2004 Bowman Chrome Felix Hernandez auto - cut smaller?

[brouthercard]

For those who own this card or who have pulled it before in the past- is this card usually smaller than regular standard size?

Everytime I measure a raw one compared to a standard-sized card, it seems a tad shorter and thinner than a normal chrome card. Is trimming rampant for this card?

I know the 1993 finest Griffey refractor is smaller than a normal sized card cause they were cut that way - can anyone verify that the Felix is the same way, or am I just running into a bunch of trimmed specimens?

I've seen smaller ones at shows, and have also purchased raw ones on ebay before and they have all been smaller. I've never pulled one from a pack before, so I don't know if they usually come standard size or not.

They are literally half mm shorter, and 1 mm thinner than a standard card, at least of the five or six raw cards i've seen.

 

[t3dudek]

how many raw ones do you own. an are you sure that the person you bought it from didnt trim the card jw.

 

[brouthercard]

I own two of them, and both are the same size, but they are both smaller than a standard card. I can tell when I put them in a one touch magnet holder there is just a tiny bit more space in the recessed area, and both look the same.

I can't disprove that the cards have been trimmed, but they were both purchased from separate guys. Then again, they weren't the original owners either, so they may have bought them trimmed as well. I've also checked three other raw Felix's at card shows and they have been a bit smaller as well.

Could it be possible that the five that i've handled have all been trimmed?

Just because a person is selling a trimmed card doesn't necessarily mean they trimmed it themselves.

Does anyone have an ungraded Felix lying around, and can you do me a favor and compare it with another known pack pulled card?

 

[Topnotchsy]

I've been dealing with the same issue. I've had a whole bunch of RC Auto's from 2003-2004 and a ton of them were small (Felix Chrome Auto's, Milledge Chrome Auto's and a McCann Gold Ref. Auto which is not at BGS to see what they think.) I've wondered if it is possible they came that way since it has been so many of them. I also had a Hanley BC Gold Ref. that seemed a drop small but that one had been in a BGS holder (cracked out) so I figured if they didn't think it was trimmed I don't have to worry about it.

 

[Austin]

My raw '04 BC Felix Hernandez auto is also smaller, by a tiny fraction of an inch, even though it was pack-pulled.
It's always bothered me.
But this thread makes me realize that most may be cut that way.
I wonder how many of them sent in for grading have been mistakenly rejected as trimmed?

 

[Topnotchsy]

My raw '04 BC Felix Hernandez auto is also smaller, by a tiny fraction of an inch, even though it was pack-pulled.
It's always bothered me.
But this thread makes me realize that most may be cut that way.
I wonder how many of them sent in for grading have been mistakenly rejected as trimmed?

This is good to know, thanks. I now feel bad having sent back numerous copies to sellers because they were small, but there was nothing I could do about it.

So I guess the question is now, when you get a card that's a bit small and there's no indication it was trimmed, should you assume it is trimmed (and if you can not return it, is it something that needs to be mentioned when selling.)

 

[brouthercard]

Thanks for the responses, guys.

That makes me feel a lot better about the Felix autos - they just don't seem trimmed, but are clearly smaller than a standard card when you place them back to back (I compared it to a base bowman Strasburg- the black white contrast really brings out the size difference.)

So it may be true that perhaps part of the print run was cut a bit smaller than usual, and that most of those cards are not trimmed, though, some may be trimmed as well.

I know for a fact that multiple 93 finest griffey refractors that were pack pulled ARE smaller than your usual finest card, and that was a production variation.

I'm sure multiple copies of the Felix have been sent back to customers cause the size was too small, it would be interesting to see which specific cards have a higher percentage of rejection due to smaller size, though I doubt any grading companies keep those kind of records.

Thanks again, now I can sleep a little better knowing that it is less likely that those Felix autos are trimmed.

Now if he would only start pitching to his potential............