Can someone help me with what size penny sleeves I need that fit in 9 pocket pages?

I've never actually bought any before, but I have tons of them from trades and cards that I've bought. But most of them are too big and don't fit nicely into the Ultra Pro pages.
I've been looking on the bay(seems to be the most easy place for me In Australia to get them) and I can't work out what I need.

Ultra-Pro Platinum Series Stock #RPSCG-1 406737

I buy packets of 100 for about $2. These are the only sleeves that I've found to fit in the 9-pocket binder pages. They are a snug fit.

Actually I've found that these sleeves really fit the best in the less expensive ultra-pro pages that they sell in bags at Target department stores.
Don't know if you have access to those down under...?

Thanks for the help, Billzee.

Wow, your Target store sell those kind of things?! thats amazing, I'm so shocked really you are very lucky

The only place I can get a very limited range of Ultra Pro locally is my local comic book shop that sells packs of 10 Ultra pro Silver series 9 pocket pages for $5.95 AU which is a bit more than I am willing to spend, so I'm forced to buy off of the bay. I usually buy a Box of a 100 Ultra Pro Platinum pages for around $40.

So those Ultra Pro sleeves, the #RPSCG-1 406737, do you know if they fit into the Platinum 9 pocket pages?

YES, these Ultra-pro premium card sleeves definitely fit in the Platinum 9 pocket pages.

It is a snug fit but the sleeved card will lie flat in the pocket

This may be a silly question, but why do you need to fit penny sleeves in 9 pocket pages?

I have used Ultra Pro Platinum 9 pocket pages to store regular cards, autograph cards, costume cards and sketches for close to 20 years now. I have never experienced any bleeding, degrading or sticking of any cards or ink, even though I don't add any inserts, with one exception. Super high gloss cards like Fleer Ultra will stick, but this manufacturing process is not popular now.

I do make sure that my cards are not subject to temperature or humidity extremes, but beside that I take no other precautions. I'm not saying penny sleeves are a bad idea, just that I don't see any long term adverse effects without them.

quote:

This may be a silly question, but why do you need to fit penny sleeves in 9 pocket pages?

Its a fair question... My short answer is you don't actually need to sleeve your cards before you store them in pages.

I think sleeving the cards does the most good on the top row of the page where there is the least amount of card edge protection.

Also I buy the thinner Ultra-Pro pages for cheap at Target. I find that sleeving the cards gives the same amount of protection as storing them in the more expensive platinum pages (w/o sleeves)

And I can fit more thinner pages in the binders too.

But it really comes down to whatever works for you...

Thank you for the help Billzee, and Raven, that is a good question

I have slowly been scanning all my autos(not many compared to alot of you lucky people ) and I noticed this

can you see what has happened to the top of those cards? It's like they have faded, they are only prints (I bought them off ebay from Andy) but I really liked them and they didn't cost much so I didn't mind that they weren't real. They have been kept in the Ultra pro pages from the moment I got them, before you ask, no there is no possible way for sunlight to get to them. I must say though, they are on the on the top row, if that means anything.
I thought, well, if it's happening to them I hate to think what it's doing to the rest of my cards I just though another layer of UV protected plastic might help.

Any other suggestions would be very much appreciated.

I would not recommend storing expensive cards in soft sleeves and then pages. Try putting them in penny sleeve, top-loaders, team bag then into the 4 pocket pages.

The main problem with penny sleeves is they don't offer enough protection. The pages are great for displaying but they don't offer too much protection either. Even with both added together your'e only getting something decent.

Thanks Alex, I think that is what I am going to have to do.

Agree with BILLZEE. I noticed that the Ultra-Pro soft sleeves I have are RPSCG-3, not 1 but they fit in the 9 pocket pages as well.

I also do what AlexC mentioned with the 4 pocket pages but that is only on cards that come sealed in a toploader already like Rittenhouse case toppers or cards that are worth more than say $50.

Where do you keep your binders for the top of the cards to fade? You may want to move where they are stored to someplace with less sunlight.

That's what I can't work out, I don't understand how they could fade as they aren't in any sunlight of any kind at all. The Binders sit in a bookshelf that have the shelves at just the right height, there's barely half of a cm gap above the top of the binders. I'm starting to wonder if I should just keep everything in the cupboard where it is dark.

I started using binders from Unikeep (www.unikeep.com) for my cards. For my kids' cards, I bought them Mead binders that zipper closed. You might want to give one of these a try.

I use enclosed binders called Safekeeper Enclosed Storage Binder from Archival USA. I've been using these for years now and have over 15,000 promos stored in them with no issues.

quote:

Originally posted by Juelle Lou:
That's what I can't work out, I don't understand how they could fade as they aren't in any sunlight of any kind at all.

Allow me to bore you a bit. The reason why the top fades is because of the opening of the pages. It allows the air to touch the top of the card while the bottom part remains untouched. And how do I know? I remember looking through a collectors albums of vintage baseball cards. All his 1950's baseball cards were lighter on the top while the bottom were firmly attached to the pages. Not good, I felt so bad for the guy's collection.

Not boring at all Alex, it's very helpful information.

So really, all the cards should be kept sealed away from even inside air conditions. Very interesting. So if I want to keep my cards in the best condition for as long as I can, keeping them in the binders is the least best thing I can do for them, right?. I'm not sure how I am going to store them now, especially the base sets as I do like to look at them occasionally


I'm thinking Jeff and WGF351 (thank you for the help guys, I really appreciate it I never realised you could get binders like that) have the right idea, do either of those binders actually keep the cards airtight?

The unikeep binders snap completely closed. They're more like plastic boxes than binders.

Those Archival USA binders are nice but pricey. I did find boxes for storing 3 ring binders that you slide the binder into so maybe I could buy them and still keep the binders I have.

quote:

Originally posted by Juelle Lou:
That's what I can't work out, I don't understand how they could fade as they aren't in any sunlight of any kind at all. The Binders sit in a bookshelf that have the shelves at just the right height, there's barely half of a cm gap above the top of the binders. I'm starting to wonder if I should just keep everything in the cupboard where it is dark.

Most of the big unknown with plastic pages has to do with the fear of chemical interaction. The idea of storing cards or autographs or sketches in archival safe materials is to prevent the printing or inks from breaking down because of the pocket or penny sleeve or hard holder over time. There is still doubt because no one knows how long is too long. You can only go by the history of the product you think is best.

In terms of light damage, I have to believe that cards are better off if left in the dark. Its not just sunlight, any kind of direct or indirect home lighting will have an effect over time, but you have to make a choice. If you want to display and easily enjoy your cards or autograph collection its going to sustain some damage. I keep my binders in closets, lying on top of each other. Some are around for over twenty-five years and the cards are just fine in their Ultra Pro Platinum pages. In another twenty-five years they will probably look a lot better than me. When I think of it that way, I feel pretty stupid.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Raven,

quote:

Originally posted by Juelle Lou:
Not boring at all Alex, it's very helpful information.

So really, all the cards should be kept sealed away from even inside air conditions. Very interesting. So if I want to keep my cards in the best condition for as long as I can, keeping them in the binders is the least best thing I can do for them, right?. I'm not sure how I am going to store them now, especially the base sets as I do like to look at them occasionally

The first thing you want to do is to keep them out of any kind of light. You can also store the album in a large ziploc bag. This will help the longevity of your collectibles.

Remember when it comes to collectibles. Light is your #1 enemy, the air is your #2 enemy. Many collectibles will distort under light and air. And us too

Thanks everyone for the advice, I'm going to have to seriously consider what and how to store my cards better from now on.