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Originally posted by Ollid:
Hi esteemed MOTL community. My "Beta Mox Ruby" was recently rated as an N3 by PSA (evidence of recoloration), and I was wondering how this affects the value of the card. Does N3 necessarily mean it's a counterfeit? Should I try to get a refund for the card from my seller? I purchased it for $300 on TCGplayer.com as "moderately played." I would really appreciate any comments on this, thanks for your time.

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Naturally it can also mean some other manipulation or just being left in the sun for too long, altough the pic you had didn't show it as such, but taking a picture through a sleeve and the plastic thingie, doesn't really give us enough to work with.

When you get the slabbed card try to get good pics through the slab. It might turn out to be impossible, but at least the plastic should be scratch free when you receive it. Also take close pics of the card edges. Ink often bleeds a bit and turns the edge of the card different color. Painted UL card should show some discolorations there.

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Originally posted by Ollid:
Thank you for your reply Default User. I am cursing myself for rushing the card to PSA before taking adequate pictures of the card... d'oh! I will certainly post better pictures once it comes back from PSA, and crack the slab if I have to.

Out of curiosity, how do judges determine the authenticity of cards for tournaments? Is this done solely by means of visual inspection? If so, is PSA grading really that necessary for establishing card value when judges or the online community can evaluate cards themselves? Other than teasing out slight differences in card condition, it seems logical that tournament legality should be the major benchmark for card value. I only mention this because altered art cards, including recolorations, are usually allowed in tournaments (within guidelines).

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Tournament legality is one of the major benchmarks for card value. As in, a fake card can't be used in a tournament and is worthless, while a real card can be used in a tournament and is worth something.

Professional grading shouldn't be used to verify a card's authenticity. There are simple at-home tests (other than the bend test) for this. A card should only be graded when the card has little to no wear and is desirable as a collector's item. Cards that get a grade of 9 (mint) or higher will likely carry a nice premium over an ungraded card.

Also, your card shouldn't come back encapsulated (slabbed) if it received an N3 grade (assuming it wasn't encapsulated when you sent it in).

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Originally posted by rdennis81:
Tournament legality is one of the major benchmarks for card value. As in, a fake card can't be used in a tournament and is worthless, while a real card can be used in a tournament and is worth something.

Professional grading shouldn't be used to verify a card's authenticity. There are simple at-home tests (other than the bend test) for this. A card should only be graded when the card has little to no wear and is desirable as a collector's item. Cards that get a grade of 9 (mint) or higher will likely carry a nice premium over an ungraded card.

Also, your card shouldn't come back encapsulated (slabbed) if it received an N3 grade (assuming it wasn't encapsulated when you sent it in).

Finally, receiving an N3 grade in and of itself doesn't mean the card is fake, likely just touched up somewhere (though it is always possible that it is touched up and fake and the touch up was just the first thing PSA noticed).

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Originally posted by Ollid:
Shouldn't their main job, at the most basic level, be to tell me if the card is authentic or not? (PSA - authenticators is in their name. Sigh...)

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I agree. It'd be nice if they gave a more detailed response (at a minimum, letting you know if the card is authentic). I was just letting you know what grading services are typically used for.

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Originally posted by Bagbokk:
It just looks inked to me. Can't tell whether it's fake, but doubtful. I'd snap buy inked beta moxes at $300.

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Originally posted by Tha Gunslinga:
It has a fair amount of ink on the borders, but it's still worth decently over $300.

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Thank you so much for your replies Bagbokk and Tha Gunslinga. This is definitely comforting to hear!

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Originally posted by rdennis81:
In the future, if you are just looking to verify a card's authenticity (which I'm guessing is what you were trying to do with the Ruby since the card would have received a really low grade), try taking the card to a local dealer to verify it for you, or search the web for some ways to verify the card at home (jeweler's loupe and light test are good methods to start with).

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Originally posted by coasterdude84:
The problem is you're thinking about authentication wrong. PSA will put their name on something effectively guaranteeing it's authenticity, but if they can't authenticate it, that doesn't mean it's fake, just they aren't willing to guarantee it is.

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Thanks rdennis81 and coasterdude84, I am taking your advice to heart. I guess life lessons don't come cheap... (MTG is life!)

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Originally posted by headumpire:
When you get the card back it should indicate on a small slip of paper what is wrong with it.

When I got one back once the sheet of paper had a small card drawn on it with circles indicating where the ink was. I think that was BGS who did that, not sure if PSA does...

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__________________
Since it is obviously inconceivable that all religions can be right, the most reasonable conclusion is that they are all wrong.
-Christopher Hitchens

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Originally posted by coolio:
neither major grading service has ever clarified how they go about authenticating magic cards.. as in, I dont think neither of them actually know how to scrutinize legitimacy of mtg cards.. keep that in mind.. and I know of slabbed reback cards out of PSA, and non factory cut "miscuts" that got beckett 9s.. kinda disappointing tbh

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There is definitely inking around the edges, which is why PSA said it was recolored. Besides that, they didn't include any explanation or documentation.

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Originally posted by gregmacknass:
It appears to be real, but with severe inking on the edges. I would have no problem saying that you paid the right price for the card, but would say without a doubt that the play wear and inking put this cards condition in the poor category. It is a good players card, but nothing more. I wouldn't expect more than $50 more than you paid for it if you were to sell it, and when you do I would make it clear that it is inked to avoid problems.

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