My Findings of X-Raying My Tobacco Packs, CT Scanning next?

Aug 3, 2024

My Findings of X-Raying My Tobacco Packs, CT Scanning next?

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Thank you for stopping by my channel. In this video, I would like to talk about using technology to scan unopened materials.

Recently, several articles and videos have surfaced on the internet discussing the use of CT scanning technology to scan sealed sport card and Pokémon packs, boxes, and cases. From my understanding, CT scanning is similar to taking a single X-ray image of our lungs or teeth, but a CT scanner takes hundreds or even thousands of X-ray images in slices. Then, computer software combines them to create a three-dimensional image of the object. The results of scanning these unopened materials are stunning; people can make out the shadow of a Logoman insert from those CT images and even recognize the image patterns of Pokémon cards.

This method of pack searching is costly for regular people, as a CT scan for health checks can cost three to five thousand dollars. However, for those who have access to this technology, it might not cost much. Our hobby has changed significantly in the past few years; cards that are 1-of-1 or have certain patches or Logoman inserts can fetch millions of dollars. With that said, even spending $5,000 as an investment to scan a case of expensive unopened material and picking out packs with special inserts, then offloading other packs to unsuspecting collectors, can seem like a reasonable investment for online pack breakers, dealers, or sellers who have large amounts of sealed products.

I am not trying to discuss whether pack searching is ethical or unethical. What I want to highlight is that the idea of using technology to see through objects is not new. I found an image on the internet taken in 2018. A collector who had access to a dental X-ray machine attempted to find out whether his Sweet Caporal pack, purchased online, had any tobacco cards inside. After scanning his pack, he noted that the “card” shown on the X-ray was too small to be a card. He was correct; the area he thought was a tobacco card was actually the overlapping area of the foil wrapper. How do I know this? I have also done X-ray scanning twenty years ago. I scanned one of my Piedmont packs using an X-ray machine with the help of my dentist. The image only showed the spaces between the cigarettes and the folds of the foil wrappers. The image didn’t show any cardboard or faint impressions of cardboard edges at all. One might argue that this could be because the X-ray sensor was too small and didn’t cover the whole tobacco pack, making it hard to differentiate the densities of the pack's contents.

If you are a subscriber to my channel and have been paying attention to my videos, you know I do not disappoint my supporters. I don’t remember the exact year, but at least 15 to 18 years ago, I had my chiropractor use a traditional flatbed X-ray machine to scan some of my packs. The results were the same: I could not make out any impressions of additional cardboard, coupons, or anything other than the gaps between cigarettes and the folds of foil wrappers. Some might say that there were no cards in those packs. As an engineer, I understand the importance of having a control specimen in any test. One of those packs scanned by my chiropractor did contain a T206 card.

I am now showing you each X-ray in close-up. Can you see any paper or cardboard impressions? Please remember that these tobacco packs were packaged in slide shell cases, and there’s an area where the thick cardboard overlaps, but I couldn’t see any outline or shadow of it at all.

If no one can identify which pack was the control pack, it suggests that using X-rays to determine whether there’s a tobacco card inside a tobacco pack might not be effective, at least not with X-rays. However, could CT scanning technology work? What about the Pokémon packs where people can make out the impressions of certain Pokémon cards? I believe that the Pokémon pack test was different because the valuable Pokémon cards were printed with or contained some kind of reflective ink or foil materials, creating density differences that the X-ray frequencies could pick up. I don’t know anyone with access to a CT scanner, and I definitely would not spend $3,000 to $5,000 to scan my packs. Although I am curious about whether any of my packs contain cards or can confirm if there’s a card in one of my Piedmont packs, spending a few thousand dollars for confirmation is not something I am willing to do. Even if I confirm there’s a tobacco card inside the pack, it could still be a non-sport card. Since vintage tobacco cards were printed with simple ink pigments, the card’s density should be uniform. I doubt that any current technology would be able to see through the pack and identify the player on a T206 card inside.