Are There Good and Bad Penny Sleeves?

theorioles

Folks.....I was just looking for some friendly advice. Can you folks tell me if there is any differences to watch for with penny sleeves? Or are they all the same? I have some Ultra Pro card sleeves 2 5/8" x 3 5/8"....clear polypropylene, acid free, no PVC. Are these perfectly fine for all cards even if they are higher value?

Thanks,
Gord

DeutscherGeist

Not all penny sleeves are the same quality. Some have severe factory defects that can ruin the surface of cards. What I noticed on some of the no name brands is small particles of plastic embedded in the sleeves. When you put your card in and it has some pressure on its surface, those particles indent on the surface of the card.

The Ultra Pro Platinum penny sleeves are known to be uniform in cut and no particles to worry about. You have the same brand and I think you will be fine. Just look carefully at a sampling and see if your sleeves are free of small particulate matter embedded within the sleeve surfaces.

Sleeves are good in that they can help prevent the oxidation process and shield your card from normal handling wear. Plus, they minimize the space they take up.

Penny sleeving a card and then putting it in a top loader is good rigid protect. You can even sleeve a card and then place that in a card saver. Placing a sleeved card in a screw down is overkill in my opinion and takes up a lot of space if you have too many. Something to keep in mind. However, I can understand using screw downs because the cards display better--by all means, go for it on the few cards you want to display, but make sure the penny sleeve you are using has no excess particles and the screw down contact surfaces are also free of debris. Do not screw down too tightly, though. Snug is best, too tight might cause long term wear on the cardboard.

Do not worry about the material used to make the Ultra Pro sleeves you have. The polypropylene, acid free, no PVC stuff is exactly what you need for archival safe storage of cards. I like using the sleeves and then placing those cards in 200 or 400 count boxes and labeling them appropriately. It is safe storage with minimal space being taken up.

WinPitcher

Yes.



Steve

itzagoner

Brad Penny sleeves. +1

ShawnyD

from personal experience, yes. some are too wide and dont fit in top holders, others are too narrow and you can barely squeeze the card in them!

toothshucker

Ultra Pro is good. I always cut (with a sharp scissors) ~1/2 inch down along one open side crease of the sleeve before inserting the card. This relaxes the sleeve and allows the card to be passed into it without "catching " or "nicking "the lead corner of the card as it is inserted. Hope this helps. Pete

Kneel

Ultra Pro is the best from my experience... I would only use penny sleeves that have a cut corner to prevent corner damage.