Pardon my ignorance but I have never seen a tin card. Is it made out of tin or is it just an ordinary card that comes in a tin? If it's made out of tin wouldn't they be subject to rust if they got damp? And what do you store them in? (please don't say "a tin") I mean do they fit in an Ultra-Pro 9 pocket or what??

Hi Btlfannz:

Do you mean the new metal cards that many artists are doing and NSU has produced a couple of? They are actually made out of metal, are standard size (2.5 x 3.5) and fit fine in 9-pocket pages. Have no idea if they would rust if they get damp. Sorry.

There have been other metal (and tin) cards produced over the years. There was a company who did metal Star Wars cards (and other subjects) in the 90s called Metallic Impressions. Those had rounded edges though and so where thicker. There have been other metal/tin cards done through the years as well.

There are also tin cards which are just normal cards but came in a tin. Artbox did some of these and Dr Who in the UK has special cards which only come inside a special tin which has 5 packs of cards and the special card in it.

When tin cards are mentioned I always assume that they mean metal cards and there have been several of those releases over the years. It is not a new idea.

As already stated, they are usually of normal size and thickness and do fit into regular 9 pocket pages. Of course they may have made some that do not conform to a normal trading card, I just never saw one that didn't.

I really don't know what happens if they get wet because I never tried it, but I would think that they would survive a soaking a lot better than any regular cardboard card would.

As Wolfie said, in the early 2000s, ArtBox did exclusive cards on their Lord of the Rings sets. They were undersized, little squares, that came 1 per tin, each card exclusive to a particular tin. I think there were 30 or 40 different ones, so that discouraged a lot of people from chasing after them, as you'd have to find and purchase 40 different tins to complete your set.

Artbox also did tins with several Harry Potter sets. These were standard cards and were normally numbered T1.

Thanks for the info guys. By the sound of it I'll take a rain check on 'tinnies' thanks!!

If you're referring to our metal cards, they're made of aluminum and will not rust if that's your concern.

The cards that have labels on the back, are not considered water safe because of the labels. The label won't survive. But the actual card itself, and the print on the front, will be complete fine if it gets wet and then dried off. I've had business cards (ours are made of the same metal) go through the wash in pants pockets and they come out nice and shiny clean! lol

quote:

Originally posted by Jake:

I've had business cards (ours are made of the same metal) go through the wash in pants pockets and they come out nice and shiny clean! lol

I can vouch for that.

quote:

Originally posted by Jake:
If you're referring to our metal cards, they're made of aluminum and will not rust if that's your concern.

This is technically correct (especially in a practical sense)!

Fun Fact: But "rust" is _uncontrolled_ oxidation on a metal surface. Bare aluminum and stainless steel actually oxidize immediately in air or water, but form an invisibly thin protective layer that protects the item from further reactions. Controlled corrosion prevents rust ...