Do you need to slab collectibles for archival protection?

/
Signed items in Mylar sleeves - the only archival protection you need!

Signed items in Mylar sleeves - the only archival protection you need!

Collectors often ask, "should I slab my items to protect them?"

In my view, slabs are nice for small items. I sometimes get signed baseball cards slabbed, but it's mostly for aesthetic purposes -- NOT preservation or protection.

For archival storage, nothing beats a simple Mylar sleeve. This is what the Library of Congress recommends for archival storage of paper items. A slab is no more "archival" than a Mylar sleeve. In fact, to my knowledge, the grading companies do not disclose what material their inner wells are made of. Whatever it is, it cannot be better than Mylar and may actually be worse.

If protecting from physical damage is a concern, then slide the Mylar sleeve into a rigid top holder. That will certainly protect it from any accidental drop or household mishap short of your roof collapsing on it.

Bottom line: get your item slabbed if you like the way it looks. But you do NOT need slabbing from an archival or protection standpoint.