Posted By:
warshawlawYou can insure a collection but even if it was paid 100% without question, imagine how bad you would feel if some of your rarest cards were lost? I almost feel like I am in some small way a custodian of historical artifacts with an obligation to the future to try and insure their survival. That's why a safe deposit box makes sense.
Most banks have climate controls in their vaults BUT they don't promise storage conditions will remain good. If you want climate-controlled storage, you would probably have to rent a vault with a film storage company (we have lots here in L.A., nsturally) where they are used to dealing with deteriorating film stock.
I am glad slabs aren't sealed air tight. If there was moisture in there, exposure to temperature changes could cause condensation to "rain" on your cards. I once saw (in the pre-slab days) a screw-down card holder that the owner had sealed around the edges with glue that had obvious moisture damage to the card.
As far as true collectors go, let's not go that route again. Suffice it to say that anyone who goes to the trouble of amassing and worrying about storing a collection is a "true" enough collector for me.