Have you ever sought out a specific card, found what you were looking for, scanned it carefully for flaws or other issues, purchased the card, brought it home (or opened the package left in your mailbox), and realized immediately: there is a CREASE in this card!That's what happened to me with this 1969 Topps Don Drysdale card. I'm the first to admit, I need to be more observant when I am buying cards. But I thought I had all of my bases covered. I studied the card for sharp corners and for relatively even borders. I looked for discoloration. I stared at the card back.
It all checked out. Then I brought it home, and the crease, in the lower right corner ...
... leapt out at me. The crease actually travels all the way through the "R" in Dodgers and the second "e" in Los Angeles to the bottom of the card.Now, if you get a card like this off of eBay or other Internet shops, there is action you can take. But I bought this card at a card show, from a dealer I didn't know (probably a bit of a mistake there). I had no idea where to find him once the card was in my possession.
So here I sit with a creased version of Drysdale's final card. It doesn't bother me too much, or else I would have gone right out and gotten myself a new one. I guess I'm just bringing it up because I want to know: do other people get tricked by the crease? Some are awfully difficult to spot. Is there a specific trick that people employ to spot creases -- even faint ones -- when they're looking at cards? Do they carry around a pocket flashlight to shine on cards? That seems awfully anal.
Anyway, the Big D deserves a card without any creases. Getting a new one is on my list of things to do (and, what a long list that is).
Comments
The first time that happened to me was when I bought a 1958 Topps Pee Wee Reese at a card show that had a perfect front and looked absolutley gorgeous, but I never looked at the back before I bought it. About an inch worth of paper loss on the back. Argh.
Speaking of Drysdale, I've got his 1957 rookie card with a massive crease going right through the middle. No one could ever miss this crease. The card is just barely still structurally sound. But it's Donnie's rookie so who gives a crap.
Fortunately it's never happened to me on an expensive card, but there have been a few times that the "hidden" creases bothered me enough that I put the card back on my wantlist.