Need Some Expert Advice - Results of Soaking

[raulus]

Originally Posted by Buythatcard

Will the grading companies grade this card? If so, who should I send it to SGC or PSA?

They will grade it. Probably at either authentic or 1.

If you want it quickly, SGC will turn it around a lot faster, like 2 weeks. PSA might take 4-5 months.

My sense is that the sales price probably won't vary much between PSA and SGC for this item. While PSA historically brings higher prices in general, for prewar at this grade, I'm guessing the difference will be small, if any.

[Fred]

Originally Posted by Pat R

There are a countless soaked cards with numerical grades here's an example of a card getting a better grade after it was soaked.

Attachment 542959

Attachment 542960

Holy soak Batman! That is a great example. Wow!

[Leon]

I don't think the holder is going to matter, for value, on that Cobb. I would send it to CSG....probably cheaper than the others and just as good or better. But that's just me. PSA would be my 2nd choice. Good luck and thanks for telling, and showing the, results.

Originally Posted by Buythatcard

Update.

The owners decided to allow me to soak the cards.

All the cards were glued to a cardboard backing. Some parts of the backing had 2 and 3 layers of backing. In addition, it appears that most of the card had glue on it.

Soaking for 30 minutes definitely was not enough. After experimenting on the beaters, it turns out that most cards needed to be soaked 12-36 hours. The backing became very soft and was easily lifted off most cards but not all.
Even after the backing was either easily lifted off, many of the cards had some paper loss.
I suspect that in many cases, the paper loss was there prior to gluing it to the backing. It could also be in the areas where most of the glue was adhered to.
Almost all cards had some glue residue after removal of the backing.
I did not want to mess with it after the backing came off.
I soaked the first Cobb card. It was the T205. Surprisingly, it was the easiest. The back actually slid off by itself. Yet, there still was some paper loss on the back. See the attached photo.
Will the grading companies grade this card? If so, who should I send it to SGC or PSA?

This ongoing project has been tons of fun but stressful. I must have shaved 10 years off my life.

[swarmee]

Nice soak. Good results.

[Buythatcard]

Update.

Finally made it to the T206 Cobb. It had a Sweet Caporal Overprint 350-460/42 back. Not sure how common this back is for this particular card.
Took awhile because had to wait till all the other cards around it were removed from the sheet first. They were so close together which didn't leave much room to work with.

Like all the other cards, there was a fair amount of glue on the back. A good portion of it came off during the soaking and the damage was not too bad. Still better than having a thick piece of cardboard for a backing.

Will be sending it off to get graded. Still trying to figure out which grading company will be the best for this card.

[Dead-Ball-Hitter]

Originally Posted by Buythatcard

Update.

Will the grading companies grade this card? If so, who should I send it to SGC or PSA?

This ongoing project has been tons of fun but stressful. I must have shaved 10 years off my life.

Definitely send them to SGC. You will likely get SGC 1's for the paper loss but they will look fantastic... maybe an Auth here and there. But they handle tobacco cards better than PSA. IMO.

Here's my only example of such a card handled as you describe:

[brob28]

You never can tell exactly how they will turn out; I'd say they turned out pretty nice Howard. As for grading I'd probably send those to SGC. As others have said, I don't think grading company is going to have major impact on selling price.

[Buythatcard]

Originally Posted by Dead-Ball-Hitter

Definitely send them to SGC. You will likely get SGC 1's for the paper loss but they will look fantastic... maybe an Auth here and there. But they handle tobacco cards better than PSA. IMO.

Here's my only example of such a card handled as you describe:

Thanks. I was hoping that someone would recommend SGC. All that I am hoping for are Auth's or 1's.

[Prof]

When you get to it, can you post a good pic of the Cobb T206 that looks orange instead of red? I'd like to see a close up.


I'd just send things to SGC for grading.


Congrats on the successful removals. Hopefully my first soaking project goes as well as this.

[michael3322]

I'm sure that was very stressful. Nice job rescuing these cards!

[Exhibitman]

SGC will be just fine and timely. That's a nice find. If selling is the goal, they will sell regardless of damage. I once had a T202 Cobb-Moriarty-Cobb sliding that had been soaked in some sort of oil and was dark brown. A restoration expert told me to try using Bestine soaks to see if the oil would come out. It did, but the cardboard was gray as a result. Still a ton better. I (stupidly) sold it. Full disclosure on what had been done. My regret is that I just wish i still had the card.

[bigfanNY]

Originally Posted by steve B

For a few reasons

The inks used are not water soluble, so the water won't affect them, while other solvents might.

Water is part of the process of making the paper itself, and while it can affect the paper, it's fine for many cardstocks if done right. (More based on the sizing used to holf the fibers together and what fibers are used.)

So in general, water won't do damage if used carefully. There isn't enough info to tell if a solvent will, so using them is to be discouraged.

Steve people have used a variety of solvents on paper items for centuries there is clearly massive amounts of evidence on how different solvents react with paper and inks paits etc. 3M produced a mountain of research on Toluene and its use in removing tape. ( it is an organic water soluble solution). It is out there if you have a need to read. Paper is often produced with water but there are card stocks that either swell or deteriorate in water. And some that look fine but show effects years later.
My point was there are many glues and papers that over time destory Baseball Cards and Memorabilia. Professionals that use solutions that are more than H2O to preserve and protect cards seem to me a good thing.
When you soak a card and remov it from a scrapbook most would say that is fine. Same card same scrapbook and you smooth out some wrinkles while drying them under presure. Either on purpose or just what happens as part of the process. Is that fine?
For me If I soak a card I will not submit it for grading. And if and when I sell it I tell buyer it was soaked. And I know many other collectors have different views but to me soaking a card is something that should always be disclosed. But a blanket statment that anything other than water to protect and preserve cards is not something I would agree with.
Water has been used to improve the appearance of paper items way more often than other solutions simply because more folks have access to it feel safe using it and have youtube vids on how.

[Buythatcard]

I finally completed this project a few weeks ago.

I ended up saving all 154 cards. I decided to send in 17 cards to SGC and just received them back n the mail today.
I was hoping to get atleast a grade of Authentic due to the glue residue that was left behind. I was pleasantly surprised to receive 14 cards that received a grade of 1 and 3 cards received an Authentic grade.
I sent in 3 Cobbs. Two of the Cobbs were Portrait, Red Backgrounds. One received an Authentic grade due to evidence of trimming and the other one received a 1. In addition, I sent in a T205 Cobb which also received a grade of Authentic due to evidence of coloring.

I have already sold more than half of the Raws on eBay with the rest to be listed over the next week. I will be listing the graded cards starting tonight after 10 PM EST (1 card every other night). The first one will be the Authentic T206 Cobb. Will be listing the one which received a grade of 1 on 1/9/23. All listings will start at 99 cents.
Please do not ask me to sell these cards directly. I will only be selling these via eBay.

[bnorth]

Nice Cobbs, I will be watching for the 2 Red ones.