New here, does this look real?

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>Anonymous</b><p>Thanks...<br /><br /><img src="http://www.network54.com/Realm/tmp/1136505727.JPG"> <img src="http://www.network54.com/Realm/tmp/1136505745.JPG">

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>peter</b><p>it looks fake to me. A better way to tell is if the font is perfectly centered and deep black.

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>barrysloate</b><p>It looks awful. Not even a good fake.

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>Anonymous</b><p>Does it also look to glossy?

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>scott ingold</b><p>Me thinks we have a seller looking for tips !!!!!!!

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>Anonymous</b><p>Nope... Offered for sale and I am a post war 1964 plus collector that wants to get into pre war.... A question. Does it make sense to buy some reprints and real commons to get an idea of what is real and what is not?

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>bigfish</b><p>I think buying some real cards to compare to the ones you have is a nice start. That cobb looks like a refractor with all the gloss. It is not real in my opinion

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>Anonymous</b><p>Man a distrustful group... I do not have the card... I have bought some commons and was thinking of getting some reprints and this was offered.<br />

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>zach</b><p>That Cobb is WAAYY bad. Call is distrustful if you want but its what you have to be almost these days unless its a person you know. No offense but how do we know you aren't just taking our tips to why its fake to help improve your own reprints to then sell on ebay ? It may sound far fetched but it has happened before.<br /><br />Edited to add-"was thinking of getting some reprints and this was offered."<br /><br />So your buying this card as a reprint then ? It obviously is but then why come in here and ask if it is ?<br />

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>fkw</b><p>Dont buy that reprint garbage, its worthless. Buy authentic common T206 cards, they can be had for under $20 all the time. Look at how they are made (lithograph) and the design front and back. Then when you have a question on a card compare the two. Compare the border color and width, the thin black line surounding the picture, the caption ink color, font and spacing of the letters. On back see if there is a Factory District number at bottom, see if the ink is the right color, and then check the wear patterns with your authentic common cards. Then if everything looks good see if it looks trimmed or restored.<br /><br /><br />The card pictured is glossy, has borders that are too wide, and is missing the thin black line around the picture. Bad reprint shouldnt fool anyone.<br /><br />Frank

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>Anonymous</b><p>The card was offered as is, I had purchased some 69 football cards and asked the seller if they had any other old cards. Seller did not know if it was a reprint, I did not know, so I asked here. I have read a little here and made my guess that it was a reprint based on being too glossy. Now the card is a reprint (based on people here) and my question is now is it worth getting as a reprint to help me judge real from fake cards? Did people here unintentionally buy fakes and did that helped them be a better judge of real cards? I have read a lot of the threads here about how to authenticate cards but would be uncomfortable buying a high value card at this point unless it is graded and even then I am not real sure (value wise). We all know that you can get great deals if you can spot an undervalued upgraded card and that is part of the fun of collecting. So at this point I will just keep buying commons and get a better feel for the cards. Thanks to all who answered.<br /><br />Neil<br />

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>leon</b><p>We have had people come on the board for unscrupulous reasons before. They were scammers getting better ideas on how to scam. You don't sound like one but honestly if no one knows you on the board, how do we know? If you buy enough vintage cards you will probably end buying something that isn't right, or bad altogether. I am as addicted of a vintage collector as the next guy but recently thought I scored a cool card that I needed....take care<br /><img src="http://www.network54.com/Realm/tmp/1136551935.JPG">

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>Anonymous</b><p>When you got this did you have any idea it could be a fake? Now that you have it and it is a fake do you think it will help you better identify fakes? I have no problem spending a little money on known fakes if they help me identify real cards better.. I am an avid collector, have always collected cards, but also have collected some cars, 1980's full size arcade games, some coins and other crazy thing, drives my wife crazy.. I always end up selling other collections and going back to cards. <br /><br />Neil

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>leon</b><p>This is probably the 3rd fake, similar to this card stock, I have handled in the last year....I bought one other and another dealer had me look at some cards that were eventually found to be fake. I did not know this was fake when I bought it but when I got it I knew the paper didn't "feel" right. It didn't feel smooth as my hundred or so other cards from this era feel. The seller I got this from is reputable and has offered a full refund of course. I don't buy fakes on purpose as I have the luxury of buying them anyway <img src="/images/sad.gif" height=14 width=14> I guess I have bought around 5000 vintage cards in the last 8-9 yrs and only have about 1 $40 I kept as I just didn't feel like returning it for a credit with the seller....he did offer though.....Hang around this board, buy some books (David Rudd has a few) about forgeries and/or paper, and stay in the hobby long enough, and you will learn. It's like osmosis...it just seeps through your skin.....regards

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>Josh K.</b><p>It seems to me that fakes come in all shapes and sizes, paper types, printing methods, etc. Whereas originals are generally consistent in their characteristics (with the exception of size for many issues). Wouldnt it make more sense to buy cheap originals to determine what is real and what isnt real - since they will all have generally the same characteristics - rather than buying a fake that may or may not ever share the same characteristics with other fakes?

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>Anonymous</b><p>So having some fakes for comparision does not really help you visually identify really good fakes. It seems to identify really good fakes you need to feel the texture of the cards, does that sound right? I have purchased some mid grade cards that I will break out of the slabs to get an idea of the texture.<br /><br />Thanks...

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>Josh K.</b><p>To identify the texture on a fake card, you need to compare it to a real card - not another fake. Without doing so, you would never know whether the texture on your fake that you intend to use for comparisons is similar to or way off from what a real card's texture should be.

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>barrysloate</b><p>There is something about the paper stock used to print T206 and the like that for some reason can not be duplicated today. Have one real one on hand for comparison and you will find most fakes pretty easy to spot. Admittedly, some will be trickier than others, but you will be right 90% of the time.

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>Joann</b><p>I agree with not buying a lot of reprints for comparison purposes, but still am often tempted to do so. But economically it doesn't make sense. Neil - do an ebay search under seller name 'carbs'. He sells many different kinds of reprints (as reprints). He usually gets around $5 or $10 apiece for them. You can get lower grade commons for some of the main sets for $20 or a little less, so for the extra few bucks I'd rather have a real card. <br /><br />I do keep a file of scans of reprints, fakes, etc for visual comparison and frequently check carbs auctions to see if there are any new types listed that I don't have in my file. His scans are clear and usually include both front and back of the card.<br /><br />Leon is right. If you read this board enough, and click through enough pictures and ebay auctions, you can get a feel for it - at least enough of a feel to spend $20 or so to get a real one. I've never held a T206 reprint, but am confident that if I ever got one I'd be able to tell by difference in feel from my real ones.<br /><br />Now we just have to figure out how this would work when every card out there is in a slab! Yes, I know that the authenticity question would be addressed by the fact that it is slabbed, but some of the opportunity to learn by feel, seeing small surface features, etc would be lost. But that's a whole 'nuther thread. <img src="/images/happy.gif" height=14 width=14> <br /><br /><br />Joann<br /><br />Edited to sound slightly less moronic. hee.

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>jay behrens</b><p>The best way to identify fakes is to own or handle a lot of the real deal. There an almost infinite number of ways to create a fake, but there is only one real way the cards were made, thus learning what makes up a real card is much easier than learning what fakes look and feel like.<br /><br />There are a few cases like m101-4/5s and CJs fakes that have tells that can be easily identified, but with most cards, you need to know what a real card is like, rather than what a fake is like.<br /><br />Jay<br><br>I've just reached Upper Lower Class. I am now officially a babe magnet for poor chicks.

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>JimB</b><p>I must echo Josh and others on this one. Spend the money on inexpensive real ones rather than fakes. The only way to know what is real is to know what is real - not what is fake. Identifying fakes becomes second nature when you know the real thing.<br />JimB

[Archive]

Posted By: <b>JimB</b><p>And a glossy front is only one of several reasons it is obvious that that one is fake.<br />JimB