HELP!! katrina damaged baseball cards

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Posted By: Jen

My cousin is down in MS doing demolition & clean-up work. A couple days ago, he came across an extensive baseball/football card collection. Having not seen them, I have no idea what state of disrepair they are in. Some were in leather bound books, in plastic sheets. Others, I'm sure, are pretty damaged. Any ideas on restoration or preservation?
Thanks in advance for any thoughts,
Jen

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Posted By: Jon & Jennifer

Once a card has been damaged (ripped, stained, torn, water damage, crinkled, creased, smudged, etc.), there isn't any way to "restore" it. Attempting to "fix" a damaged card (by recoloring or trimming) would be a bad idea. Rather than increase the value, the card would be considered "altered" -- the virtual kiss of death for a card in the eyes of most buyers & collectors.

Once you have a better handle on the year/issue/players you have, you can try to guestimate what each card might be worth in its present condition (various websites and publications publish price guides for trading cards, which are categorized by year, issuing company, card number/player, and the price based upon its condition or grade. (PSA: www.psacard.com, SGC: sgccard.com, Beckett (does not offer a free online priceguide, but their yearly publications are sold everywhere.)

As far as preserving the cards from this point forward, a good place to start would be putting the cards into top-loading plastic "card saver" sleeves; they're a quick and inexpensive way to store and protect the cards from any further damage. (Sold by the box in various sizes, and readily available on the internet.)

Hope this helps...good luck!

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Posted By: warshawlaw

if you put them in plastic soggy, they will grow mold and mildew.

If they are valuable, you need to speak with a qualified paper restoration expert.

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Posted By: davidcycleback

I had a bunch of just water damaged 1959 Topps. They looked fine but were warped. When I put them in top loaders so they were flattened out, one wouldn't know they were water damaged.

The number one thing is to remove any wet cards from holders or books and dry them out as possible. Any fungus or such damage is likely permanent, but drying it out will prevent too much more deterioration. If they are older, valuable cards, fungus and other damage will substantially lower the value, but they will still have some value. If a 1951 Bowman has a splotch or two on the back, someone will buy it. There are many collectors of lower grade cards.

Some collectors might find it interesting to own a card that survived the Katrina hurricane of 2005. That's known as interesting provenance, especially when handed down to the grandkids in 60 years.