Best Way of Authenticating

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Posted By: Dustin

Hi all! This is my first post here. I have just recently gotten very interested in collecting cards from the Pre-War Era (I got burned out on the new stuff. No hunt = no fun). I've collected sports memorbilia for nearly all of my life, but this is literally a whole new ball game for me. Someone I actually met on Ebay who lives within a fairly close proximity of me pointed me towards this forum. My main concern is making sure that I am getting authentic cards, and not counterfeits. I recently purchased several cards from someone that are questionable. To make a long story short, he sold them as reprints because he was uncertain of their authenticity, and didn't want to be responsible for selling someone counterfeits with them under the impression that they were real. The story is what made me take the gamble - he purchased a huge vintage lot from an elderly woman whose husband passed away, and the guy was a life-long collector. If they are counterfeit, I won't lose any sleep over it (I didn't spend over a hundred bucks) and I can use them later for comparison purposes. My question to you guys is who would you recommend that I use in order to authenticate them? Paying more to have one graded that I know is authentic doesn't seem like a bad idea, but when the card is questionable, I really don't know my best options. I've purchased graded cards, but never actually had any looked at on my own. Thanks in advance!

Dustin