Posted By:
Frank WakefieldI wouldn't settle for a major alteration... I'd opt for a colonel soaking.
Some surface trash will soak off of a Cracker Jack. They easily soak and dry. If there's old caramel or gunk on there, just on the surface, it will release with time and water. Try to refrain from picking at whatever it is, lest you tear the surface of the card.
As for stains, most of the period stains you'd encounter on a Cracker Jack card will diminish with soaking. I'd think they wouldn't go away completely.
If you're wanting to soak and then get it slabbed as a 7, I think you'll be disappointed. If you want to buy a nice card and get it back toward original shape by "unaltering" what's happened to it at some point, then buy that card, run some tap water in a glass, douse they guy and start looking around for paper for blotting, big books or boards for pressing/holding flat while drying.
We're not altering the card here, we're leaving the card alone and removing foreign material. That foreign stuff is what's being altered.
In my opinion I'd think colonel is too low a rank for something as fine as a gentle, chemical and friction free soaking. I'd promote it to general. That should outrank major alteration and the horse he rode in on...