Quote:
Originally Posted by barrysloate
The concept of destroying a valuable artifact to make money is deplorable. Period.
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It is hardly unique to this thing of ours. In the Middle Ages there was a thriving market for saints' bones and other holy relics. The relic cards remind me of that.
Now, as far as the card itself goes, although I personally would not pay that to own it, the item is pretty nice looking.
Philosophically, I am less than convinced that the "badness" of making these cards is clear cut. The dichotomy is not between a museum having the piece on display for the public to enjoy and its destruction, it is between an individual owning it and having it in his or her office or home versus having it cut into a lot of little bits that a few dozen people can own. If it really was Cooperstown or the saw mill, I'd clearly recoil at the idea of the relic cards. But when it is really just one guy bogarting the whole bat versus having it cut up, frankly, I don't care if it gets cut up. I won't own it or enjoy it if someone else has it hanging over his bed, so why should I care if it gets cut up and parceled out to a bunch of people who will treasure the collective bits as part of their collections. To me, that's a lot more collective joy from the item than it would give if some dude had it in his private stash.