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CGC 9.8s With Spine Stress?

Started by The Kaptain,

105 posts in this topic

Indrid_Cold

Indrid_Cold

Posted
Posted
How do you single one book out as not meeting the standards when the standards are not published.

 

I've been thinking this exact same thing.

 

CGC grading criteria is not exactly published in black and white for us all to see, so even when I find an example of a CGC 9.8 that I feel follows below their own pattern, I am still just guessing. And when I find a CGC 9.4 that has sharp corners and no spine stress and wonder why its not a 9.8, who is to say there is some other defect that I just cant see through the slab. Or maybe there is something going on with in internal page or two. You just don't know.

 

My old personal standard for grading meant that raw NM could not have spine stress. Fast forward decades later to when I buy an Overstreet Grading guide. Page 105 has an example of a 9.9 ... and it says it has a spine crease. DOH.

 

So again, I just chalk it up that my old expectations were just too high, was mainly guessing, and I have decided to conform to the CGC slabs as the easiest way to go for now.

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rjpb

rjpb

Posted
Posted

All grades are not only subjective, but they are inconsistently subjective as well, and more accurately represent an approximation than an absolute. There is also no fixed point at which a 9.9 becomes a 9.8 becomes a 9.6, etc, where some consistent negative value is assigned to each flaw and subtracted from 10, so even with the same grader not all books of a grade will be equal, one "9.8" being a borderline 9.8/9.9 and another a borderline 9.6/9.8.

 

The best one can hope for is that when buying books of a given CGC grade, that upon resubmission or based on consensus evaluation by others, that it is going to be within a grade or two of assigned grade the vast majority of the time.

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mschmidt

mschmidt

Posted
Posted
Any time these threads appear. It becomes time to release....The Beast!

 

What about a 9.8 with a tape pull :o

 

98tapepull_zps1dcd4d61.jpg

:eek: Saw that book once before

 

But that's an obvious mistake from CGC's side - it has nothing to do with their grading standards :shrug:

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Bosco685

Bosco685

Posted
Posted
Any time these threads appear. It becomes time to release....The Beast!

 

What about a 9.8 with a tape pull :o

 

98tapepull_zps1dcd4d61.jpg

 

The owner showed me that in a PM, and I thought he was joking and Photoshopped the slab. Unfortunately, not a joke.

 

:(

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B-Smooth

B-Smooth

Posted
Posted
Any time these threads appear. It becomes time to release....The Beast!

 

original.jpg

 

original.jpg

How does the rest of the book look? If its a near flawless book, and the spine stress is the only noticeable flaw, I could see it getting a weak 9.8. I wouldn't grade it that high, but based on the experience in sending in books over the years, I could see them giving it that grade.
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Hado

Hado

Posted
Posted
Any time these threads appear. It becomes time to release....The Beast!

 

original.jpg

 

original.jpg

How does the rest of the book look? If its a near flawless book, and the spine stress is the only noticeable flaw, I could see it getting a weak 9.8. I wouldn't grade it that high, but based on the experience in sending in books over the years, I could see them giving it that grade.
It's a gorgeous copy other than the tick, so I understand how it got a 9.8, but I do wish it wasn't there.
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DrWatson

DrWatson

Posted
Posted
Any time these threads appear. It becomes time to release....The Beast!

 

What about a 9.8 with a tape pull :o

 

98tapepull_zps1dcd4d61.jpg

:eek: Saw that book once before

 

But that's an obvious mistake from CGC's side - it has nothing to do with their grading standards :shrug:

Yeah, the owner needs to return that slab to the CGC so they can screw him over.

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The Kaptain

The Kaptain

Posted
  • Author
Posted
I just bought two books off of eBay graded 9.8 by CGC. When I got them, I was shocked to see multiple spine ticks / spine stress on both books! I have always assumed / expected 9.8s to have no spine stress, or maybe one non-color breaking spine tick.

 

One of the books has 4 spine ticks (2 are clearly visible and 2 can be seen at certain angles), the other book has three faint ticks, but they are clearly there. The second book also appears to have a staple that is in the early stages of rusting (I believe).

 

Has CGC's QC gotten so bad that they are giving books with more than one spine tick a 9.8? (Obviously they are). One was graded on 05/2013 and the other in 07/2013. Maybe they are cutting corners to reduce turnaround times?

 

I have 9.4s that look better than these two 9.8s.

 

I'm pretty bummed.

 

I'll get some picks up later.

 

Here are the photos. These defects were very difficult to photograph and they look much worse in hand. Yes, I know they are not terrible, but I don't think that they belong on a 9.8.

 

20130902_114856_zps1a846da9.jpg

 

20130902_114933_zpsa519b12e.jpg

 

 

20130902_115057_zps52cb9d52.jpg

 

20130902_115050_zpsa55593d0.jpg

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conditionfreak

conditionfreak

Posted
Posted

Those are 9.8's by CGC previous gradings.

 

But I'm with you. Top grade should be "mint", 10.0 and next grade down should be "near mint" with a 9.8. After all, there are no 9.7's.

 

But, it is what it is, and we have accepted it, for the most part. Some still rebel, but most go along with the program.

 

meh.

 

Does CGC use magnification when grading?

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mtlevy

mtlevy

Posted
Posted

I don't think a modern with a visible spine tick should be a 9.8...but I am not a CGC grader. I have never gotten a 9.8 on a book with a spine tick - perhaps the beast just benefitted from a soft grading day?

 

To me, spine ticks seem to be one of the easiest, least subjective ways to slot a book in the appropriate high tier grade - something you could capture in grading standards without too much fuss.

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Hado

Hado

Posted
Posted
I don't think a modern with a visible spine tick should be a 9.8...but I am not a CGC grader. I have never gotten a 9.8 on a book with a spine tick - perhaps the beast just benefitted from a soft grading day?

 

To me, spine ticks seem to be one of the easiest, least subjective ways to slot a book in the appropriate high tier grade - something you could capture in grading standards without too much fuss.

I'm just happy you referred it it as "The Beast" lol
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