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Originally Posted by Cardboard Junkie
Outside of theft, humidity is the biggest danger to cards. Although all normal matter particles are radiating away, the immediate threat is humidity. Also cool is better than hot to fight deterioration. The silica packs are excellent to eliminate excess humidity.
About 10 years ago I bought a childhood collection that had been stored in a "grain silo"? Cool and Dry.......The cards were absolutely pack fresh after almost 50 years. They were in shoeboxes in an open steel drum. A mouse had fallen in and it was actually mummified.
If you check on some paper conservation sites, other tips might be out there. Good question. David. ps Just an afterthought....If a TPG company has air tight slabs that would take care of the humidity concern, yes?
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Airtight slabs would take care of humidity as long as the air was removed. Otherwise the ambient humidity could condense at lower temperatures. Then there's the outgasing of acidic papers.... Vented slabs are better.
I think the stated best environment for paper and most other things is 50F, 50% humidity. Library of congress has a good section online about archival storage of nearly anything. That being said, there are many examples out there of stuff surviving very well in storage that archivists would cringe over. A group of Edison films was discovered in Texas, Nitrate film from the 1890's that was stored in the closet of an un airconditioned house. Some of the ones found are the best kown surviving examples.
Heat would be bad for the acidic cards long term, I think T206s would be fine, but strip cards probably wouldn't.
I'd love to see the a TPG slab a few types of cards along with a test strip to see if the acidity builds up over time.
Steve B