Thoughts on grading this '65 Mantle?

[Eric72]

Originally Posted by JollyElm

And, of course, by ironing I mean put it under a towel and carefully and gently run an iron (not being overly hot) over it a bit...and not pressing too hard or leaving the iron in the same spot. Keep it moving. This tends to help flatten out cards which have bowed over the years (I assume by eliminating trapped moisture?), while doing no damage to them whatsoever.

Darren, please know I'm not taking a swipe at you here. I just can't get behind ironing a baseball card. It reminds me of the trend in comic book collecting in which people "press" their books. Among the many things I don't like about this practice is the fact that most of the defects reappear over time.

Regarding cards:

If I'm not mistaken, removing moisture will exaggerate the type of bowing the '65 Mantle exhibits. The card is basically made of two parts:

• The untreated card stock (back of the card)
• The treated, slightly glossy layer with the photo (card front)

When stored in a low humidity environment, such as a home with forced air heat, the card stock will lose moisture. This causes the card to curl/bow towards the back. I have first hand experience with this...unfortunately.

In theory, high humidity environments should cause the card to bow in the opposite direction.

Another theory, which I haven't tested, is that a humidor or similar contraption would gradually bring a bowed card back to being flat. The trick would be finding the right humidity level. Since (likely) nobody knows what the humidity level was in the room where '65 Topps was printed, it would (again, hypothetically) take a bit of trial and error to find the right number.