A nice long soaking

[Ease]

Looks like that turned out nicely. Good job Andrew!

[FrankWakefield]

If that was your first soak, I don't doubt that you worried quite a bit... needlessly. Thanks for posting the visual proof of the good results, so others will see the wisdom of it (for cards that will safely soak).

Very first card I ever let take a bath. Then I did the T206 Chesboro and got the back sparkly clean again, and then did a few of the T205's from the partial set I bought. Seems to be very easy as long as you are patient and watch them

[Vol]

You did a great job.

[jezzeaepi]

I have never done any soaking before, but had a few newbie questions.

Does soaking do anything to degrade the card?
Is there anyway to tell if a card has been soaked, and if so do they have any less value?
Have people been doing this long enough to know the long term results? As in, does a soaked card look any different from a non soaked card 30 years later?

The soaking thing kind of reminds me how people used to trim down cards to make them fit into binders or just "look nicer," but 50 years down the road, people started to care about trimming. I just wonder if, 50 years from now, people will say"Oh, that tycobb has never been soaked, its worth twice as much!" Kind of how an antique is worth less if you clean it. Thoughts?

Edit to add, that clearly in this case it makes a ton of sense since the card had stuff stuck to it.


Peace,
Jesse

[FrankWakefield]

no, no, yes, no.


Pick an old T206 beater with scrapbook bits or dirt on it, and give it a try. Many of the 'nice' graded T206s are that nice because they were once pasted into a scrapbook. I'd guess that soaking has been going on for 80 years or so....

[jezzeaepi]

Thanks Frank.

[Rob D.]

Originally Posted by jezzeaepi

Does soaking do anything to degrade the card?

Hi Jesse,

Though cards that have been soaked certainly can and will receive high grades (both from hobbyists and third-party grading companies) it's worth mentioning that some collectors consider soaking to be a form of altering a card. Not on the level of trimming, coloring, erasing marks, etc, but still a form of alteration, in some people's minds.

So even though the card isn't degraded, there still are collectors opposed to soaking. Not as many as those who condemn other forms of alteration, obviously, but there are collectors who think that soaking a card is wrong.

[peterose4hof]

Can T202 Hassan Triple Folders be soaked? If so, any tips or suggestions?

Thanks!