Double Standard: The Grading Game

May 15 had long been circled on Marina Morus' calendar. That was the day that packs of 2001-02 Be A Player Ultimate Memorabilia would hit store shelves, and the South Carolina collector needed to be ready.

"I knew I wanted 10 packs right off the bat, and at $99 per pack, I had to be financially prepared," she laughs.

Morus and her husband, who first got into collecting when the Carolina Hurricanes hit Tobacco Road, focus on high-end hockey cards. And in her opinion, "They don't come any higher than these."

And collectors don't come any luckier than Morus. Her first pack held a Production Line card featuring dual-color swatches of Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay and Sid Abel. The next revealed one of just 10 500 Goal Scorers Emblems of her favorite player, Ron Francis.

"My favorite player and the greatest player ever in my first two packs!" she exclaims, adding that the rest of her packs were almost as good.

As great as her pulls were, Morus was equally pleased with the grades the cards received. Unlike many other high-dollar products, Ultimate Memorabilia offered collectors the added bonus of pre-submitting the cards to Beckett Grading Services.

"They're more attractive than the plain slabs they used last year," she says, noting that her two key cards both received grades of 8.5. "And honestly, I thought the grades were pretty fair. I mean, it would be great to get 10s and all, but that's not realistic with [this type of] card, is it?"

Not, it's not. And while it seems like common sense, there remains some resistance to this school of thought. Even as grading has gained a greater foothold in the hockey hobby, some collectors are struggling with the double standard in play when it comes to memorabilia-laden or autographed issues.

While a Pristine Mint grade of 10 is as elusive as a 60-goal scorer in the NHL these days, a sweet 9.5 is what most fans have their sights set on when they submit a base card for grading. That Gem Mint rating is considered a good grade for these singles.

The thing is, a "good" grade is a relative thing. And while most hobbyists understand why Gem Mint isn't a practical goal for many of today's most popular memorabilia or autographed cards, there's still some disappointment among collectors who've pulled 8s and 9s from a product like Ultimate Memorabilia.

But the truth of the matter is this: that 8 or 8.5 you earned on a memorabilia or autographed card may be a top-notch example. A 9 is a rare and truly remarkable specimen. And a 9.5? Better call Ripley's, because that's unbelievable.

What the hobby needs is a better understanding of this double standard, and why it's a valid factor in today's condition conscious market.

Why wouldn't an autographed or memorabilia card receive a high grade?
The first thought that may pop in your head is probably right on the money: Due to the greater complexity involved in their production, they are subject to more handling and thus are at greater risk for damage. Of course, that answer's about as pat as "that's the truth, to the best of my recollection." So, exactly what do these cards go through during production that warrants special consideration?

As Beckett Grading Services Assistant Manager, Mark Anderson has some insight into this. Several manufacturers have contracted BGS to provide grading services for a large quantity of cards, and Anderson often serves as a consultant early in the production process to help eliminate potential bumps along the road. As such, he's come to respect the difficulty in producing these valuable inserts. He's also reached the conclusion that collectors need to judge these cards by different standards than base issues.

"All memorabilia cards, and many autographed cards, especially those using cut signatures, are created from multiple layers of cardboard. The more a machine has to handle in order to create a card, the more opportunities [there are] for damage to occur.

"Even when it's completed, the thick card that results remains highly susceptible to chipping and dinged corners during packaging. And the thick pieces of premium memorabilia often cause the top surface layer to become creased."

In the Game President Brian Price understands those difficulties better than most. The entire production run of his company's most important product of the 2001-02 season, BAP Ultimate Memorabilia, was graded by BGS. Loaded with a remarkable variety of Hall of Fame-caliber material, including a wealth of thicker pieces, the cards required an expert production hand.

Price notes that thicker cards are naturally harder to cut, so they can sometimes strain the front and cause the creases and chips that Anderson mentioned. "To help illustrate the point, it's simple to cut a single page of regular paper with a pair of scissors," Price says. "However, try to cut through a stack of 10 pages and you can see how much more difficult it is."

Topps spokesman Clay Luraschi puts it another way. "A base card is just printed," he says. "But with Relic cards [as Topps calls them], they're actually being constructed."

Bottom line: while they constantly strive for the perfection they've achieved with base cards, it's nearly impossible with today's technology.

For the remainder of this feature, please see the October issue of Beckett Hockey Collector.