

These are indeed pretty thin, btw. Being in slabs (as opposed to feeling it in the hand as nature might have intended), the easiest way to tell is that they are significantly more transparent when held to light and viewed from the back than the normal Ramly/TTT cards.

pro9 wrote:I think it has a reasonable shot at a 30. I might try cleaning off the debris on the ear before submitting.

I'll go with Elliot's thoughts. I think it has a shot at a 30, and I to would see it the debris can be removed. CAREFULLY!!

Hi Tony- Thanks for weighing in! I've only ever "cleaned" one card and that was a simple soak job on an inexpensive T206 to float off some scrapbook paper. Whatever this is on Anderson, through a loupe it looks to be pretty solidly on the surface. You think a damp (water) q-tip would be the way to go...or no water? If I try to do anything at all with the gunk it'll be very conservative.

As an interesting aside, if I'm not mistaken, Elliot sold me my first ever pre-war card back in the day from the old n54 b/s/t...and guess what it was? A T204 Anderson oval frame. The first vintage card to really catch my eye. Full circle, I guess. Elliot, if you check back in this thread, do you remember that? I'm sure you won't remember me specifically, but I guess you'd know if you sold an Anderson some time ago.

T204 Ramly's are very, very delicate. You may damage the ink trying to remove it. I would say don't clean it.

I agree with Mark - to me, it's not worth the risk of damage/paper loss by cleaning it.

But if I were to try, I'd dab a tiny bit of water on the gunk, let it settle for a few minutes, and see if you can gently loosen it and eventually clear it off with a q-tip. Anything more than gentle nudging could result in paper loss so be very careful!

Mark & Ben - My first inclination is to leave it alone, for sure. But we'll see...I may get brave and try the gentlest of removal jobs. Aside from removing paper I don't think I could make that single spot look any worse than it does now. Whatever happens you'll all see the result when I get the card back from SGC.

If I were to do it, all I would try is a bit of water with a Q-tip. I wouldn't have the guts to do anything more. I would be very gentle, just hoping the water would loosen the debris.
Since I never sell anything I can say confidently that it wasn't me that sold you the oval frame Anderson. My collection is sort of a "black hole" for cards.

Ray, maybe it was the other former mod, Bill Cornell, who sold you the Ramly? He's got a very nice T204 collection and likely sold off dupes at some point.

Ray I wouldn't do anymore than what a couple others have said. If it doesn't seem to improve with just a smidge of water on a Q-tip, stop immediately and let it be. Like you said, that shouldn't make it look any worse. Good luck if you decide to try it.
She's a beauty!!

Thanks, Tony. I have a feeling I'm going to leave this one alone, ultimately. I'd be cursing my own name for quite a long time if I managed to screw it up somehow, and I love it just fine the way it is...so no point in trying really.

Elliot...well, it would have been a good story...and Ben, you could be right. I think I have to find my old records, probably a doc on an old hard drive somewhere, and find out.

Alright, Anderson back in. I didn't clean him up, and the result is as nearly everyone predicted. Got a tiny bump, all is well.

What a thing of beauty Ray. That thing just pops in that black holder......
Congrat's on a fine pick up.......

nicely done ray...imo it still looks better than some other sgc20s. i've seen some psa1s cross to sgc30s so maybe you should demand a review with sgc

Looks sharp in its new home. I do like the looks of SGC's black background.