1933 Sport Kings Lopchick - Real, Reprint or Fake?

[shanan]

Hi there,

I'm hoping somebody can help me out with working out if this card is legit or a reprint (or possibly even a fake). I picked it up from what is essentially a pawn shop here in New Zealand. It was with a bunch of other Basketball cards - mostly 70's Topps but also a couple of 1948 Bowman.

I asked about it on the Blowout forums and somebody suggested I try you fine folk.

Front

Back

[jcc6252]

If I were pressed, I would say reprint or fake, based on the back. I like to see bleed through, or wet sheet transfer of the red "Sport Kings Gum" label from the front. Also, the real back seems to have bolder print. Here's a scan of one of my previously owned examples to compare:

[shanan]

Yeah, not what I want to hear but those are the two things that have me seriously questioning it too. The bleed through in particular. This card is showing no signs of it whatsoever.

Thanks for the reply :-)

[Vintagecatcher]

Hello,

Not an expert, but it looks like the card was dipped in tea to give it an aged look, which scammers often do.

Patrick

[Leon]

From the scan I saw before I thought it could be good, but with these larger ones I am with the others. Not looking too good...

Originally Posted by shanan

Hi there,

I'm hoping somebody can help me out with working out if this card is legit or a reprint (or possibly even a fake). I picked it up from what is essentially a pawn shop here in New Zealand. It was with a bunch of other Basketball cards - mostly 70's Topps but also a couple of 1948 Bowman.

I asked about it on the Blowout forums and somebody suggested I try you fine folk.

Front

Back

[scooter729]

Edges with that amount of discoloration typically would have more wear on them. This card has edges which look dis colored but the edges themselves don't show much actual wear. So I would say fake.

[Aquarian Sports Cards]

That weird edge discoloration is almost always a dead giveaway, print quality also looks all wrong especially around the lettering in the black field at the bottom. I am holding my Lopchick as I say this. Trivia his name is actually Lapchick it's an UER.

[JustinD]

Definitely artificially aged reprint.

I think the issue with the back is ink loss from the tea soak.

[shanan]

Really appreciate all the feedback guys. I've learnt a lot from this and will have a good idea what to look for next time (if another one of these somehow makes its way to NZ, lol). Fortunately I only paid NZ$1 (US$0.69) for this one so nothing lost.

Does anybody know what the likely reprint set would have been? I see there was one in 1986 but that set has a line of text on the back to identify it. Presumably there was another release at some point?

[Michael B]

Shanan - Happy first day of Summer. I spent a little time in Auckland in 2002 during the Louis Vuitton Cup prior to the 2003 America's Cup. I remember taking the ferry over to Devonport for lunch. First time I ever had beetroot on a hamburger.

[aloondilana]

Would there really be a big demand for someone to fake Joe Lopchick cards?
I dont know about you, but if I were a scam artist, I would'nt waste my time faking dog crap.

[shanan]

Originally Posted by Michael B

Shanan - Happy first day of Summer. I spent a little time in Auckland in 2002 during the Louis Vuitton Cup prior to the 2003 America's Cup. I remember taking the ferry over to Devonport for lunch. First time I ever had beetroot on a hamburger.

Cheers Michael :-) Very cool. I'm down in Paraparaumu which is about 1 hour out of Wellington.

For some reason we claim the first day of Summer here as Dec 1. Doesn't make any sense though as it clearly doesn't get hotter until closer to Christmas. My Son is 4 1/2 and was just asking me this morning why we don't get snow at Christmas. Must be confusing when all the Xmas stuff he sees relates to snow and winter.

[shanan]

Originally Posted by aloondilana

Would there really be a big demand for someone to fake Joe Lopchick cards?
I dont know about you, but if I were a scam artist, I would'nt waste my time faking dog crap.

It's a good question. Given the other cards that it was with (some of them had price stickers on the sleeves) my guess would be that they were purchased from card shops in the late 90's roughly. So you'd assume that it was faked around that time or a bit before. It's not like somebody saw the more recent interest in these cards (Ebay sales for Lopchick) and decided that it was a good time to do a fake.

I can't find any examples now but I'm sure I saw a few on Ebay from this set that were listed as aged reprints. Maybe a few sets were produced at some point and they aged them, not so much as a scam but more just to get something looking similar to the originals.

[Michael B]

Originally Posted by shanan

Cheers Michael :-) Very cool. I'm down in Paraparaumu which is about 1 hour out of Wellington.

For some reason we claim the first day of Summer here as Dec 1. Doesn't make any sense though as it clearly doesn't get hotter until closer to Christmas. My Son is 4 1/2 and was just asking me this morning why we don't get snow at Christmas. Must be confusing when all the Xmas stuff he sees relates to snow and winter.

I guess you could take him to the glacier at Mt. Aspiring. though that would be a bit of a trip. I know it is popular for the Aussies to go to the beach for a bbq on Christmas. Is it the same for the Kiwis?

[bobbyw8469]

That card is a fake. The number one giveaway is the huge gap on the reverse at the bottom of the card. A legitimate Sports King card would not have a gap that profound.

[Leon]

Well that is an easy way to tell. I guess Lopchick brings a few bucks..Who'd a thunk it?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1933-Goudey-...p2047675.l2557

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1933-Goudey-...p2047675.l2557

Originally Posted by bobbyw8469

That card is a fake. The number one giveaway is the huge gap on the reverse at the bottom of the card. A legitimate Sports King card would not have a gap that profound.

[Vintage Basketball Pat]

I'm going to differ. I think it's real. If you review several "Lopchick" cards online, you will notice variations in font style, the gap at the bottom of the card - even the color or shade of the card. This is a common thing with vintage basketball cards, and within that specific set, you can also see variations of other player cards. Even the bleeding through occurs on some cards and not others.

In my opinion, it's totally real.

[frankbmd]

Recent inflated prices for high grade Lapchick cards is likely related to the buyer's assumptin that a lap dance would inevitably follow and be part of deal.

[MW1]

Originally Posted by Vintage Basketball Pat

I'm going to differ. I think it's real. If you review several "Lopchick" cards online, you will notice variations in font style, the gap at the bottom of the card - even the color or shade of the card. This is a common thing with vintage basketball cards, and within that specific set, you can also see variations of other player cards. Even the bleeding through occurs on some cards and not others.

In my opinion, it's totally real.

No. There is zero chance the card is real. It's an artificially-aged reprint.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by MW1

No. There is zero chance the card is real. It's an artificially-aged reprint.

The artificial aging is really noticeable on the large scans. Agreed, 0% chance of being real.

[Vintage Basketball Pat]

I'm sorry guys. I was looking at the second image of the one in the PSA holder. I didn't even see the links on the first post. Yes- that one's totally fake...lol. I was confused why you thought it was fake. Now that I see the first links - pretty obvious. - Pat