1966 Topps Baseball Wantlist

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

What is a collector to do?


I have a dilemma probably faced by all card collectors and one I have faced before. The dilemma is how do we enjoy our collection but also keep it safe. Back home in STL we had basements that provided additional space to enjoy. Because of earthquakes we have no basements here in California so we don’t have extra space. Though I would like to have some of the cards in binders I don’t have a good place for these. Also, we have a great deal of light coming in to our house so I could see them getting damaged even in binders. Also, I am not sure I want to place Yadi’s cards in binders, whether or not they would remain safe and undamaged. So I have his cards in top loaders in a 600card box that holds the top loaders. However, this restricts our enjoyment of the cards. About once a month or so I file away the recent acquisitions. I want this to be a collection and not an accumulation. So inspired by a fellow blogger (can’t remember which one) who had them on wire racks in a closet. I think this is the way we are going to go.

3 comments:

  1. Great question. I have cards scattered all over the place. My office. At work. In my buddy's garage. In my parent's garage. As for how I store it... that depends as well. The bulk of my stuff goes into binders, which stays in my office for easy access. However my memorabilia cards, autographs, and nicer inserts & parallels are penny sleeved, top loadered, team bagged, & thrown into monster shoe boxes that are taken down to my parent's place in Vegas. I like storing them there, because the air is really dry and they're pretty safe from natural disasters... except flash floods... but their house isn't affected by them. That's why I'll scan all of those cards and put them on my website, so I can still appreciate them since I don't have the luxury of holding them in my hands on a daily basis. But I visit them multiple times a year and while I'm adding/sorting new cards to their boxes, I make sure to admire the collection. One of these days, I'll have to write up my own post when I have some time to take photos.

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  2. Fuji, for your "premium" cards do you use any snap cases? I like the idea of scanning the cards and may end up doing so. I too have a monster box jammed full and stored in a hutch (my wife isn't thrilled). Thank you for sharing your system. cheers Brady

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    Replies
    1. No. At one point I used screw downs and one-touch magnetics, but they were too heavy and bulky. I'm sure they provide more protection than toploaders, but they're a lot more expensive too.

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