Just saw ludkins collectables show off a authentic illustrator pikachu! What’s the difference between authentic and graded numbers ? Why wouldn’t you just get the card graded ?
Having an authentic one prevents you from bothering with a low grade and lets you just enjoy the card itself a lot more imo.
But surely you’d wanna grade it 1-10, like surely a grade would be better value compared to authentic
Not necessarily… If we’re talking grades 6+ there could be a major difference in between grades but for played cards many collectors prefer authentic. It just comes down to personal preference.
So what your saying is if the card is like grade 6 and below standard it’s better to get it authenticated?
I think it really depends on the card. With such a limited card like the Illustrator, and with how rarely they come up, I’m not sure the cards grade really impacts the value.
My opinion is, if I’m going to go through the hassle of sending a card into PSA, and waiting weeks/months, I’m making sure it comes back with a grade.
But surely being one of the most expensive cards in the hobby you’d wanna grade it 1-10 than get it authentic? Unless authentic is the same value as some psa grades
Personal preference really, some collectors hate it, some don’t care.
If I had an illustrator it could be a 1 and I’d still be as thrilled as having an 8…
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It’s subjective and really depends on the card. For cards that are so low quantity where people are willing to grab it regardless of the condition, getting it PSA graded on a scale doesn’t matter too much unless it’s graded highly.
Some people like a number no matter what, other people prefer having it just labelled as authentic so that people won’t assume it’s a counterfeit, while disregarding the number.
A good chunk of trophy cards labelled as authentic is most likely because it is damaged in a way that would knock the grade down significantly, and personally I think it ruins the aesthetics of the card when it is labelled like a PSA 1. Having authentic in my opinion looks better.
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Other reasons can be:
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There’s like a super minor damage/hidden crease that would make an otherwise PSA 9-10 card drop to a 5 or below, making it incredibly misleading to interested buyers because most collectors would assume anything below a 7 to start garnering heavy damage. Labeling it as authentic and providing crystal clear images clarifies this disparity much better and probably would end up selling at a higher price.
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The card’s history or significance is way more important than the grade, such as signed cards. A PSA sketched and signed Arita Charizard Base Set 2 card would matter very little if it was PSA graded (unless a 10) in value versus an authentic base set 2 Charizard signed the exact same way since the significance is in the sketch and signature, not on the condition of the card (to a certain extent). Of course if there are two identical listings of a base charizard signed by arita, and one is authentic and one is PSA 8-10, buyers would buy the PSA graded 8-10, but the issue is that the card is so unique this situation never arises, hence the authentic labeling.
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That’s true but surely you’d prefer a psa 5 illustrator pikachu rather than authentic?
If it’s a 5, which is still a nice grade, grade it.
If it’s a wreck, and you want to sell it, then the only option is to authentic it.
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Don’t you assume that anything labeled as “Authentic” is completely trashed, and on the level of a PSA 3 or worse? The Authentic label seems like an attempt to hide or cover up a piss poor grade.
right now there should be another Illustrator at PSA for grading, that was previously graded by a now defunct company. I wonder what grade that one gets. I think the owner was once banned here so I can’t post his video.
Any individual card with an authentic label is most often a mess.
Sets that are ALL authenticated May have nice ones. I authentic graded the first ever Pokemon card and actually did an entire 1st Base Set. Recently I had them all number graded and there were 3s up to 8s:)
This was part of that set all graded together. I sent them back in encased with a minimum grade of “1”. Only this Machamp I saved so it is actually the first ever authentic Pokémon.
Sadly, even though I complained, the ones they did crossover (I believe 14 or 15) got new labels and numbers but they didn’t cancel out the authentic numbers. I’m still working on that.
Here is the Thick Machamp that is the earliest ‘Authentic’ Pokemon available. (It’s about a 6 quality)
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Thanks for sharing a piece of your Pokemon history! Do you happen to know what the first ever Pokemon card graded at PSA was?
It was a Japanese CD promo card but I don’t know which one was actually the 1st Graded. There were thousands of them. If I had to guess, I’d say one of the Charizards cause more were graded.
Yes…but hmm…think about it this way.
It would be obvious which to choose from if one was a PSA 5 illustrator and one was authentic, and the authentic was given clear pictures that showed damage.
However, that’s with the assumption that there’s no leakage of information, and that multiple copies of the illustrator existed at once instance for sale.
If everyone sells their illustrators PSA graded with a number, buyers would have the absolute advantage because it would be less likely that someone would buy a PSA graded 5 illustrator for let’s say 60k when they just say a PSA graded 4 illustrator sold for 70k a few months ago.
However, if all the low graded illustrators became authentics, the price becomes more bundled up and hard for buyers to gauge the condition and quality of different illustrators.
Furthermore, a collector may not like that they have a low grade illustrator as it reduces its aesthetic appeal. If they own it for the long run, it may look better to them to stare at the illustrator that’s authentic, vs an illustrator that’s graded psa 1.
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I’d love to hear Scott’s thoughts on this.
I personally prefer graded cards, but if a card was to grade low(sub 5-6) I would go the authentic route. There are also cases similar to what Gary mentioned where I’ve seen people authenticate holo sets with sequential numbers and I see an added value there.
The thing is we’re talking THE holy grail here, I don’t think the grade matters all that much. As long as the card is legit it will bring big bucks.
For example, you could find a really beat up 1st Ed Base Zard for $400, while the 10s are $40k.
Now lets assume top grade Illustrators are upwards of $100k, good luck finding a PSA 1/Authentic for $1000. Any condition might bring $10-20k easily.
It’s the kind of item you have that you ask your own price and you’ll get it or just ship to Scott and he probably has a handful buyers for it already.
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