OT(ish) - Top Loader Question

[judsonhamlin]

I keep my ungraded pre-war in top loaders and (mostly) in penny sleeves. When I recently looked at my '39 Playball set, I noticed that many of the holders had turned golden in color. What is the cause of the discoloration and does it impact the card? There didn't seem to be any damage to those cards that aren't in sleeves.

Judson

[bigtrain]

I have had the same experience and it is a pain in the neck to replace all those top-loaders but I have not noticed any effect on the cards.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by judsonhamlin

I keep my ungraded pre-war in top loaders and (mostly) in penny sleeves. When I recently looked at my '39 Playball set, I noticed that many of the holders had turned golden in color. What is the cause of the discoloration and does it impact the card? There didn't seem to be any damage to those cards that aren't in sleeves.

Judson

I have seen toploaders of cards I receive that have previously turned orange'ish/golden. I thought it was from them being in the sunlight. I keep mine in very dark areas and have never had it happen to me. I use the Ultra Pro series...and use penny sleeves inside of them..They work like a charm.

[judsonhamlin]

Mine are, mostly, Ultra Pro holders and are kept in fireproof boxes, so it can't be the sunlight - the holders for my T206's (early/mid 90's) aren't turning brown, but the ones holding the Playballs (mid to late 90's) seem to be the worst. Maybe a change in the manufacturing process? My newer holders also don't have the tinting issue.

[vintagetoppsguy]

I think it’s just age. I bought several cards this past weekend from a dealer that had a box of cards with toploaders as you’re describing. The cards were fine, but I placed them all in new toploaders when I got home.

Originally Posted by judsonhamlin

Maybe a change in the manufacturing process? My newer holders also don't have the tinting issue.

That is possible too. Perhaps it was the chemicals in the plastic at that time – kind of like the Rawlings baseballs that were yellowing prematurely a few years ago. I heard the cause of that was a chemical in the glue and they changed glues. I don’t know if that was true or not, but their baseballs sure seem to stay white now (or at least that’s been my experience).

[oaks1912]

and more can be factors in these "archival at the time of manufacture" sleeves. Bill Cole has an article which addresses some of these issues........ (http://bcemylar.com/paperdocs.cfm). Much like the variety of paper & printing on various card sets, the variety of ingredients in the items we use to protect them can change composition over time... These issues have not been addressed or dealt with long term by the companies which slab the cards, so there may be some BIG surprises down the road...

[Exhibitman]

It is the plastic aging.

There was a lot of concern some time ago about plasticizers in holders migrating to cards--some collectors use polypropylene sleeves inside their top loaders or even use inert mylar holders as a result of those concerns. FWIW, I've bought cards from some old time dealers/collectors in holders that were piss-yellow with age and I've never seen a hint of damage to the cards in them.

[steve B]

I have that on some of my toploaders, mostly on modern stuff that's seen light back when I did the occasional flea market. No damage to the cards.

The old pages made from pvc plastic do get sticky, and can damage the cards, but not always.

In a related note, I did an unintentional test of a few storage plastics. I was doing some work in the attic which has a sunny window, and forgot a few cards in a page and a few in penny sleeves. Then moved stuff in front of them. I was rearranging a couple months ago, and found the cards.
Both the ultra pro page and the pennt sleeves had turned brittle, like they crumbled when touched. The penny sleeves had shrunk a bit. But there was no fading at all, and no other damage. The proof of this was a 1991 topps that was halway into a penny sleeve. Severe fading outside the sleeve, no fading inside the sleeve.

So I can say the penny sleeves and ultra pro pages keep cards good despite about 5 years of exposure to sunlight.

Steve B

[Leon]

Originally Posted by steve B

The proof of this was a 1991 topps that was halway into a penny sleeve. Severe fading outside the sleeve, no fading inside the sleeve.

So I can say the penny sleeves and ultra pro pages keep cards good despite about 5 years of exposure to sunlight.

Steve B

Steve- that is great info and validates what I do.....and I think this was definitely worth bumping so other folks will know too.

[egbeachley]

[QUOTE=steve B; The penny sleeves had shrunk a bit. But there was no fading at all, and no other damage. The proof of this was a 1991 topps that was halway into a penny sleeve. Severe fading outside the sleeve, no fading inside the sleeve.
[/QUOTE]

Steve, can you add a scan to this thread? I'm very interested in how the toploader and penny sleeve protected the card from direct sunlight. As far as I know they aren't manufactured with UV protection.

[steve B]

Unfortunately I didn't take any pics or do any scans. The rearranging stuff was a bit rushed, making room for putting some of the collection into the attic and moving the rest into a different room to clear a room for Our new daughter.

I'm nearly 100% positive I didn't save the card either, Nor do I know just why I had a 91 Topps common in a sleeve The sleeves and pages got binned for sure.

I have begun a deliberate experiment today, various holders etc. It may take some time to get results....But I'll check in a few months and see what's going on with them. And I'll do pictures at sort of regular intervals.
I'm expecting to see the red fading quite soon, that always seems to be the first to go.

Steve