| name | paper-and-toning-leniency |
| description | Use when grading vintage cards (pre-1960). Era-typical toning is lenient; severe staining caps the grade.
|
Paper and Toning Leniency
Light toning is era-typical and NOT severely penalized. Severe staining, water marks, or chemical stains cap grades at 5-7.
Toning tiers
- Light caramel toning (uniform front to back) — minimal penalty
- Patchy toning (uneven) — mild penalty (-0.5)
- Yellow toning (oxidation) — mild penalty (-0.5 to -1)
- Brown toning — moderate penalty (-1 to -2)
- Severe staining (water, food, ink) — caps grade at 6-7
- Wax stains on backs (factory) — lenient on pre-1960 sets
Restoration red flags
Bleached corners (bright white on toned card) = restoration
Recolored ink (uneven color depth) = restoration
New laminate / re-glossed = restoration
All restoration disqualifies a clean grade. SGC and PSA detect with UV, microscope, and chemical wipes.
Acceptable preservation
Light surface cleaning (cotton swab + distilled water) is acceptable. Anything beyond that (chemicals, bleach, ink, lamination) is restoration. Never volunteer cleaning history to graders — they assume clean handling.
Where this fits in the X3 empire
Drives the vintage-specific scoring weights in the Concierge tool.