Desired Grade by the Decade

[rnocards]

For modern cards, 1980's and above, a Gem Mint 10 is extremely desired, sometimes even moreso than the cards themselves.

But, when you go back in time, for post-war vintage, and further back to pre-war vintage, that extreme desire for the 10 grade does not seem to be any longer important.

What do you consider a desirable grade in the post-war vintage decades (1970's, 1960's, 1950's, 1940's)? What grade do you consider desirable for pre-war vintage (before 1940)?

I'm referring to the general population. Obviously, rich people that can afford the Gem Mint 10 grades for post-war and pre-war vintage will continue to pursue them, regardless of cost.

[kobewhite]

Originally Posted by rnocards

For modern cards, 1980's and above, a Gem Mint 10 is extremely desired, sometimes even moreso than the cards themselves.

But, when you go back in time, for post-war vintage, and further back to pre-war vintage, that extreme desire for the 10 grade does not seem to be any longer important.

What do you consider a desirable grade in the post-war vintage decades (1970's, 1960's, 1950's, 1940's)? What grade do you consider desirable for pre-war vintage (before 1940)?

I'm referring to the general population. Obviously, rich people that can afford the Gem Mint 10 grades for post-war and pre-war vintage will continue to pursue them, regardless of cost.

Really depends on the set. It is too difficult to say by year. For example there are soccer sets from the 1900s that getting a 5-6 is not hard but there are sets where getting a 2 is almost impossible.

Hard to say, at least for what I collect

[Scottish Punk]

For me, I am a collector not an investor so my minimums are probably one grade lower.
I tend to stick with the decade. 8's for 80s, 7 for 70's. 9 for 90's on forward. For cards in the 60's, I will dip into the 5's frequently, anything older it is more about eye appeal.
Once you start looking at prices, there is always a ramp up. You may get a small/medium bump for a 70's card for 6 compare to 7. Than $100 dollar bump going from 7 to 8. To me that bigger bump is wasted money. I will take the the nice 7 and pocket the difference. Same goes for modern in some cases from going from a 9 to a 10. I will take a 9 or 9.5 priced right over a 10 with 30-40% increase in price. You are just buying a label at that point.

[discodanman45]

The prices for most stuff in the 80's is a great deal in a grade of 9. There are some outliers to this, but I try to stick to that grade for that decade.

I typically grade all my own stuff, so I won't pay premiums for cards already slabbed. I will grade raw and keep on upgrading, selling the older stuff for a profit the majority of the time, and keep feeding that money back into my collection. I like to get collector's grades for most stuff, but players like Aaron/Mantle it is way too much money to do that.

[frenchquarter]

For the cards that I collect, I am thrilled to find them as 1's and 2's.

[Gary]

In general Grade matches decade for collector grade and 1 grade above decade for investor grade.

So 70's grade of 7 is collector 8 and up investor grade so on and so on.

[Sheld505]

I'm a bit new to the grading scene, and a collector working on a few player runs. So, that being said, I try to match the grade to the decade. However, if a card has really nice eye appeal and is a HOFer, I'll go as far as 2 grades lower if the price is right.

I think there are some really undervalued and missed HOFers, especially in football, and on the defensive side of the ball...And I've really enjoyed buying raw and sending in multiple copies for grading - part for knowledge and learning, and part for fun.

[livealoha]

What do you guys think is the lowest grade acceptable for modern? PSA 8? PSA 7? (For those they can’t afford a PSA 10) thanks

[The_Reverend]

Originally Posted by livealoha

What do you guys think is the lowest grade acceptable for modern? PSA 8? PSA 7? (For those they can’t afford a PSA 10) thanks

For PMG’s a great collector grade would probably be a 7 and everything above that investor.

[Archangel1775]

For the 1980's , PSA 9's seem to be the go to for player and team collectors. Some sets are tough to Gem on and they get expensive. For football, 1986 Topps is a problem. 1985 with the black borders and 1981 Topps as well. I just did a 60 card sub for what I thought were some of the best 1981's and 1986's...though I did gem a small handful, there were some that hit 8's and even got a 6 on another. Attainability is a big factor in the registry for the regular collector. PSA 9's are that.

[livealoha]

Originally Posted by The_Reverend

For PMG’s a great collector grade would probably be a 7 and everything above that investor.

Hello I’m still trying to learn about grading but what is PMG? Thanks

[Scottish Punk]

Originally Posted by livealoha

Hello I’m still trying to learn about grading but what is PMG? Thanks

Precious Metal Gems. Insert cards with a red or green background (typically). Fleer made them in the 90's. Some retro sets have done them recently for other sports and Marvel. Very popular and prone to edge chipping.

[livealoha]

Originally Posted by Scottish Punk

Precious Metal Gems. Insert cards with a red or green background (typically). Fleer made them in the 90's. Some retro sets have done them recently for other sports and Marvel. Very popular and prone to edge chipping.

Thank you. Now I know! I appreciate your help. Thank you again.

[The_Reverend]

Originally Posted by livealoha

Hello I’m still trying to learn about grading but what is PMG? Thanks

[Stackfan]

Originally Posted by livealoha

What do you guys think is the lowest grade acceptable for modern? PSA 8? PSA 7? (For those they can’t afford a PSA 10) thanks

When i first read the question, when i modern, i think the lowest acceptable form is a 9....but it really depends on the card. A few other thoughts to consider:

For a new collector, on a budget, i probably wouldn't focus too much on buying 7's and 8's for modern. Especially for higher population base rookies, unnumbered/high numbered parallels. At that point, just buy base or a 9. 8s can be less than raw in some cases... and in general just not that desired. Plus you can also buy raw, seek good condition cards, and submit yourself.

However, if it's buying much rarer / popular sub /100 card, that's already expensive; the grade doesn't matter as the card always be in demand.

Also, kind of depends on your collecting goals. Are you just looking to flip up? An investment?? Are you building a collection? If it's your collection, you make the rules, and you can do what fits best for your situation.