Every slabbed card has a story, don't it?

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Snowman

I think the disappointment stems from people just now becoming aware of the fact that this stuff goes on behind the scenes. People create these romantic ideals in their heads of how something "ought" to be, and just assume or pretend that it is such. But make no mistake about it, this stuff has been going on since the beginning of the hobby. People have been soaking cards since the day they were made. It has never stopped happening and never will. As soon as someone soaks a card for the first time and realizes, "Wow! You can do that and it doesn't damage the card in any way!?" their perception changes. They tell their friends, their friends do the same, and it perpetuates. Then people also learn that soaking a card, or even just adding a little bit of moisture or humidity, can also improve things like bent corners and creases.

I think some people just tried to keep it a secret because they want to "hold all the cards" so-to-speak. They want to make money from it and they don't want competition. If too many people know how to clean cards, then there's no money in it for them. But with social media and the DIY/how-to culture of the younger generations, knowledge is power and is much more freely available. There are countless YouTube channels today that are dedicated to restoration techniques of anything and everything collectible from antique tools to box cars to casino chips to comic books to sports cards and anything and everything in between. Most people just like nice stuff. They don't care if it has been cleaned. In fact, they prefer it. They care that it is original & not counterfeit. I align much more closely with that viewpoint. I'd much rather everyone knows about what actually goes on and pull back the curtains than to sit there in silence and hope nobody else figures this out.

That some people choose to conflate an original item that has been cleaned with one that is counterfeit is not my concern. G1911 can continue on in his delusion as long as he chooses. The rest of us are going to continue to soak cards, push down bent-up corners, and wipe off fingerprints and smudges from the surfaces. Sorry, not sorry.

I think you are somewhat conflating "original" with "authentic." We may get into semantic knots on this one, but I think of original not as the opposite of counterfeit, but as a card without anything done to it. That's the sense I am using it in, anyhow. Now yeah all these things are slippery slopes and don't hold up at the far edges, I understand that. It's a Socratic method lover's dream. What if you flick something that's stuck to the surface off, what if you rub off a wax stain, blah blah blah.

Just curious btw, if you do these things yourself (and I acknowledge they are less concerning than the big three of trimming, recoloring and rebuilding), do you disclose, and if not why?