TPG giving grades to hand cut cards/cards missing coupons

i don't believe sgc has always given strip cards/hand-cut stuff number grades correct? same goes with the ferguson bakery and zeenuts w/o coupons? not sure why this irks me but i don't understand why they're changing their stance mid-stream like that. i'm in the camp that believe they got it right the first time, hand-cut stuff should all be graded As...and cards missing coupons is also in this category since it's missing a chunk and should be graded as such. now with them handing out numeric grades the only guy that takes the hit is the collector as they have to pay a little extra.

i guess i'm still mad they did the same thing with the toy town stamp (obviously not a factory stamp as illustrated by rman)...what used to be a sgc20 that got penalized because of the stamp is now a 50 with the premium of the stamp attached to the label.

if i'm wrong on the authentic/numeric thing please correct me so i'll at least feel better about the consistency thing. you might be in this hobby for too long when you don't remember simple stuff like this...

SGC has been grading cards with the coupon missing for a while. I believe PSA started doing that and SGC followed suit. They probably did it to avoid losing business. They mark the slab "missing coupon". Personally I don't have a problem with it as I view it the same as giving a grade and noting that the back has a redemption stamp on it.

I do have an issue with the grading of strip cards that have been hand cut, unless it is noted as hand cut, which is not always the case.

I think with the extra notation, a buyer has all the information needed to make an informed decision on what he/she believes the purchase price to be.

Here is the dilemma with strip cards; SGC does numerically grade hand-cut, but does NOT numerically grade strips that are uncut.

I have a w513 set of 5 uncut strips of 5 & Earl Coombs. Now my choice is to send them into SGC and get them slabbed oversized for $40/per and get an "A" on all but the single Coombs. Or get them cut by SGC and slabbed individually with a high numeric grade for $13/per ($213 v. $338). No contest, got go with the first choice. But it seems to me to be nearer mint state uncut, and deserving of a "higher" numeric grade.

As to the difference between numerically graded and authentic strip cards I have to say SGC/PSA/BVG get it right more often than not. One, there are not many numerically graded strip cards (probably less than a dozen of any card in even, arguably, the most popular series w514). I would wager there is not a complete set of w519's of numerically graded cards anywhere. Two, the difference between a "VG-EX" and an "A" are very apparent in any card, and should be recognized. I do get nervous when seeing 6's or higher in strip cards but have seen great examples (see Memory Lane Auctions December 2010 w514's).

Yes, it may be a slippery slope but it's time for sledding.