T205 Graded by Global Authority

I recently purchased a T205 Sherwood Magee from COMC thru Amazon. The card was graded Authentic by Global Authority but i gotta say its darn near mint. I went on COMC website and they are loaded with T205s graded" Authentic" by Global and all look like mine,sharp corners,perfect gold borders and not a crease. Im brand new to this forum and have been collecting baseball cards my whole life (Im 49) Im convinced they are either fake or reprints. I did notify Amazon and COMC yesterday (today is 5/10). COMC said if I wasnt happy they would refund me. Not the answer I was looking for. Any else have the issues that I describe? Thanks for your time

Welcome to the forum.  
GAI cards have a tendency to be trimmed, and in the case of T205s, sometimes have color added.   In fact, many with numerical grades have these attributes when they come from GAI, which makes collectors dubious of their cards overall. The company started strong and respected in the grading business but through attrition of key personnel and other problems became something far less.  Still, they are pretty good at gauging authenticity, and the fact that GAI slabbed these as authentic suggests to me that they are in fact genuine but are trimmed/colored and the graders were not fooled.  Of course, scans would help us give better opinions.

Thanks for your reply, I dont have a scanner but I gotta say this card is just about mint which is why im convinced its fake. Check out COMC website and you will see what I mean. T205s graded Authentic look perfect. Thanks again

What I find interesting is all the T205 cards graded "Authentic" on the COMC website are in better condition than the ones with a number. Before anyone responds just go to the site and check out the T205 section.

Of course! The whole idea of altering a card is to make it look better than it once was/really is-- sharpen the corners with a trim here, add some color there. You do understand that a grade of authentic only; i.e., no numeric grade means the card is genuine from the time period but has been altered?

I am not a T205 guy, perhaps they will chime in. I looked at a few on the COMC site, and the Matty looks trimmed to me, as does the Bresnahan mouth open. Added color is tough to tell from a scan, but shines like the sun under a blacklight, which reputable grading companies use. Trimming is also easier to tell with the card in hand. Why do you think these cards are fake-- just because they look nice?

I understand what the grade "Authentic" means. I own numerous cards in rough shape that are profesionally graded "Authentic".Actually that grade doesnt mean altered it means its real or authentic but in sad shape. Any other legitimate company labels the card "altered" or "marked" or "trimmed". Other cards I own that are labeled authentic and are not messed with (trimmed,colored, etc) but this is my first GAI card. Maybe thats why Global doesnt have a good reputation like PSA.There should be standard in which all companies label cards. Honesty goes along way...at least with me. Thanks for your input.

Not exactly true.  While cards that are worse than poor--holes, tears, corners missing, etc can also get an authentic grade, the "A" usually means altered--especially when these obvious defects are not apparent. And no, the other companies do not label a card altered or trimmed; rather, they often refuse to slab it at all and send it back rejected--although it may contain a flip/label that says trimmed the card itself is not encased and is returned, usually in a rigid holder.   Again, why do you think these cards are not genuine?

EDITED TO ADD:  I stand corrected, I now see a '52 Mays on Ebay that is graded PSA authentic altered.  If they are doing this it is relatively new, and I will look to see if SGC does it also.  If so this is long overdue.  However it does not reflect the state of the industry when those GAI cards would have been graded, and is a rather recent occurrence.

WOW,I guess have the wrong person, PSA DOES grade cards "Altered" and "Trimmed" and "MK"(marked) along with an Authentic grade on the front label. The A grade does in fact mean Authentic, hence the word Auth below the letter A when graded. Again if trimmed ,marked or altered it clearly states it . Im not sure why you think otherwise I have numerous examples and one only needs to surf any card site or Ebay to find more. Im not looking for an argument just opinions on GAI grading system

As I said, I stand corrected, and I see that PSA now apparently notes cards as altered. This has not always been the case, and I do not believe that SGC does so even now although I may be (and hope to be) wrong. Such designations were not around when these GAI cards were graded, to the best of my knowledge. Others should comment soon and yes, you may have the wrong person, but I ask again, why are you convinced that these cards are fakes or reprints?

The reason why Im cautious about the authenticity is (like I stated) this is my first GAI graded card. I expected to see some kind of wording like PSA does when a card that has been messed with gets graded.If it said trimmed,altered,repaired I still would have bought it. I didnt expect it to look mint for 50 dollars. Also if there werent so many mint looking "Authentic" cards on COMC website graded by GAI I wouldnt be suspicious. When a" poor" or "good" graded card looks worse than an "Authentic" graded card red flags go up for me. Like I said honesty is key to me and others. Unlike some people I dont mind adding off grade cards to my collection. Sometimes its the only way I can afford a card I want. I appreciate your comments and understand were you are coming from.So far your the only one

GAI's reputation has slipped over the years but I don't think they are knowingly slabbing reprints/fakes as authentic.

I really wish I had a scanner. If anyone saw how pristine this T205 was you wouldnt believe it got graded "Authentic". If Im able to get a second opinion on the card I will post the results. Like I said before,if you want to see what im talking about go to COMC website and search T205. The close ups of the "Authentic" cards will make you question why are there so many in such fantastic shape and the higher grade cards are faded, rounded corners and creased.

I know one person out there that can do amazing work on cards. There are others with the same abilities. Many of those cards get past the TPGs and into numbered slabs. Others end up in Auth slabs or ungraded.

The hobby will eventually move into the 21st century and do like other hobby/collectibles and differentiate between restored and unaltered examples.

Ya, Its too bad it comes to this. I say just leave them alone. Its only original once. I collect for enjoyment and have cards from when I was a kid. Im 49 now and the sentimental value of some of my cards far outweigh the monetary value. I have a 1976 Carlton Fisk that I kept in my pocket when I got it new when I was 11. I went to school with it, played wiffle ball with it in my pocket. I still have it , its a mess but to me its a T206 Wagner. I could go on but I wont.Thanks for your time

The Gretzky Wagner is what the future of the hobby holds. Even though everyone knows now that the card is trimmed, etc this will in no way hurt the value of the card. As restoration become more accepted, you will start seeing higher prices paid for professionally restored cards. People with lots of money to spend seem to prefer a nicely restored example over an unaltered original.

I'm like you, give me a well loved card. To me, a mint looking card means no one loved and cherished that card enough to keep it with them and handle it as much as possible.