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Posted By: David

There is a long answer and a short answer. The short answer is that the collector shouldn't loose any sleep over forgery of 19th century baseball tintypes. If a collector owns one or is considering bidding on one at eBay, and there isn't anything fishy, it's safe to assume the baseball tintype is legit. Even if it does look fishy, it's still probably legitimate. If someone has one that appears goofy, I will be happy to look at it in person.

Also, realize that tintypes are by nature one-of-a-kind. If you start seeing doubles or triples of your tintype offered around, you should start wondering what's going on-- otherwise, don't sweat it.

Technically, there can be forgeries of tintypes, but, for a variety of reasons, the baseball collector shouldn't worry.