Posted By:
Tom LawrieI'm always pretty obsessive about holders and storage, but I did find something that I like well enough. I use a product called "Pro Mold, Thicker Card One Screw." Basically, it is a hard plastic screw down with a recessed area in the middle (sized exactly for 1957 and newer Topps). They make a couple of different types - 4 screw, 1 screw etc., plus they have normal thickness, as well as the thicker version that I use. Since many of my OJ's are bowed, I looked around for awhile until I found this type of holder.
First, I take a card slip, trim about 1/8" off the top (otherwise the slip is too tall for the location of the screw in the holder), and then put the OJ in the slip. The card slip is a little wider than the recessed area of the holder, so you have to spend a little time in centering the card and slip in the holder. But once done, the thickness is perfect; the card is barely held in place by the Pro Mold holder, so the bowing is not pressed down, but it is not so loose that it slides around unless you try to move it. Basically a little less pressure than a Topps card in a standard top-loader.
The one-screw holders also fit in the standard shoe-boxes that you would put top-loaders in, so there is not a problem with storage.
I buy them at my local card shop, but they also have a web-site, www.pro-mold.com (as per the packaging - I haven't ever used it).
One note: apparently the company produced two different "Thicker Card" versions. The ones with the single gold screw fit perfectly. The ones with the silver screw have too deep of a recessed area, and the OJs slide all around. So buy the gold screw version.
Just my current obsessive method.
[As for grading companies, I have OJs in both SGC and GAI holders. Both are fine - I probably prefer the look of the SGC holder just a little more, but the GAI holders fit better in generic storage boxes designed for PSA cards.]