Counterfeit Kendig Caramel Cards?

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Posted By: RobertS 

I just noticed an auction on eBay (Item # 1845767795) for a caramel card with a Kendig back that may be problematic.

According to Bob Lemke's book, "Sportscard Counterfeit Detector" Kendig never released baseball cards.

However, the card in question is said to be a 1922 card, and Lemke's book refers to cards made from 1916 Collins-McCarthy images.

Lemke writes on page 35 of his 1994 book:

"These cards should more accurately be classified among the fatnasies than true counterfeits bacause the company never issued cards. However, since Kendig's did issue trading cards, and since most collectors and dealers are not all that familiar with legitimate issues of the 1910s, it seems appropriate to include these cards within the body of the book.

"These fantasies/counterfeits were first reported in late 1989, having surfaced at East Coast flea markets. Two players were reported seen on the cards, Babe Ruth and Ray Chapman; others most certainly exist.

"Card fronts were apparently copied from the 1916 Collins-McCarthy 'Baseball's Hall of Fame issue of 200 cards, with the exception that the card number from the originals was not included on the fakes. This might account for the fantasy cards measuring only 3 1/8 inches in length, rather than the 3 1/4 inches of genuine E-135s.

"Backs of the phony baseball cards appear to have been rubber-stamped, reproducing the typography and layout found on Kendig's 'Flags of The World' cards which were roughly contemporary with the Collins-MCcarthy.

"Genuine E-135s have a semi-gloss surface on the front. The purpoted Kendig's baseball cards are printed on porous paper which has been artificially aged"

That said, a few years ago a lot of four fake Kendigs were floating around on eBay, with several winning bidders returning the cards to the seller after seeing them. They were way too thin (with images showing right through) and the ink appeared brand new on the front, although the paper was made to look old. In fact, I was the underbidder on the lot and the seller eventually sent it to me on "spec" saying the other bidders had failed to pay and I could check them out before paying.

After I sent them back to him, I eventually saw the same four cards at an antique shop after the owner had been duped on eBay, as well. (He pulled them from his showcase immediately, when he realized they weren't real).

So, if Mr. Lemke is reading this, please check out eBay Item # 1845767795 and let us know if this card is genuine. It appears that a couple of posters to this board have already bid on this lot.

By the way, the seller appears to be an upstanding eBay citizen, with many, many positives as both a buyer and a seller -- and he seems to be selling some nice items (later year cards). If these cards are fakes, I doubt if he knows it.

Then again, perhaps this is the first legitimate Kendig and Lemke's book was wrong in saying the company never issued baseball cards.

I just wanted to bring this to light, as Lemke's 1994 Sportscard Counterfeit Detector book is out of print, although it still is listed on Amazon. As such, I assume most of you don't have a copy -- especially since it concentrated mainly on post-war cards (although there is an excellent section on the Babe Ruth Fro-Joys).

Cheers!