Soaking question

[Archive]

Posted By: Frank Wakefield

It is not rocket science.

In the old days, a scrapbook page full of cards would be tossed in a bathtub full of water. The cards float off after a while. Then the cards are rinsed under the tap. Lay them out to dry. Maybe blotted with some paper under a stack of telephone books.

Today, I usually run some water into a glass, and put the card in there, check on it in a few hours. It is important to know what cards soak and which cards don't.

If it morally bothers you, don't soak. Realistically, LOTS of the T cards in collections today were soaked from scrapbook pages in the 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s. Around the 70s the cards got a bit of value to them, and that's when some collectors would stress about putting paper in water. Before that soaking was common. Most of that old glue was water and flour.

I'd suggest buying a T206 on eBay that is rather beaten up, and has lots of paper on the back. Buy him, then put him in a glass of water. Then you'll shed the anxieties associated with it.