The Big Freeze Of 1995

My friend Stuart brought me a factory set of 1995 Topps.  Hey, awesome!  Only a few more sets to go to have a complete run from 1969 through the present.  Not that that is really a goal of mine, but it's a nice piece, especially since I have the Cyberstats version of the set.  The factory sets came with two series of exclusive inserts - Cyber Season In Review (7), and Opening Day (10).  (We're still looking for some singles from these for Stuart's sets - inquire within).

There was only one catch.

They were a little stuck together.

I had this problem with a couple boxes of 2003 Topps and a couple other 1994 sets.  This factory set was a series of blocks of cards that I started to pull apart.  Some of them came off clean, but some were a little speckled.

I decided to try a technique I had heard about a few times before.

Stuck 'em in the freezer in front of the tater tots and fish filets.  (Yeah, it's usually a little fuller than that.  Have to make a grocery run soon.  Bachelor fridges are empty, but freezers are stocked because that's where most home prepared meals come from).

Left them in overnight and pulled them out the next evening.  As I leafed through them, I still had to peel them apart a bit, but it wasn't as horrible as the 2003's.  They were however, coated with a light film of condensation.  So I didn't want to leave them in the box next to each other just to get stuck again.  I had to air dry them somehow.

I just let them drop as I plucked them apart.  Don't think I killed any corners since it was all on the carpet.  Tried to sprinkle them a bit evenly as I went.  This way there's air around them but they don't take up half the house.  They actually sat this way all week.  (This is how much card activity there has been - hence the same with posting.)

This was a hell of a shot

But the casualty rate was still significant.

As I collected them back up today and sifted through, the majority were clean or almost unnoticeable as far as speckles.  I went through each one and determined if at first glance, do I see a clear picture, or do the speckles stand out?  Ended up culling almost exactly 200 cards out of the 677 count set that I will be replacing.

Some samples:

Ruth wasn't completely clean, but not bad.  Jeter Future Star wasn't so lucky.  I think I did about 50/50 on the big name cards.

Trachsel came out clean like a lot of them.

Thome is seeing some flurries.  Enough to replace.

Willis is pitching in a squall....

And ironically, J. T. Snow is batting in a full blizzard.

I'll have the list posted to my wants site soon.  Hopefully it won't last long.

Once the sidewalks are cleared and the roads plowed, this set can get back to normal life in the box.