We have all seen cut signature products before. From baseball or football themed products to movies and celebrity centered releases, there is something quite alluring about owning a piece of history. After all, collecting cards is just that - hoarding history. As well, sports and entertainment cards are (sometimes) one of those rare things that appreciate in value over time. We collect cards in part because those small rectangles of cardboard mean something to us. They are individually significant in myriad ways and come to symbolize some sort of facet of time, whether the card bears meaning to a moment or place in the collector's memory or even if it serves to represent an event or achievement in the life of those depicted. We also collect cards in part because we hope they will be worth more, some day. None of this is a surprise. What bothers me about certain cut signature releases though - especially something like Leaf Oval Office, Famous Fabrics Pennsylvania Avenue, or last year's Horrors of War - is that it does not seem quite right to essentially desecrate and cut up documents with incredible historic value for a consumer product.
Now, I almost purchased one box of Horrors of War a few months ago. Price was the smaller factor of why I did not go through with the purchase. In the end, it just felt wrong for me to support a product that chops up significant historical items. A hobbyist with means and morals? Yetis, unicorns and dragons! The world is ending! I kid though. I do not deem to place myself on such a pedestal. Nevertheless, I am still tempted to buy a box of Horrors of War every time Blowout Cards lists it in their weekend deals. My thoughts and desires have betrayed me... I want to own that piece of history!
In the end, who am I to judge others who may also want to own and enjoy a piece of history, to sell a historical item for monetary gain, or both? Sports card collecting is just as stalwart an American institution as capitalism. However, now that I think on it, I will take a stand. If you buy these presidential cut signatures for the sole purpose of reselling them for monetary gain, shame on you! I do hope these cards eventually go to people who will comprehend the true worth of what they own. After all, I guess even a cut-out chunk of a historical document - without the rest of it to provide context - still proves an affirmation of the lives of men and women who perhaps accomplished greater, momentous things than any of us will ever achieve. These card companies could maybe stand to do their reverence of history in a less invasive, more dignified manner, though.
