To soak or not to soak a '14 CJ?
 

I'd appreciate any opinions you experienced soakers might share. With this type of staining, is the risk worth the reward? Is there any technique that you recommend for caramel stains and is it safe to do on a '14 CJ? I've never even busted a card out of a slab, should I just let it be?

'14 cj
 

Dan,

I could alleviate your dilemma.......just send me a price and sell me the card! :) Seriously........let me know, thanks!

Mik:)

Those stains wont move with a basic soak, would be looking for a doctor for that call...bust it out then it alone. Nice card.

agreed - if you don't like the stains, you may have to go for the '15 set. Or be prepared to pay a premium for the small percentage of 14s w/o the stains.

Beautiful card, I'd be happy to have it in my collection if you aren't happy with it!
Rob
:)

By the way, unfortunately I don't know if '14s can be soaked or not. They are VERY fragile. And if you do soak, I'm not sure how much of the staining would be removed. I'd work on a cheap one before trying a nice HOFer like you have there with Clarke.

If you DO soak, show us some pics!

Rob
:)

None of the caramel will come out, either year. That is very fragile ink and you run the risk of creasing it while handling it wet...don't do it.

I'm scared to death when I handle '14s, I can't even imagine soaking it. I imagine it'd a bit like soaking a newspaper clipping.

Several years ago, at the Baltimore National, there were several of us (they will remain nameless) who were soaking 1914 CJ's in the Sheraton adjacent to the convention center. It was a very slow process. It did nothing to remove caramel staining, but it was effective at removing some corner glue (but not the glue stains that were left behind).

As has been mentioned, though, the paper is very thin and fragile, especially when wet. It you do it, be VERY careful and make sure you have plenty of space and the right tools.

Best of luck…..

Thanks for the feedback gentleman. Sounds like there is no reason to take the risk so I will just leave the card in its natural state and accept the staining for what it is.

Seriously...
 

Asking whether to remove the caramel stains from a 14CJ is like asking whether the coupon should be clipped off of a ZeeNut.

Except that one will increase the possible selling price while the other will decrease it.

As long as you're careful soaking 14 CJs isn't difficult and will not hurt the card... but as others have mentioned regular soaking isn't going to help much with caramel stains.

Zach. Although you may not agree with it, I hope you didn't miss my point. See, I am an orthodox 14cj collector. The caramel stains are awesome; they make each card unique and remind of where the card came from - some kids box of Cracker Jack. To those who collect TPG holders, a scrubbed CJ might get you a bump. But I ask, at what cost?!?

Chris, I definitely respect your opinion and understand why you feel the way you do about your Cracker Jacks. Obviously I'd like the cleanest copies possible, but I appreciate your perspective on how the caramel speaks to the history of the cards and I hope that carries over to me as a newer CJ collector. I will say that the Clarke in question presents like a VGEX card other than the staining, so if caramel stains allow me to more easily afford the cards I guess I should stop complaining. I will not be soaking the card btw. Thanks again for everyone's input!