PSA Definition In cards, PSA stands for Professional Sports Authenticator, which is one of the largest and most popular card grading companies around. A card grading company evaluates cards and assigns them a grade or card rating based on their condition. The main factors include a card’s centeredness, edges, corners, and surface. What is a […]
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PSA OC is a specific qualifier assigned by the grading company to identify a card as “off center”—even though that card meets the criteria for a particular grade. For example, a PSA 9 means the card is in mint condition, but a PSA 9 OC means that card also significant centering issues. Read More: PSA
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An SGC “A” graded card stands for “Authentic.” This is not a card rating that one would expect on an encapsulated card, but rather a designation. Meaning, it’s an option that can be selected upon submission if you “would like SGC to encapsulate any trimmed or color-enhanced card (that is authentic) with the “A” designation.
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In cards, a buyback is when an already-released card is “bought” back from the market and re-inserted into a new product. This buyback card usually has an added feature, like an autograph, serial number, or stamp. As mentioned above, the Archies Signature Series line of cards is a popular release that features exclusively buyback cards.
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In sports cards, FOTL stands for First Off the Line. It’s a product variation from Panini that typically offers exclusive parallels, under the selling point that it’s the “first” of the boxes to be produced and sold. Now, if you don’t know what FOTL stands for, there is a good chance the previous sentence definition
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I think we’ve defined and described pretty much everything underneath the card collecting sun on this blog! But sure enough, not too long into each week, I come across a new question or potential stumbling block for a new collector. And, I love it! Why? As a reminder for any of you who would consider
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Inner Case Definition An inner case of cards is simply an interior case within the larger “master” case. Meaning, a master case of cards might come with 24 boxes, but are broken up into two inner cases for packaging purposes. This depends on how many cards and boxes a case contains. Master Case Definition Thus,
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It’s amazing how much the hobby has evolved. We have gone from simple, straightforward cards that didn’t warrant any question or big decisions to cards with jerseys and autographs; prizms and refractors, graded slabs, and so much more. It’s good and bad, but we won’t debate it much now. The looming question for you today
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One of the biggest reasons baseball cards have grown in popularity over time is the thrill of the chase. That could mean collectors ripping open packs and boxes chasing jersey cards, authentic autographs, and parallel cards. It could also mean those chasing a “rainbow” of cards which is aptly named given the different colored variations
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A blaster box is a sealed box of cards containing a number of sealed packs, and is usually found at retail stores like Target or Walmart. The amount of cards within a blaster box will vary by product, as will the price. Blaster boxes are lower-cost alternatives to the popular hobby box. Blaster boxes are
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