Detecting Trimmed Cards

[the 'stache]

I would ask my fellow pre-war collectors about chemical alteration to a card. Knowing what a hundred year old card should smell like, does something like bleaching, or coloring, leave perceptible changes to that natural scent (assuming that a card hasn't also been soaked)?

It makes me ill that we have to have these kinds of discussions.

[steve B]

Originally Posted by the 'stache

I would ask my fellow pre-war collectors about chemical alteration to a card. Knowing what a hundred year old card should smell like, does something like bleaching, or coloring, leave perceptible changes to that natural scent (assuming that a card hasn't also been soaked)?

It makes me ill that we have to have these kinds of discussions.

For me it probably wouldn't make much difference. But I don't have a good sense of smell.

That being said, nearly every thing that was done during manufacturing leaves a clue to itself, and nearly everything that can be done after will as well. It's just a matter of having the resources to detect it.

I learned an interesting non-card one recently that may apply to cards. I was looking at stamps with a club member who is really into German stamps. He remarked that one on my collection looked like the more valuable shade. I was pretty happy to note that it also had never been hinged. After a quick look he pointed out the cracking of the gum, which made a sort of ring around an oval embossed area. Which is apparently a very good sign as the embossing stressed the gum so original gum would crack exactly that way. (The surface of many T206s shows the same sort of cracking under lots of magnification, just not in a pattern since they're not embossed. -- Or does it? I still haven't checked if it conforms to the bevel on the front of a factory cut, which might indicate the difference between an original or very old cut, and one done recently. It's not quite the same, as it's the cardstocks surfacing that can crack, but it might behave similarly. )

For the curious,
1872 1/2 gr gold green hinged 45 not hinged 145
dk greenish olive hinged 170 not hinged 600