How to tell if a 1954 card is original or reprint

[deltaarnet]

Might be a silly question , but I'm asking anyway.

[packs]

A reprint is going to be glossy. The real cards have a certain texture to them that just feels old. I know that's not a great way to explain what I mean, but if you have any other 50s cards feel them and compare.

[Econteachert205]

Not sure if a black light will help.

[Beatles Guy]

The modern reprints I have seen include the top border, which was not an original feature.

[deltaarnet]

Thanks for all the info. I just see to many 54 Ford, Snider, Mays and Spahn on Ebay that are described Original, but seem to be too darn cheap if so.

[pawpawdiv9]

The player (in action) also should have clear visibilty, like in the hands, not just a complete black glob.

[Eric72]

The front will present with a mixture of half-tone printing and solid inks.

Under magnification, the player's image will look like a smattering of dots and patterns laid out in a somewhat regular fashion (colors will vary, of course.)

Other features, such as the team logo and lettering, will be solid inks...sometimes just one, as with position and team affiliation...sometimes two or more passes, as with the player name.

I will try to post some high-res images of this a bit later.

Best regards,

Eric

[Eric72]

Here is the first in a series of images. Don't worry about the player depicted or the condition of this particular example. Aaron, Banks, other stars, minor stars, and all the commons were created using the same printing methods.

[Eric72]

Here's a closer view from the upper left portion of the card front. Take note of the, "p" and the blue cap along the right hand side.

[Eric72]

Here is another image of the same portion. Note how the blue cap has been printed using a different process, as compared to the, "p.".

[Eric72]

The next image concentrates on solid ink color passes. Note the seamless transition between black & red - and - the not so seamless multiple color passes which include a sliver of yellow. By the way, white should be discussed separately; however, I will refrain from going into that here.

[Eric72]

Almost done here. Attached is a larger view of the same card. Note the difference between solid inks and half-tone printing:

[Eric72]

Here is my last post on this topic.

Counterfeits and reprints of 1954 Topps baseball cards will often present with no difference between the player images and logos, etc.

While the half-tone printing and solid inks might be easy to reproduce, combining them would be difficult.

61 years ago, printing technology was quite different. Replicating this in 2015 is harder than one might think.

Best regards,

Eric

[deltaarnet]

Thank you very much for all the information.

[Zach Wheat]

Wow great job Eric. One other item which is important and seemingly harder to fake is the paperstock used in 54s. I think Keith (con40) in another post originally mentioned that cards printed from '52 through '91 were printed on clay coated chipboard called C1S. A white high-gloss paper was added, along with a coating of clay, on top of the chip board which allowed easier printing of high quality products. This isnt easy to reproduce currently since it involves 2 types of paperstock etc. if you look at the edges of the card or even the worn edges, you can see the two layers.

I was fooled once 9 years ago when i bought a fake 51 Mantle. The seller had recreated the exact look of a chipboard stock on the back along with wax stains. Fooled me in scans and pjotos, but not when i had the card in hand. One of the few times ive been fooled.

Best of luck.

Z

[egri]

I know this doesn't do you much good unless you have the card in hand and can do a comparison with another card of known age, but the reprints of the 1954 set are smaller than the originals. The originals measure 2 5/8 in by 3 3/4 in. Reprints will be the same size as a modern card, 2 1/2 by 3 1/2.

[Eric72]

By the way, white should be discussed separately; however, I will refrain from going into that here.

As it pertains to white on the obverse of a 1954 Topps Baseball card, I present the following image as a precursor to a series of images to follow. Again, do not concern yourself with the particular example. The entire set was produced using the same printing methods.

More to follow tomorrow, when I shall have more time.

Best regards,

Eric

[Eric72]

Sorry for the delay. Here is the next image. It is a close view of where the background meets the team logo. Again, the logo was printed using solid color passes. In this case, there was a slight alignment issue. However, the idea is the same.

Because we're discussing a white background, this differs slightly from the "seamless transition between black & red" mentioned in post #11. More on that later.

[Eric72]

Here is a view in which the half-tone printing meets the white background. The player image is created in the same manner on this card as the 1st one shown. There is a difference regarding the background, though. Again, more on that later.

[Eric72]

On 1954 Topps Baseball cards, there is a second player image I have not yet introduced into the conversation. It is black & white and a bit smaller than the color "portrait." As evidenced by the view here, this was also created using half-tone printing.

Speaking of white...rest assured...I shall get to my point on that in a moment.

[Eric72]

...One other item which is important and seemingly harder to fake is the paperstock used in 54s. I think Keith (con40) in another post originally mentioned that cards printed from '52 through '91 were printed on clay coated chipboard called C1S. A white high-gloss paper was added, along with a coating of clay, on top of the chip board which allowed easier printing of high quality products. This isnt easy to reproduce currently since it involves 2 types of paperstock etc. if you look at the edges of the card or even the worn edges, you can see the two layers.

Z

Kudos to Zach for this post, which I found to be very informative (I never knew about the C1S designation, its use through 1991, etc.)

What drew me to this, though, is the fact that you bring up an excellent point. The top layer of stock used for '54 Topps Baseball does have an interesting quality...it was white.

[Eric72]

OK, so why did I go on a campaign to single out the color white in this thread? Well, quite simply, the stock was white to begin with.

This means that white was never really, "printed" at all. This presents more noticeably on cards whose background is that color. It was simply an area of the card that never received any printing, save for the occasional stray print mark.

It also means that the border itself was never printed, either. It exists as a lack of ink applied to the card.

This image shows the border...note the lack of ink. It also displays half-tone printing across both color and black & white, as well as the multi-layered paper stock mentioned by Zach.

Hope this helped a person or two. Have a great weekend, everyone.

Best regards,

Eric

[Eric72]

I know this doesn't do you much good unless you have the card in hand and can do a comparison with another card of known age, but the reprints of the 1954 set are smaller than the originals. The originals measure 2 5/8 in by 3 3/4 in. Reprints will be the same size as a modern card, 2 1/2 by 3 1/2.

Hi Scott,

You bring up a valid point. However, reprints and fakes come in all shapes and sizes. Size alone can be a helpful guide but should not be the sole criterion.

Best regards,

Eric

[bnorth]

Eric great posts and descriptions. The only thing I can add is Eric's description only shows how to spot a really bad home printer fake made by someone that has no idea how to counterfeit cards or run a printer. Luckily that is all most scammers are smart enough to do.

Net54 member Robert(Bob) Lemke put out a book called Sportscard Counterfeit Detector back around 1993. It only shows specific cards but if you read the entire book it has some high end counterfeit cards that have been rescreened using a real printing press. These cards are next to impossible to detect unless you really know what to look for. The book can be picked up on eBay for a few dollars and are well worth the money.

[dclarkraiders]

Eric,

Thanks for taking the time you invested in this thread. Very informative.

Duane

[Zach Wheat]

?..... it has some high end counterfeit cards that have been rescreened using a real printing press. These cards are next to impossible to detect unless you really know what to look for. The book can be picked up on eBay for a few dollars and are well worth the money.

Ben,

This is exactly how I got scammed as noted in Post #15. However, I should point out that once i held the card in my hand i could tell it was a reprint. It had me 2nd guessing myself for about 15 minutes. Never again.....

And that dual layer card stock is hard to fake. If you look at the edges and compare it to the top surface, you can see it doesnt match up in fakes in the post 50s era.

Z

[hangman62]

Eric,
well done my man !