Autographs and toploaders...

[predatorkj]

Okay, I've been getting a crap load of cards signed IP and I have been wondering this forever. Nobody here has really said much to a degree where I feel satisfied. I'm not sure many of you have actually thought about it much. At least not from responses in the past. My question is: are autographed cards ,whether they be pack pulled or signed IP, okay in penny sleeves and toploaders or should you use something more along the lines of one touches? I've got like 100 cards that are either IP or certified autos and I need to figure out what to put them into.

Normally, I just put them all in one touches as I acquire them but I've been lazy and now I am looking at a bill or so just to protect these things should I go with one touches. But even for the crappiest player, I don't want to possibly ruin an autograph. I'd rather keep everything in as good of condition as I can. Does anyone have any thoughts?

 

[TBTwinsFan]

I'd use Card Saver 1's, in fact, I am looking for a good bulk price so I can use them. 2's are good as well but I like the one's because they are a little more "roomier" while still accomplishing my goal.

I only use 1-touches/teambags for the bigger names. They are kinda spendy for me so buying them for a bunch of $.50 autos isn't my thing.


This is just my opinion though.

 

[hofmichael]

I'd use Card Saver 1's, in fact, I am looking for a good bulk price so I can use them. 2's are good as well but I like the one's because they are a little more "roomier" while still accomplishing my goal.

I only use 1-touches/teambags for the bigger names. They are kinda spendy for me so buying them for a bunch of $.50 autos isn't my thing.


This is just my opinion though.

Last I checked Columbia Sportscards had the best price around for these.

 

[TBTwinsFan]

I'd use Card Saver 1's, in fact, I am looking for a good bulk price so I can use them. 2's are good as well but I like the one's because they are a little more "roomier" while still accomplishing my goal.

I only use 1-touches/teambags for the bigger names. They are kinda spendy for me so buying them for a bunch of $.50 autos isn't my thing.


This is just my opinion though.

Last I checked Columbia Sportscards had the best price around for these.

I will have to check them out. I have been buying packs from a guy as I have needed them for a few bucks a piece off eBay, but I've gotten behind and it would be cheapest just to buy one lot of 500 or so instead of buying 10 at a time.

 

[predatorkj]

I guess what I am worried about is in, let's say 5 years, I don't want to realize my autographed card is stuck to a penny sleeve and can't come out without having the autograph come off of it. So what I am asking is has anyone noticed an adverse affect from cards being left in a toploader or a one touch over the course of several years?

Now, I do understand that if the one touch is too small for the card(if the card is too thick), it can screw the surface of the card up. But that isn't what I am curious about.

 

[predatorkj]

And...Twinsfan, I would be worried about leaving anything in one of those card savers because they are way too damn flimsy, they are hard to get the card into without the chance of bending, and I'd worry that they would stick to the autograph as well as the card itself.

 

[hofmichael]

And...Twinsfan, I would be worried about leaving anything in one of those card savers because they are way too damn flimsy, they are hard to get the card into without the chance of bending, and I'd worry that they would stick to the autograph as well as the card itself.

Card Saver 1's are much larger than the traditional size card savers.The are much easier to put cards in and as long as you use a penny sleeve you should have no worry about the autograph sticking.I have been using them for my ttm's for years.

 

[TBTwinsFan]

And...Twinsfan, I would be worried about leaving anything in one of those card savers because they are way too damn flimsy, they are hard to get the card into without the chance of bending, and I'd worry that they would stick to the autograph as well as the card itself.

Card Saver 1's are much larger than the traditional size card savers.The are much easier to put cards in and as long as you use a penny sleeve you should have no worry about the autograph sticking.I have been using them for my ttm's for years.

You slipped it in before me!

Yes, they are significantly larger. Short of you bending them in half or letting your dog chew on them, the cards will be safe. I've had them shipped PWE to me and I've never had a problem

 

[subject to change]

I think the level of protection ultimately depends on the value of the card or cards in question (whether that's sentimental value or monetary value). At one point, I had all of my autographs in penny sleeves and toploaders, but with over 2500 autographs, it was becoming expensive and taking up tons of space. About a year and a half ago I moved all non-Pirate autos to 9 card pages and store them in binders. When removing the cards from the toploaders, I didn't have any issues with cards being damaged or sticking to the sleeves, even though the majority of the cards had been in their toploader for 5-10 years.

At first I was a little leery of moving the cards to the less protected pages, and only moved my more common IP/TTM autos. I haven't had any problems with any cards being damaged in the pages, and all but my most valuable star and HOF autos to pages. I find them easier to flip through and enjoy, and it would seem that any event that could damage the binders (fire, flooding, freak accident, etc) wPouldn't be stopped by toploaders or magnetic holders. My Pirate autos are all still in toploaders, since I prefer to look through them individually, but I'm considering moving some of my lower value ones to pages as well.

I think the level of protection really depends on what makes you feel most comfortable. I have never seen an autograph damaged by being stored in a penny sleeve/toploader (and again, some of those cards had been in the same toploader for a decade or two, when the quality of penny sleeves was a bit more suspect). But it ultimately comes down to what makes you feel comfortable.

 

[predatorkj]

And...Twinsfan, I would be worried about leaving anything in one of those card savers because they are way too damn flimsy, they are hard to get the card into without the chance of bending, and I'd worry that they would stick to the autograph as well as the card itself.

Card Saver 1's are much larger than the traditional size card savers.The are much easier to put cards in and as long as you use a penny sleeve you should have no worry about the autograph sticking.I have been using them for my ttm's for years.

So you've been actually storing cards in them for several years at a time and they don't stick? Or just for a few months of being mailed to and back from a destination?

 

[hofmichael]

And...Twinsfan, I would be worried about leaving anything in one of those card savers because they are way too damn flimsy, they are hard to get the card into without the chance of bending, and I'd worry that they would stick to the autograph as well as the card itself.

Card Saver 1's are much larger than the traditional size card savers.The are much easier to put cards in and as long as you use a penny sleeve you should have no worry about the autograph sticking.I have been using them for my ttm's for years.

So you've been actually storing cards in them for several years at a time and they don't stick? Or just for a few months of being mailed to and back from a destination?

When I get my autographs back I put them in a new penny sleeve and Card Saver 1 and file them into a BCW Vault Box.I have been doing this for at least 6 years with no issues at all.

Here is an example.

 

[predatorkj]

I think the level of protection ultimately depends on the value of the card or cards in question (whether that's sentimental value or monetary value). At one point, I had all of my autographs in penny sleeves and toploaders, but with over 2500 autographs, it was becoming expensive and taking up tons of space. About a year and a half ago I moved all non-Pirate autos to 9 card pages and store them in binders. When removing the cards from the toploaders, I didn't have any issues with cards being damaged or sticking to the sleeves, even though the majority of the cards had been in their toploader for 5-10 years.

At first I was a little leery of moving the cards to the less protected pages, and only moved my more common IP/TTM autos. I haven't had any problems with any cards being damaged in the pages, and all but my most valuable star and HOF autos to pages. I find them easier to flip through and enjoy, and it would seem that any event that could damage the binders (fire, flooding, freak accident, etc) wPouldn't be stopped by toploaders or magnetic holders. My Pirate autos are all still in toploaders, since I prefer to look through them individually, but I'm considering moving some of my lower value ones to pages as well.

I think the level of protection really depends on what makes you feel most comfortable. I have never seen an autograph damaged by being stored in a penny sleeve/toploader (and again, some of those cards had been in the same toploader for a decade or two, when the quality of penny sleeves was a bit more suspect). But it ultimately comes down to what makes you feel comfortable.

This is what I was looking for. I'm not worried so much about rigidity. The toploaders are rigid enough for me. I just want to make damn sure that the autos will be okay. But paying $1 to store each card is insane. I can get 100 brand new toploaders for $8. And a 100 penny sleeves for $0.75. So I'm comparing $100 to $8 and some change. Big difference. But I didn't want to do it and 5 years from now have a bunch of cards I can't take out because they are stuck to the sleeve.

Were any of your cards chrome or finest? These always seem to stick the worst.

 

[predatorkj]

And...Twinsfan, I would be worried about leaving anything in one of those card savers because they are way too damn flimsy, they are hard to get the card into without the chance of bending, and I'd worry that they would stick to the autograph as well as the card itself.

Card Saver 1's are much larger than the traditional size card savers.The are much easier to put cards in and as long as you use a penny sleeve you should have no worry about the autograph sticking.I have been using them for my ttm's for years.

So you've been actually storing cards in them for several years at a time and they don't stick? Or just for a few months of being mailed to and back from a destination?

When I get my autographs back I put them in a new penny sleeve and Card Saver 1 and file them into a BCW Vault Box.I have been doing this for at least 6 years with no issues at all.

Here is an example.

Nice Campbell. Got him to sign a few things for me about 2 months ago. Nice guy! In any case, I'd rather use toploaders. My main point is the penny sleeve. That is what would be touching the auto. While your card should be fine, I wonder about glossy cards or like on the certified sticker autos. And even chrome and finest stuff.

 

[matchpenalty]

I have seen where people leave cards in card savers and then have the surface end up sticking and ruining card in them. Esp glossy cards. Humidity can do it. So makes sure they aren't stored in real hot areas in summer.
Safest is one touches for biggies and most important ones. Then i'd do top loaders penny sleeves. But check top loader and penny sleeves for little small circle/bubbles build ups in plastic. These little things will leave dents in the card. Always hate pulling a card out of penny sleeve and seeing the little dent left from penny sleeve buble left.

 

[predatorkj]

I have seen where people leave cards in card savers and then have the surface end up sticking and ruining card in them. Esp glossy cards. Humidity can do it. So makes sure they aren't stored in real hot areas in summer.
Safest is one touches for biggies and most important ones. Then i'd do top loaders penny sleeves. But check top loader and penny sleeves for little small circle/bubbles build ups in plastic. These little things will leave dents in the card. Always hate pulling a card out of penny sleeve and seeing the little dent left from penny sleeve buble left.

If I see one of those, I'll just chunk it.

 

[subject to change]

I think the level of protection ultimately depends on the value of the card or cards in question (whether that's sentimental value or monetary value). At one point, I had all of my autographs in penny sleeves and toploaders, but with over 2500 autographs, it was becoming expensive and taking up tons of space. About a year and a half ago I moved all non-Pirate autos to 9 card pages and store them in binders. When removing the cards from the toploaders, I didn't have any issues with cards being damaged or sticking to the sleeves, even though the majority of the cards had been in their toploader for 5-10 years.

At first I was a little leery of moving the cards to the less protected pages, and only moved my more common IP/TTM autos. I haven't had any problems with any cards being damaged in the pages, and all but my most valuable star and HOF autos to pages. I find them easier to flip through and enjoy, and it would seem that any event that could damage the binders (fire, flooding, freak accident, etc) wPouldn't be stopped by toploaders or magnetic holders. My Pirate autos are all still in toploaders, since I prefer to look through them individually, but I'm considering moving some of my lower value ones to pages as well.

I think the level of protection really depends on what makes you feel most comfortable. I have never seen an autograph damaged by being stored in a penny sleeve/toploader (and again, some of those cards had been in the same toploader for a decade or two, when the quality of penny sleeves was a bit more suspect). But it ultimately comes down to what makes you feel comfortable.

This is what I was looking for. I'm not worried so much about rigidity. The toploaders are rigid enough for me. I just want to make damn sure that the autos will be okay. But paying $1 to store each card is insane. I can get 100 brand new toploaders for $8. And a 100 penny sleeves for $0.75. So I'm comparing $100 to $8 and some change. Big difference. But I didn't want to do it and 5 years from now have a bunch of cards I can't take out because they are stuck to the sleeve.

Were any of your cards chrome or finest? These always seem to stick the worst.

Not a huge sample size, but I probably have around 30-50 Chrome/Finest cards signed, and haven't noticed any issues. I know what you're talking about though...I've noticed penny sleeves sometimes leave a residue on Chrome cards (or maybe it's peeling off the finish?). The oldest IP/TTM auto I have on a Chrome card was signed in '03 or '04, and the autograph still looks sharp without any problems from the sleeve. I would never say never, but have never had any cause for concern over using penny sleeves and/or toploaders for autographs.

 

[Sean_C]

Quality penny sleeves from Ultra Pro and BCW are inert and archival safe. Granted so are their binder pages, but when it comes to a signature, I'd prefer to take my chances with a penny sleeve and a Top Load over a Binder Page that could have a lot of extra weight put on top of it by other pages / binders stacked on top of it.

 

[Anthony]

I have 500+ IP autos... after a while I just put my favorites in top loaders and penny sleeves and the rest in just penny sleeves.

 

[predatorkj]

Thanks a lot for the replies guys. I went with toploaders and saved a bundle! Lately I've been getting so many cards signed IP because...well for two reasons mostly:
1. Most of the athletes don't assume you are selling them like they do if you get a bat, ball, or picture signed., and
2. They usually have no qulams about signing multiples.

I just buy the scrapbooking corners from walmart and stick about 3-5 cards of a guy on a page. I don't really expect to get all of them signed at once but this way, I just stick them in a binder until the guy shows up. Obviously I don't do this with all my cards but we have a lot of former astros and oilers players as well as Texans players who seem to show up quite often so this way, I've got a ton of cards prepped up and already set to be signed. I just take the page with me and sometimes, they knock the whole thing out. I do tell them they can sign as many as they are cool signing but most don't care. And then there is Jimmy Wynn...who thinks everything you get him to sign is for sale. :lol:

 

[Big Mac McGwire]

I am as OBsessive Complusive as you when thinking
about this kind of danger with cards.


i collect ip auto cards just as much as you.

i have had some ip cards stored in penny+top loaders for over
20 years , ex . minor league prospects such
as Chris Carpenter, Carlos Delgado, Shawn Green.

You are 100 safe in 1 touch or penny/top


the 1 method that will screw you is
if you put them in screw downs or those old school
brick holders.

This jeter was put ihn a screw down in 1996.

i took it out a few years later and part of the corners came off.