Especially When You Put Them in Pages?
Last November, I purchased a complete 1970-71 O-Pee-Chee hockey card set at the Fall 2024 Sport Card Expo in Toronto. I then proceeded to ignore this set for over a year.
Why?
Because it was another “project” that was going to take time. Many of the cards in this complete set had flaws, and I already had about 80 or so cards from the 1970-71 OPC set.
So, I would need to compare the cards that I already had with the cards in the complete set, keep the better cards, and note any cards that I felt needed upgrading.
And many – many! – of the cards need upgrading.
Or do they?
I spent about four hours doing this Tuesday night last week, which is why I put off this task for so long. I pulled all 264 cards of the complete set out of the pages it came in, pulled the 80 cards of my set build out of pages, and then did the painstaking process of comparing any cards I had two of.
And whenever I had a double, a tough decision had to be made:
This Tony Esposito card has a very light crease, but the other Tony Esposito card is off center. Which one do I keep? Which flaw is the lesser of two evils?
That’s how my night proceeded. When I had finally finished this task, I noted that 93 cards in my set had flaws and needed upgrading. These flaws ranged from light creases, soft corners, poor centering, wax stains, and – of course – marked checklists. Some cards had writing on the back or heavy creases. (As a side note, the complete set I bought was fairly inexpensive, so you get what you pay for.)
But along the way, I started to ask myself if upgrading these cards was really necessary?
Like, does it matter that my card of Jim Pappin has a light crease? Or that my Ken Schinkel card is off center? Or that my Val Fonteyne card has soft corners?
Many of these cards are commons and don’t cost much to replace.
On the other hand, upgrading the two checklists will cost me around $100 to $150 each, while a Bobby Orr in better shape would cost me at least $150. That’s not even accounting for sales tax, shipping, and tariffs if I buy these cards from Canadian sellers on eBay.
Suddenly, having a Bobby Orr card with a “light crease” doesn’t seem so bad.
Making things even “less bad” is that I put my set in brand-new nine-pocket pages, which actually makes the cards look a lot nicer. Putting cards in pages – especially new, crystal-clear pages – is like adding a coat of gloss paint over a well-worn facade; it makes everything shine!
Most of the creases are only noticeable if I pull the cards out of the pages and really look for them. Besides, I am now 50 years old, and these cards are 55 years old. I was told it was OK to have a few wrinkles once you hit 50.
Note: This article is an updated version of an editorial that originally appeared in Volume 3 – Issue 49 of the Puck Junk Newsletter. For stories like these, plus news and updates about hockey cards and collectibles, subscribe to the newsletter here.
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Centering and rough edges are factory defects and out of the control of collectors. I’ll take a pack fresh, off centered OPC card over one that is perfectly centered but has corner wear, creases or rubber band scars any day.
Oooh, rubber band marks are the worst!
It depends on the exact problems with the cards. Paper loss, writing are a problem for me. Corner wear is generally not a big deal on vintage stuff. Off center is not even a thing to me unless part of another card is showing, then it goes to my error collection.
I agree with you on centering. I don’t care if a card if off-center; I just want a little bit of border. If the photo is touching the edge of the card, I’ll still buy it but will look to replace it eventually.
And yeah, I’ll put miscut cards (where another card is showing) on a separate page at the back of the album. I’ve even set aside those odd “diamond-cut” Upper Deck cards from 2020-21.