What is that stain on the card?

[Pythonfactory]

How do you identify what a stain/soiled spot on a card is composed of? Some are obvious like a 1914/1915 Cracker Jack or T206 Polar Bear but I have no idea about other sets. How do you know if it is candy, tobacco, etc. from the original packaging versus something that happened later in the card's life? I'm interested in what you look for at both the micro (e.g., using loupe) and macro (e.g., looking at scan from auction house or ebay) scales.

Thanks for your insight!

[Leon]

For me I really just take each stain at face value. If you collect vintage long enough you will encounter all different types of stains/dirt/grime etc.....

Most of the times I have had good luck getting paper remnants off of pre-war cards. I have erased some things that worked well and others (oil based pencil or pen) don't come off well at all. But to answer the question it is really just from experience in knowing what the extra residue is from. I have used magnification to see if something was a remnant or paper loss.

[T206Collector]

I was hoping for a fun game of "Guess that stain!"

Here's one in my collection I've been wondering about lately. It doesn't help that Hank's staring right at it! Anyone want to guess? Maybe bubble gum juice?

[Tcards-Please]

I'm with Leon, I take each stain at face value unless it came from this seller

[Brian Van Horn]

I will leave this science to you guys. I don't want to think about it.

[frankbmd]

Originally Posted by T206Collector

I was hoping for a fun game of "Guess that stain!"

Here's one in my collection I've been wondering about lately. It doesn't help that Hank's staring right at it! Anyone want to guess? Maybe bubble gum juice?

This card was graded by an individual on Plavix, who sustained a paper cut while handling this card with razor sharp corners prior to encapsulation. The stain is blood. This is a legitimate example of PSA's DNA.

[Republicaninmass]

I say Tobacco juice

[atx840]