Hello, I have a growing collection of items related to players either from Bloomington-Normal, IL or passed through the Bloomington Club of the old Three-I League. My intent for these pieces is to have them donated to our local history museum for their baseball collection. It seems there are differences of opinion on whether a card in a slab vs raw is better for the long term care/conservation of the card. I love my slabs…particularly my cards in SGC tuxes, but am also thinking about items being around for a while. Are there any opportunities to improve slab design for the purpose of conservation? Thanks!
You know I love this question : ) Here's a little article I wrote a while back: https://cardhoundvintage.com/safe-display-and-storage/
I WISH grading companies shared archival specs and really touted the preservation aspect--but frankly, I'll guess they are not any more sure than you are about the long-term effects of their plastic. PSA just recently started claiming UV protection.
The HOF removes cards from slabs and I think this got misinterpreted somewhat as "slabs are bad." In reality, the HOF was just saying they don't know for sure IF slabs help / hurt. And they do take up space. I think their archivists / preservation folks just trust THEIR process moreso than grading companies' mystery plastics.
Personally? I think that unless the stuff NEEDS grading for value, insurance, etc. it's a cleaner look for museum / display purposes if cards are just protected in mylar sleeves.
Thanks for chiming in!
