Staples?

[Dellboye]

I was just wondering whether removing the staples from an old programme detracts from the value. If it does detract how much by?
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This is my website which has pictures of my chelsea programme collection. www.freewebs.com/dellboye

[Molineux Phil]

Think it best to leave well enough alone myself,although thay are unsightly, at the moment i would love a Newcastle v Portsmouth 57/58 rusty staples or not,devalues a prog yes i do think so.by at least 1/4 but hard to find progs from early 50 without.

[Dellboye]

Do you think the value lost by taking out out the staples is more or less the value lost by a programme damaged by rust
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This is my website which has pictures of my chelsea programme collection. www.freewebs.com/dellboye

[Molineux Phil]

Yes,a number of my mid 50s progs do have rusty staples some i have removed some have fallen out themselves,but i personaly would still pay top money for a prog if it was one i needed to finalise my collection rusty staples or not.

[Auchinleckian]

Please see an earlier posting by myslef in "how do you store your programmes" Don't take staples out of programmes where there's no need to do so. If they have alrready started to deteriorate it's a personal choice, if they're badly rusted I always remove as the rate of paper burning will only increase otherwise.
Staples rust due to atmospheric conditions, the same as any metals exposed to damp. Keeping programmes in an atmosphere away from such exposure should enable them to remain rust free. The non acidic plastic bags will provide that environment.

[ToffeeDan]

The programme is still an original though, isn't it?

I would imagine no staple is better than a rusting one, and probably preferred to a new one. If you store the item well, probably inside a good quality plastic sheet (solid 3/4 sealed rather than wrap around) I would think this is a good start. It's not as though you have a need to remove it from there too often and, in any event, you won't be planning to sell it!