Welcome to the lab where we put our cards to the test.
Survival is possible, but it's highly unlikely.

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The Problem: Create an environmentally friendly alternative plastic-heavy phenomena known as grading. It must be equal in its ability to keep the card fresh for all of eternity.
 
The Equipment: (1) 2001 Topps Heritage#289 John Halama
(1) 2001 UD Vintage #62 John Halama
(2) plastic containers with lid
(1) freezer
water
The Method: Place one card in each container , fill with water and put in the freezer for two weeks.
The Observation: Everyday my wife scratches her head asking me why the heck there's baseball cards in the freezer. "All in the name of science, dear, all in the name of science." I want to know which of the nostalgia series can hold up to the test and which is simply an imitator. The days go by, many of which I completely forget they're in there. After two weeks, though, it's time to pull them out and check the results.

Both are looking pretty darn frozen - two blocks of ice with cards in the middle. A short time passes:

I could tell immediately that the UD Vintage fared pretty bad. A closer look revealed warping, strips of air pockets and a couple of creases. The Topps Heritage looked pretty decent though.

I gave the cards 24 hours to dry out before coming to my final conclusion. Upper Deck Vintage does not hold up well in the freezer. The cardboard is itching to separate. Crease streak mania is plainly clear on the middle right-hand side. There's another that cuts through the top of his hat. What the flat scan doesn't show is the arching bow that is big enough for a bug and his bug family  to camp under.

The Topps Heritage Halama fared much better. The main problem was some waving warping. A half-dozen small air bubbles were also evident.

The winner of this lab test is very clear: 2001 Topps Heritage is clearly a better series to freeze than 2001 Upper Deck Vintage.

So what do we learn from this? Perhaps freezing could be a new avenue for PSA or BGS to explore. If people aren't happy with their grade, they could simply thaw it out and resubmit. The frozen slab can also be equally permanent. They just have to stay in the freezer. Sure they might not look pretty, but neither do any of the other slabs out there.

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