[Pmaurer]

I had a couple near and dear hockey cards graded some years ago by BGS, both received high grades and therefore I was proud enough to display them on my shelf. Recently, I've realized they have become faded (they aren't anywhere close to a direct light source). Obviously, I'm extremely saddened by this, they're essentially ruined now. It was stupid of me to assume that the graded cases had UV protection in them, but I thought that would be a prime feature included with the case technology. Is there anything I can do?

I didn't post this to undermine or make BGS look bad, I truly love Beckett and continue to support...but I felt it necessary to post so that others hopefully don't end up with their prized cards in the same manner.

[Texan1985]

That's a bummer to hear. Were they autographs, or just the card stock itself faded? Be interested to see before and after pictures if you have them available.

[nolan5000]

I had a couple near and dear hockey cards graded some years ago by BGS, both received high grades and therefore I was proud enough to display them on my shelf. Recently, I've realized they have become faded (they aren't anywhere close to a direct light source). Obviously, I'm extremely saddened by this, they're essentially ruined now. It was stupid of me to assume that the graded cases had UV protection in them, but I thought that would be a prime feature included with the case technology. Is there anything I can do?

I didn't post this to undermine or make BGS look bad, I truly love Beckett and continue to support...but I felt it necessary to post so that others hopefully don't end up with their prized cards in the same manner.

The cases do have UV Protection added to the cases. Face to face, I've been told that the slabs have a "certain" amount added to them.

[fast93bird]

I've tried to find out what degree of uv protection Becket incorporates into it's slabs, and have only been able to find a statement along the lines of "as much as we could get before discoloration in the slab occurs." For this reason alone, the uncertainty, is why I changed how I'm building my display cases and decided to incorporate uv stabilizing acrylic into the case itself.

Were your cards in direct sunlight or something? Can you get any pics of the facing? I'm curious to see if there are any patterns to it or it's an overall fading, etc.

[Pmaurer]

Here are some pictures I just took. The face of the Iginla yellowed and the autograph with it. On the Biron/Miller auto, only the autos faded. They weren't anywhere near direct sunlight, but were in a room where daylight entered the windows.

[fast93bird]

OMG. Those are horrible. How long were they out for? I'm sorry to see that happened.

[Pmaurer]

Probably about 3 years on my display shelf.

[fast93bird]

Man......For being in indirect light......that's just terrible. It sucks that you have these treasures and you can't display them without fear of this happening. What a bummer.

[y2hood]

Could it be poor QC on the card itself and not the graded card holder?

[jeffv96masters]

Take this for what its worth as its my expressed "opinion" based solely on my years of experience.

Autos in general will fade over time . Depending on the pen used and object signed could be months or could be years but they will fade.. Sweet Spot autos are the hobbies prime example of this. Many other autograph issues experience it.

Keep your collection in the dark --literally. Heat and humidity destroy paper, especially paper containing acid from wood pulp. Baseball cards are basically wood pulp and ink. Take them out ONLY when showing them off otherwise keep them hidden away from even fluorescent light-- even that type of light can damage autos.

Light of any type whether sunlight or fluorescent fades ink and browns the paper. Store autographs only in Mylar polyester or cellulose acetate folders of museum quality. When your done put them in an archival acid-free box.

Do not store autographs in a fireproof safe. The humidity level in a fireproof safe is high in order to protect documents in a fire. Unfortunately that level is too high for storing autographed items== it will eventually damage your autographs.

Tons of ways to display them but too many to list here.

Jeff