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Encapsulation: PSA vs Beckett

Hey everyone. Looking for opinions / recommendations on baseball encapsulation. Curious about people's thoughts regarding PSA/DNA cubes and the Beckett domes and which offers better/best resale value down the road.
Thanks!

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Permalink Reply by Steve Zarelli on October 20, 2017 at 3:28pm

I'm not convinced the encapsulated balls will carry any more value long term than non-encapsulated balls. If a ball is full of chemicals that are going to create dark stains, its going to happen whether the ball is sealed in a dome or not.

It's evident when a ball has retained great eye appeal and will command a premium... I don't know any seasoned collectors who place additional value on an encapsulated ball.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on October 20, 2017 at 4:09pm

"If a ball is full of chemicals that are going to create dark stains, its going to happen whether the ball is sealed in a dome or not" Steve Zarelli

I certainly agree, but would not the ball in a closed/concentrated environment suffer first (depending on the other factors of storage)? Are PSA/DNA cubes as "airtight" as PCGS slabs? Those were quite gas permeable and allowed nefarious toning right in the slab as was demonstrated very well before some (or should I say "smoe") were banned. Do these cubes and domes "breathe" - I mean, what about humidity changes etc?

"It's evident when a ball has retained great eye appeal and will command a premium..." - WELL SAID. "Cubes? We don't need no stinkin' cubes!"

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Permalink Reply by Steve Zarelli on October 20, 2017 at 4:23pm

I have often wondered if the completely sealed environment is more harmful than good.

As organic material, e.g., paper and leather, ages, it breaks down and "offgasses" various compounds. Is it better to let these offgasses escape? Is the item literally "stewing in its own juices" in an airtight micro-environment?

I don't know, but I suspect the sealed environment only has any benefit when the outer environment is extremely humid or polluted.

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on October 20, 2017 at 4:48pm

Well, in a sealed frame without proper materials, the acids outgassed by the mat and other materials (including the frame itself - oak is terribly acidic and hygroscopic!) have certainly damaged a good amount of artwork. In this example a liberal application of a CaCo2 buffer on the frame interior will do the trick...but with a ball? You can place a sacrificial anode (a bright copper penny) with your slabbed coins and it will "grab" the tarnish first - but with a ball? I don't know what would be best.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on October 20, 2017 at 4:56pm

Who or what was banned?

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Permalink Reply by Eric Keith Longo on October 20, 2017 at 5:27pm

Perhaps you remember (I might have some details off a bit) but someone toned a large run of ASE's in every color arrangement possible right in the slabs to prove a point. Some were thinking slabs were not gas permeable - some thought they were airtight literally. As I recall they were not around that chat room for long after the reveal. I was more interested in the untested "cherry finish (wood not reveal) felt(!) lined" storage boxes popular at the time...HSN was selling oak boxes of all things! Anodized aluminum is best, open wooden display fine.

One day perhaps there will be a premium for "Slab toning", like the blues on the Morgans in the little ANACS slabs or the premium paid for tab toning on commems. LOL

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on October 20, 2017 at 5:37pm

OK, I thought you meant here. Where were they banned from?

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Permalink Reply by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on October 20, 2017 at 5:38pm

I don't know anything about that incident, BTW. But it's absolutely true that PCGS slabs are not airtight—well, not gas impermeable—and they don't say they are.

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Permalink Reply by CLiebl on October 20, 2017 at 4:23pm

Thanks for the responses.

I really don't know much at all about the encapsulation process, just that they're "sonically encapsulated", whatever that actually means. In my head I suppose I was envisioning something to place the balls in an airtight environment where it wouldn't be affected by outside influences. But I am probably very wrong about that.

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Permalink Reply by CLiebl on October 20, 2017 at 4:27pm

I know in England they ship produce in air tight trailers to reduce the amount of spoilage (doesn't eliminate, but drastically reduces). In my head I was picturing that, only with a baseball. Which may not even be close to how it really works with a baseball.