2013 Topps Heritage: Scratch or Don't Scratch?

After busting a few packs of 2013 Topps Heritage, I started looking at the backs for short prints.  Even though I didn't find any short prints, I found something interesting on the back.  I noticed a huge blank spot on the bottom right next to a trivia question with no answer to be found.  That's when I saw the blurb saying to unveil the answer to the trivia question by scratching it with a nickle or dime.

Here is an example of a card with the trivia answer scratched.  This is definately a nice touch to the set making it fun and interactive.  I wonder what would happen if you did this with a penny instead of a nickle or dime?

This also brings up questions like the famous Rip Cards.  Rip or Keep?  Scratch or Don't Scratch?  While obviously these are base cards and not worth as much as rip cards, some collectors may perfer them unscratched.  I think that it won't matter in the long run, but set collectors could have problems with receiving scratched cards when the are looking for an unscratched base set.

Personally, I don't plan on scratching the backs other than the one I already did.  It was cool to scratch one off, but it takes more effort than I care to give, and it may make them harder to trade.

For those looking to scratch, it does actually scratch the back of the card.  Because of this, cards sent in for grading may receive a low surface grade.  If you don't care about grading and don't plan on trading, go ahead and try it because it is a cool feature in this retro set.  This is something I wouldn't mind seeing this in future releases.

-20youksox