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without the peel with the peel

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Dec 18, 2008
161
0
Typically it's the other way around. If you keep the peel on it will be harder to get a better grade usually. However for these 97's for value purposes it's better to leave the peel on. These typically grade at the 9 level and 10s are not that hard.
 

SINFULONE

Active member
Sep 26, 2008
5,691
0
I always thought the writing on the coating was distracting.Luckily, I never bought many cards with it.
 

tidel144

Member
Jan 30, 2014
416
3
I may be in the minority - I always peel. I believe that the protective coating was never meant to stay on the card long-term and thus, we don't know what will happen 10 or 20 years from now. While I've peeled cards from the late 90's (e.g., '97 Pinnacle Certified) without experiencing any problems, I don't know if peeling these same late 90's cards will be as seamless in 2024 or beyond. I also remember reading a few years back that a baseball card quality-control employee strongly recommended to peel due to the uncertainty of leaving the peel on long-term, but I can't recall where I read it.

I don't know anything about plastic coating properties, but to be safe and avoid a worst-case scenario (e.g. the protective coating somehow "merging" with the card surface, etc.), I'll play it safe by peeling.

But to address your point, I agree with rarecardcollector - I've read and heard from some collectors who frequently grade that leaving the peel on could result in a lower grade bc that protective surface - which can be dirty/scratched - is graded, not the actual surface of the card. Those same collectors recommended peeling right before sending in for submission.
 
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SINFULONE

Active member
Sep 26, 2008
5,691
0
I may be in the minority - I always peel. I believe that the protective coating was never meant to stay on the card long-term and thus, we don't know what will happen 10 or 20 years from now. While I've peeled cards from the late 90's (e.g., '97 Pinnacle Certified) without experiencing any problems, I don't know if peeling these same late 90's cards will be as seamless in 2024 or beyond. I also remember reading a few years back that a baseball card quality-control employee strongly recommended to peel due to the uncertainty of leaving the peel on long-term, but I can't recall where I read it.

I don't know anything about plastic coating properties, but to be safe and avoid a worst-case scenario (e.g. the protective coating somehow "merging" with the card surface, etc.), I'll play it safe by peeling.

But to address your point, I agree with rarecardcollector - I've read and heard from some collectors who frequently grade that leaving the peel on could result in a lower grade bc that protective surface - which can be dirty/scratched - is graded, not the actual surface of the card. Those same collectors recommended peeling right before sending in for submission.

Remember those Topps Mystery Finest cards that had to have the black protective film removed to tell who the player on the card was?
 

tidel144

Member
Jan 30, 2014
416
3
Remember those Topps Mystery Finest cards that had to have the black protective film removed to tell who the player on the card was?

Haha, oh man, I definitely do - those were the absolute worst.

I understand Topps' creative attempt at an insert gimmick, but it resulted in confusion and frustration in my experience. I first saw them when my friend got a box and received multiple all-black cards. Being uninformed 13 year olds, for a few weeks we left them as is and actually thought they were blank cards and became angry that we got gypped out of some cards. Then my friend played around with one of them and discovered that the black surface could be peeled back and removed; however, in the first attempt, he essentially ruined the card bc the darn thing was so absurdly difficult to remove. The subsequent cards we peeled weren't damaged but the process left us more frustrated than excited from this "mystery".
 

SINFULONE

Active member
Sep 26, 2008
5,691
0
Haha, oh man, I definitely do - those were the absolute worst.

I understand Topps' creative attempt at an insert gimmick, but it resulted in confusion and frustration in my experience. I first saw them when my friend got a box and received multiple all-black cards. Being uninformed 13 year olds, for a few weeks we left them as is and actually thought they were blank cards and became angry that we got gypped out of some cards. Then my friend played around with one of them and discovered that the black surface could be peeled back and removed; however, in the first attempt, he essentially ruined the card bc the darn thing was so absurdly difficult to remove. The subsequent cards we peeled weren't damaged but the process left us more frustrated than excited from this "mystery".

Haha, I thought the same thing when I pulled mine.I thought they were some gimmick blank card with some trivia on the back, and tossed mine in my commons box.Back then I was always intrigued by inserts, so every time I pulled one I had to look at the odds on the wrapper.A long time ago later, I figured out the coating could be peeled off to reveal a player on the other side of the card.I think I almost pulled a card in half trying to take the coating off of it.Creative by Topps, but yes, a lot of confusion with those cards.
 

olerud363

Active member
Jun 14, 2010
3,212
14
Ontario, Canada
I generally leave the peel on, since to me that's the original way the card was issued. It's kind of like the "uncirculated" encased cards. I leave those in the case too.

@tidel144 brought up a good point though regarding what the peel could do to a card after 10, 15, 20, etc years. Maybe nothing, maybe damage the surface if you eventually try to peel it. The worst case scenario would be that the peel over time discolors the surface due to some chemical in the adhesive or something. Time will tell I guess.
 

joey12508

Well-known member
Aug 7, 2008
38,465
16,123
Winterfell
I generally leave the peel on, since to me that's the original way the card was issued. It's kind of like the "uncirculated" encased cards. I leave those in the case too.

@tidel144 brought up a good point though regarding what the peel could do to a card after 10, 15, 20, etc years. Maybe nothing, maybe damage the surface if you eventually try to peel it. The worst case scenario would be that the peel over time discolors the surface due to some chemical in the adhesive or something. Time will tell I guess.

I think the peel is part of the original card like you. I have a bunch of those protector cards also i wont peel.


Sent from my iPhone using Freedom Card Board mobile app
 

goobmcnasty

Active member
Apr 4, 2014
1,583
13
I believe it's much more aesthetically pleasing to have them peeled. So if it's a card I will be keeping, displaying, or enjoy looking at, I will peel.

As far as resale value, the market seems to prefer the cards with the peel still on, as stated, it is the way the card was originally issued.
 

Calripkenjrcollector

Active member
Dec 12, 2009
935
34
National City, California
Yup! I managed to leave this three cards alone...
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u2me57

Well-known member
Mar 21, 2014
3,234
63
Hendersonville, Tn.
Good question and great thread. I don't grade cards but I think they look better with the peel off. For my Thome collection I try to get one of each. In 20 years I'll compare cards and see if there's any difference.
 

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