Collector’s new Slab Museum cases a good fit for graded cards

Steve Sousa is originally from the Pennsylvania area and as a kid in the 1970s he focused heavily on the Philadelphia teams from all four major sports.

When he returned to the hobby in 2015 he started to collect Hall of Famers from 1967-80 for the PSA Set Registry, and then some. However, having his cards sit sight unseen in cardboard boxes did not get his juices flowing.

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Like a lot of us, Sousa wanted to be able to see his favorite cards. So he designed a case for graded cards he wanted to have and use. He reached out to some existing contacts to get them produced, and like a lot of great items, what started as a personal-use invention quickly spread to collectors who decided, “I want one of those too.”

That's exactly what occurred. As we all know, there is no shortage of holders, cases, stands, or new-fangled shipping supplies for trading cards. So what was so different about this case that didn't even have a name yet?

First, it can hold graded card from various grading companies and slabs—PSA, SGC, CGC, and cards from other grading companies. The slabs even fit easily in the slots with protective sleeves on them, which is always a plus.

There were initially two sizes made—one that holds 20 slabs, and one that holds 40 with double rows. The acrylic is heavy-duty, museum-grade quality, which is extremely helpful against those harmful UV rays that always seem to make their way into our card rooms.

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Soon Sousa was selling them to other collectors. He sent a few samples to some hobby dignitaries, if you will, and I was fortunate enough to receive a 20- and 40-size case. The 20 sits eloquently on my studio desk and the 40 is not far away. They are beautiful cases.

Soon he had a good problem. People were lining up to acquire these cases for their collections. After a conversation with Hobby News Daily’s Danny Black, Sousa brought Black on as a partner. Then the unnamed cases got a name, and Slab Museum was officially born. The name obviously makes sense.

Soon what was just a small idea for personal use was becoming a hobby hit. Steve and Danny started discussing future plans, new designs, and other important logistics. The demand was becoming intense; they also knew they needed help getting the cases into the hands of more collectors.

After a few meetings with Zion Cases founder Clint Anderson and ironing out some details, Zion became the exclusive partner for Slab Museum. Zion's reputation speaks for itself. The partnership will allow quicker expansion of the brand and streamline shipping to get it into more collections quicker. New configurations will be coming soon.

You can get your hands on the 20- or 40-count Slab Museum products at Zioncases.com.

— John Newman is a collector, dealer and the host of the Sports Card Nation podcast. Catch his Hobby Quick Hits on Monday and his guest interviews on Friday on your favorite podcast plat­form. You can reach him at sportscard­nationpc@gmail.com or on Twitter at @sportscardnati1