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Posted By: John

Greg,

You raise some great questions, and in no way would I slam you on those. I will try to answer your questions the best I can.

The problem with restoration is for the most part (I said most part) were not really talking about one-of-a-kind items here. Were talking about mass distributed lithography and cardboard premiums. Much like in the toy market a painted antique fire truck is worth less than an untouched one. Books as well, super clean copies of first editions are worth more than used first editions.

As for being touched by water, cleaned spit shined etc. in the past. I’m sure it happened these cards were meant to be held in the hand and have been doing just that for over 100yrs.

What I think Jim, Peter, Todd, Andy and all the others are pointing too. Is the modern collector such as Paul and others who are practicing using modern methods of card restoration/cleaning etc. what every you call it. These very methods can be innocent and evil, and there is fine line between those. It’s that fine line in which we are debating over and all sides have valid points and passion on their side.

As for me, as a buyer of vintage cards I would be very upset to find out that I paid for an EX+ or NM card to find out that it only achieved that grade due to someone’s tampering with its original state. Not only would I be upset due to the extra money wasted, but also for me when I look at my cards it’s neat to know they have survived in their current condition all these years, and in a fact haven’t been juiced or undergone major cleaning jobs to get where they are today.

The best analogy I can think of is…

It’s like replica cars there are people who would love to have a Shelby Cobra 427 replica kit car. And there’s nothing wrong with that, in fact can’t drop 250k+ on a real one it's the next best thing. That works fine for some, me I would only want the real thing, if I cant afford it I find something I can afford and love it equally as much.

And for the record I am in no way an ultra high-end card collector. Not because I think it’s a world conspiracy and all are trimmed. The most deciding factor in my choice to not collect ultra high-end cards (7’s, 8’s, 9’s) is a monetary one, I can’t afford too!

So I stick to my 4’s, 5’s and 6’s.

Think of it as America’s Semi Average to Tougher Wantlist for now.