Verdict on screw downs

Fred · #1 02-21-2021, 06:01 PM

My negative experience with a screw down holder.

Purchased a T201 (very think stock card) in a screw down holder. I removed 3 of the 4 screws and while working on the fourth screw, the top part of the plastic piece barely shifted, but it was enough to tear a corner off my WaJo T201. Yeah, I was a little bummed out. Lesson learned - loosen ALL four corners before trying to remove the card.

bnorth · #2 02-21-2021, 06:13 PM

I don't store any cards in them. I do use them a lot for shipping single cards. They are the best insurance you can get against damage. Most screw downs you could run over with your car and not damage the card inside it.

JustinD · #3 02-21-2021, 06:58 PM

At the time you really did not want this to happen value wise, I tried removing a Brett Hull rookie from a screwdown. It peeled the top layer up on at minimum, a quarter of the card. This was one of those extra thick screw downs, so I was not pulling, it was basically gravity. Never touched them again.

Also, I know many people that received the dreaded “altered stock “ designation when trying to grade their 80s collections of screwdowns. This is 2021, not a chance I would use such an outdated storage method when there are so many I think are visually better.

Fred · #4 02-21-2021, 07:32 PM

I agree with Ben, great way to ship. I've always removed the cards from screw downs if I received them that way. I've always been weary that if the card was SCREWED down tight, it might actually affect the stock and possibly damage to card in one way or another.

Cmvorce · #5 02-21-2021, 07:54 PM

Thanks for all the input, guys. I guess most agree that recessed screw downs with the screws not overly tight should be ok.

Tyruscobb · #6 02-21-2021, 08:17 PM

Recessed holders are just fine, even if you fully tighten the screws. I purchased many cards already in them during the late 80s and early 90s. Some were screwed so tight that there were small spider cracks near the holes.

Who knows how long the dealers that I purchased the cards from had them in there. I kept the cards untouched and in them for more than a quarter of a century. In 2019, I had the cards all graded. They all received numerical grades.

jchcollins · #7 02-22-2021, 12:10 PM

Both types of holders are fine assuming you are at least moderately careful with your collection. Don't use a power drill to tighten screws on a non-recessed; don't use your recessed holdered cards to play long toss with in the basement when your friends come over. Valuable cards are also fine in toploaders and card savers, assuming you are not careless. Each unto their own. At various points over 35 years of collecting, I've used just about everything - and never had a major problem.

Caveat - if you use toploaders, don't drop your cards into a lake, or the toilet, in the toploader. The water will remain and become problematic. As a kid, a friend learned this lesson the hard way with a 1965 Topps Mickey Mantle.

campyfan39 · #8 02-22-2021, 01:32 PM

Visually better? I don't think there is any way to display a card that is visually better than just the card itself. PSA with the bright red looks awful on most cards IMO.

When you see a graded card the first thing you look at is the number. Then you scan the card for flaws to figure out why it got that number grade. "Graded a 3? Why? Oh yeah, there is the crease/wrinkle."

When a card is displayed "raw" you just look at the card itself and appreciate the beauty of it. Graders are geniuses at marketing bc even that term "raw" has negative connotations to it, as if it is incomplete without their subjective, costly opinion. I prefer the term "pure."

At a card and coin show in the 80's I ask my late father about the grades on coins. He assured me that would never happen to cards as it would "totally detract from the beauty." Sadly he passed years ago before the advent of grading so I cannot ask him for his opinion now that it is reality.

One last thing then I will get off my soapbox haha. Just out of curiosity I went and unscrewed one of my nicest cards that has been in a 1/2 inch screwdown for more than a decade and a half. No problems at all. I think the issies are when they are stacked and all of that weight compresses. That and humidity etc.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JustinD

At the time you really did not want this to happen value wise, I tried removing a Brett Hull rookie from a screwdown. It peeled the top layer up on at minimum, a quarter of the card. This was one of those extra thick screw downs, so I was not pulling, it was basically gravity. Never touched them again.

Also, I know many people that received the dreaded �altered stock � designation when trying to grade their 80s collections of screwdowns. This is 2021, not a chance I would use such an outdated storage method when there are so many I think are visually better.

#9 02-22-2021, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by campyfan39

Visually better? I don't think there is any way to display a card that is visually better than just the card itself. PSA with the bright red looks awful on most cards IMO.

When you see a graded card the first thing you look at is the number. Then you scan the card for flaws to figure out why it got that number grade. "Graded a 3? Why? Oh yeah, there is the crease/wrinkle."

When a card is displayed "raw" you just look at the card itself and appreciate the beauty of it. Graders are geniuses at marketing bc even that term "raw" has negative connotations to it, as if it is incomplete without their subjective, costly opinion. I prefer the term "pure."

At a card and coin show in the 80's I ask my late father about the grades on coins. He assured me that would never happen to cards as it would "totally detract from the beauty." Sadly he passed years ago before the advent of grading so I cannot ask him for his opinion now that it is reality.

One last thing then I will get off my soapbox haha. Just out of curiosity I went and unscrewed one of my nicest cards that has been in a 1/2 inch screwdown for more than a decade and a half. No problems at all. I think the issies are when they are stacked and all of that weight compresses. That and humidity etc.

Completely agree with you. I had a perfect Red Heart Mantle in one for over 25 years. Card was fine a few weeks ago when I took it out. Still had the nice finish of the card intact. Keeping them in a temperature controlled environment and away from moisture and light is critical no matter what you have them stored in. I also collect vintage 1960's GI Joes and watched perfect rubber scuba suits on figures rot right before my eyes from absorbing humidity here. They were perfect for years when I lived in North Texas but the humidity here is brutal. I now have a humidity control unit in my collectables room. Necessary item here in Central Texas.

JustinD · #10 02-23-2021, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by campyfan39

Visually better? I don't think there is any way to display a card that is visually better than just the card itself. PSA with the bright red looks awful on most cards IMO.

When you see a graded card the first thing you look at is the number. Then you scan the card for flaws to figure out why it got that number grade. "Graded a 3? Why? Oh yeah, there is the crease/wrinkle."

When a card is displayed "raw" you just look at the card itself and appreciate the beauty of it. Graders are geniuses at marketing bc even that term "raw" has negative connotations to it, as if it is incomplete without their subjective, costly opinion. I prefer the term "pure."

At a card and coin show in the 80's I ask my late father about the grades on coins. He assured me that would never happen to cards as it would "totally detract from the beauty." Sadly he passed years ago before the advent of grading so I cannot ask him for his opinion now that it is reality.

One last thing then I will get off my soapbox haha. Just out of curiosity I went and unscrewed one of my nicest cards that has been in a 1/2 inch screwdown for more than a decade and a half. No problems at all. I think the issies are when they are stacked and all of that weight compresses. That and humidity etc.

I think you are only considering graded slabs, I don�t mind the Beckett or older flip sgc personally, however as someone who does not submit that was not what I was talking about. As it is just preference really, I use mostly magnetic UltraPro holders as I like the shine, look and quality as well as how they enhance my card. I have hundreds and never had one open unwanted and the proper thickness keeps movement to less than a graded slab without an ugly baggie in it.

I can�t imagine having piles of half inch or three quarter inch oversized slabs and having a sizable collection. I have at minimum 300 thousand cards and it already takes up an entire room. It�s just preferable for looks and space to me.

nebboy · #11 02-24-2021, 06:29 PM

becouse all thread need cards in them here is my screw down card desater. 3 corners with chipping of the surface. It took a card from a fairly nice condition maybe a (psa6) or so, to a how knows what it would grade now? You guys can make your own guess.

Hxcmilkshake · #12 02-25-2021, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nebboy

becouse all thread need cards in them here is my screw down card desater. 3 corners with chipping of the surface. It took a card from a fairly nice condition maybe a (psa6) or so, to a how knows what it would grade now? You guys can make your own guess.

No penny sleeve?

Sent from my SM-G981U using Tapatalk

campyfan39 · #13 02-25-2021, 08:53 PM

Any context? How long was it in there? How was it stored? What was temp and humidity in place it was stored etc?

Quote:

Originally Posted by nebboy

becouse all thread need cards in them here is my screw down card desater. 3 corners with chipping of the surface. It took a card from a fairly nice condition maybe a (psa6) or so, to a how knows what it would grade now? You guys can make your own guess.

campyfan39 · #14 02-26-2021, 11:31 AM

Justin, check these pics out. I don't have them in piles I have all of my cards displayed so I can enjoy them. God bless

Quote:

Originally Posted by JustinD

I think you are only considering graded slabs, I don�t mind the Beckett or older flip sgc personally, however as someone who does not submit that was not what I was talking about. As it is just preference really, I use mostly magnetic UltraPro holders as I like the shine, look and quality as well as how they enhance my card. I have hundreds and never had one open unwanted and the proper thickness keeps movement to less than a graded slab without an ugly baggie in it.

I can�t imagine having piles of half inch or three quarter inch oversized slabs and having a sizable collection. I have at minimum 300 thousand cards and it already takes up an entire room. It�s just preferable for looks and space to me.

Jacklitsch · #15 02-26-2021, 12:02 PM

These are the ones I use. Recessed. Never a problem.

From Safeco Plastics, Inc. Huntington Beach. Don't know if they're still in business.

vintagebaseballcardguy · #16 02-26-2021, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by campyfan39

Justin, check these pics out. I don't have them in piles I have all of my cards displayed so I can enjoy them. God bless

Chris, I have meant to tell you this on the postwar side, but I love your collection and approach.

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