[bballfrk44]

Recently sold some cards and had some PayPal built up so I'm looking to get one of the higher end Kobe rookies I don't have. I'm looking on ebay for the 1996-97 Finest Gold one and I know some have with the coating and without the coating. Now when I was a kid I immediately took the plastic coating off. Does it make a big difference in price if it is on or off?

[swjrp10]

Now I cold totally be talking out of my...rear...but since it was meant to be removed I personally don't think it matters. Now, I'm sure there are some purists who demand the plastic stay on, but as long as the surface is clean I'd actually prefer it without it. Just me though!

[crimedawg47]

It is personal preference, for nostalgic sake i like the peal on. Will definitely grade better with it off though.

[nickm1123]

It is personal preference, for nostalgic sake i like the peal on. Will definitely grade better with it off though.

Yes, this is very true. The rep that I go through at Beckett Grading even told me to make sure to take the peels off the cards prior to sending them in. Now this again could be personal preference, but I feel that since a grading rep told me to do it, then it must mean it would not hurt the value at all (so either way would be fine IMO).

[taffster74]

According to the annual, cards with the peel on are listed in the price guide, with the peeled ones being 10-25% less in value. So that means - technically - if you want a comprehensive collection for a pc, you have to get copies both peeled and unpeeled.

[swjrp10]

According to the annual, cards with the peel on are listed in the price guide, with the peeled ones being 10-25% less in value. So that means - technically - if you want a comprehensive collection for a pc, you have to get copies both peeled and unpeeled.

Maybe I'm weird, but I find that nuts! It's not like the Larry Bird/Dr J/Magic Johnson where separating the card as intended changes the card as a whole...it's merely removing a protective layer that was designed to be removed.

Now, I know I'm making a deal over small potatoes (and creating an insane scenario), but that means...say I hit a Kobe RC...and the text from the plastic goes all the way down his picture...it's technically worth more than one that's peeled then placed immediately into protection?

I guess technically if it's sealed a buyer would KNOW the surface is clean...but still

[taffster74]

I get what you're saying, SWJRP10 - believe me, i get it - but that's the line from the beckett annual. Believe me, it's frustrating for me as a pc collector because all of my old finest cards with the protective coating had been peeled back in the day (did it myself) and now i find this .. it means I have to chase extra copies that are unpeeled. and not all of the cards I'm after are easy to come by.

[sonic311]

I have this one with peel on I'd be willing to sell. Shoot me an offer.
I have one without peel graded BGS 9.5 but that's staying in the PC.

[Caffrey]

I guess the bottom line is what is your intention when buying. If you intend to buy as a way of saving/resell in the future, keep the coating. If it's for your PC then is becomes a matter of your own preference.
I used to be a keep the peeling for all proposes kind of collector. But nowadays I think that if it were for my PC I would probably take it off and grade straight away for protecting. And I have two reasons for this. 1- A lot of the cards that require the coating look a lot better without it. 2- The cards weren't intended to keep the coating for so long as it wasn't designed for that, so there's no way of knowing how the actual surface of the card will react to being stored with it for so many years.

[JMarchand1981]

When I was in the market for this card one of my prerequisites was that it had the peel.