Has anyone else noticed a haze/fog on the backs of their Pokemon Celebrations cards? I first noticed it when I was looking at the back of my Pikachu Celebrations cards under a lamp light. But upon further examination, all of my Celebrations cards (regular and classic collection) have a similar effect happening.
At first, I thought that it had to be mold. But none of the other Pokemon cards stored in the same place (in sleeved binders and sleeved in boxes) showed any signs of this. The backs almost have a light matte finish, like you see on some played cards. But then at the right angle under light, you can see the stubble pattern of the “haze” that doesn’t look like a played card.
The only common denominator with my cards was that they were all sleeved in Ultra Pro sleeves. (Again, some in sleeved binders and some sleeved in cardboard storage boxes.) So I’m wondering if it is a reaction with the card backing and the sleeves. (For whatever reason specific to when the Celebrations cards were printed.) I haven’t went through my non-sleeved bulk boxes to see if it is happening to Celebrations cards in there too.
I’m curious if this can be seen on anyone else’s Celebrations cards? I’m also curious if it possibly might be appearing on graded Celebrations cards. (I don’t have any English graded cards from Celebrations.) I know that a lot of late 90’s-early 2000’s sports cards can have some weird chemical-discoloration issues, even after they are graded. (Old metallic refractors turning green, etc.)
These cards were stored in a well ventilated, temperature controlled area. But I always keep in mind that anything is possible, when it comes to things like mold. For comparison, here is a Brilliant Stars card stored in the same sleeved binder.
