But they are being "saoked" to get a higher grade and increase the value.

Do you let people know when they buy a card from you that it has been soaked?

Would you buy a soaked card?

I wouldnt think twice about buying a soaked card, a good % of PreWar baseball cards and almost all Victorian Trade Cards have been soaked. If not you would see way more back damage. The kids in 1880 didnt have toploaders or binders full of plastic pages to store and display, they had Flour Paste and Trade Card Albums or old Ledgers.


Get off the "Value" trip, its eye appeal, many cards are collected for the enjoyment of the history of the game and the challenge of set collecting.

Value is secondary, some of my favorite PreWar cards/sets have little value

http://centuryoldcards.com/images/1940ddhartnett.jpghttp://centuryoldcards.com/images/18...15acatcher.jpg

cool
 

that's a cool card Frank.....Some of my faves aren't high value either....

Great cards, Frank and Leon!

I think the fundamental distinction is that all of the other actions mentioned (trimming, bleaching, stretching, recoloring, crease removal, etc) physically or chemically CHANGE some aspect of the card itself...hence the term "alteration". Soaking in water does not do this. To me, soaking is no different that blowing a piece of dust off the surface of a card that is laying on a table. Surely, nobody would consider that an alteration, right? How is soaking really any different?

The original post dealt with E93s and E95s and I believe they can be soaked without problems, although I never have done it myself. The E94s and E98s, as stated, are a whole different kettle of fish. I have purchased a few of these caramel cards in apparent vgex or ex condition which have "exploded" upon removal from the the holders. The top and right hand top corners of the E98s, for some reason, appear most susceptible to devastating paper loss, and thus gnashing of teeth. I always felt that the cards must have been soaked or fooled around with as the damage is unlike any other I have ever seen in any caramel cards. :mad:

This is a good point about the unknowns of soaking

Wow, I didn't really expect this kind of responce to my questions, however I want to thank you all, I think I have learned quite a bit about the subject just reading this thread.

~OC