To crack or not?
I have the same problem as I'm collecting the Monster.
I like displaying my cards in the 15-pocket page and being able to easily flip through my collection. Moreover, I'm a romantic; I love being able to touch the cards. So I prefer ungraded cards. But sometimes it's unavoidable getting graded cards.
Recently, I've started cracking open my 1's and Authentics as I don't think there's much difference in value in or out of the slab. It is a liberating feeling. However, I haven't cracked the Fairs and above. I think they are worth/cost more in the slab, especially very expensive cards.
What I do is photo-copy those graded cards, then cut out the photo-copies with a utility knife and put them in my pocket-pages [I've used photo-paper in the past, but I may try cardboard]. This works fairly well though it is time-consuming and a pain in the ass.
One other thing I do: Cut the side edge [say 1/8"] off a penny sleeve so that it fits comfortably in the pocket. [For T206's, I cut the sleeve in half.] More than protecting them, this makes it easy to move cards around without damaging them.
In all, I have about a dozen different collections organized in looseleafs this way, and as I say it makes them easy and accessible to view.
Doug
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