Another reason why "well loved" vintage is preferred

I've recently jumped on the Twitter bandwagon.  (@RMitchell2767 if you do want to know my ID, or whatever it's called..)  My tweets are usually nothing outstanding, since I just use the site for informational purposes (and to follow the myriad of bloggers out there tweeting).

I did find one tweet on Wednesday that really piqued my interest.  The tweet linked to an article on the Sports Collector Daily website that mentioned another technique used to alter cards, bleaching.

I've heard about, and seen cards that have been trimmed to remove any noticeable edge chipping or corner wear, but bleaching?  Using chemicals to remove dirt or hide the effects of aging is something that I'd never heard of, but now that I've read the article it just doesn't surprise me.

Now that I know this, I feel even better when I pickup cards that have backs that look like this...

Or cards from 1960 with a nice crease on the front like this...

the yellow letters actually stand out more on the scan

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not going out to find every beat up card in existence when buying cards for a vintage set.  I'm sure that everyone out there has their own dealer(s) that they trust to sell them cards that are free from any tampering.

But in a world where people are always looking to make a buck, you just never know. 

I may never look at a bottle of Clorox the same way again... (yes, I know that bleaching doesn't necessarily mean using bleach...work with me here..)

Thanks for reading, Robert