Posted By:
Gilbert MainesSlabbed cards serve many functions, as stated above, and others unstated. In applications such as high grade, costly cards, slabbing and leaving them slabbed, seems to me to be the obvious best choice.
However, recognizing that the more times you handle your card in the raw, the greater the damage you will cause, it is desireable to me to become acquainted with my card. If you've never held an OJ in your hand and felt its heftiness, or never felt the texture of the surface of a CJ, or the smoothness, flimseyness, etc. of other cards; you have robbed yourself of both knowledge and enjoyment. And make no mistake - there are lots of surprises once you crack these out.
I don't say that you have to leave them unprotected, I don't. I assemble my cards into groups and display them as such. One example is the set of cards which represent each 20th Century member of the 500 HR Club. These cards are displayed together in a custom format very similar to a scrapbook presentation, but without the glue. As such they are sealed away as much as a slab, but without unnecessary plastic casing. For me the bulk of a slab is a negative mainly because they take up too much room to allow a scrapbook type presentation.
Now I do not contend that I trust my judgement regarding authenticity any more than the opinions satated above, and I may someday choose to seek this service if I am uncertain enuff. But one of my chief beefs with slabs is that the opinion of an independent company is offered and accepted by the hobby, as if word has come from the mountain top, when I feel different criteria should be employed in many instances, and in other cases different weighting of the criteria appears more applicable to my taste.
There is a lot more to this, but you have already given me equal time. Thanks for hearing my thoughts.
Its Only Gil