PSA Glossary
Sports Lingo
Like all collectibles, the sports memorabilia market has its own terms and slang. The following is a brief definition and explanation of the most frequently used sports collecting terms.
Note:This is a work in progress and we would love to hear your comments and suggestions. Send your thoughts to [email protected].
- O-Pee-Chee
- Topps’ Canadian counterpart that manufactures baseball and hockey cards.
- obverse
- The front of the card displaying the picture.
- OC (off-center)
- Type of qualifier. The card exhibits centering that falls below the minimum standard for the grade. For example, a card that meets the standard for Mint 9, but has 65.35 centering would be designated Mint 9oc.
- See Also: Qualifier
- OF (out of focus)
- Type of qualifier. The card exhibits poor focus that causes the card to fall below the minimum standard for the grade. This usually occurs in the form of a blurred image on the front.
- See Also: Qualifier
- off-center
- A card that has uneven borders.
- Old Judge
- A brand of cigarettes which was popular in the late 1800's. Also the name given to the huge set of baseball cards issued as a premium with that brand of cigarettes. The cards, issued from 1887-90, carried advertisements for Old Judge cigarettes.
- out of focus
- A card that has a fuzzy picture or is poorly registered. This is a result of misalignment of sheets while running through various colors of printing plates.