reproduction pinbacks
 

Posted By: <b>Paul Muchinsky</b><p>Knowing nothing about autographs, I was fascinated with how knowledgeable hobbyists can spot fake autographs by such subleties as the shape of a certain portion of a certain letter in an autograph. There is no substitute for wisdom born of experience. I regret to note the quality of reproductions in pinbacks is increasing. Advances in computer-aided imagery are removing the tell-tale signs of a repro (crispness of image, shadowing, etc.). The key to detection has shifted more to the remaining components of the pinback: the celluloid, the collett, and the backplate. I believe due to very low demand, there are still very few repro pinbacks in existence. However, my fear is the forgers will know their weaknesses, and will "work backwards". If they took an original pinback of the proper diameter, gently decomposed the parts of the pinback, they could with the proper equipment create a pinback with a near flawless image, all the while using vintage parts (from some other pinback). The two toughest steps would be to "un-press" the components of a pinback without damaging them, and pealing the celluloid for re-use over a different image. The FBI is encountering an analogous problem with counterfeited high-denomination US currency by foreign governments (most notably North Korea). The counterfeiters have solved the problem of getting the "real paper" by chemically washing lower-denomination bills. Thus we are seeing new US currency with more distinctive markings. My best guess as to the pinbacks most likely to be reproduced in such a fashion are not the old classics from the early 1900s, but the highly desirable pinbacks associated with the 1961 Yankees. Their diameters were very common and traditional for the era, and thus there would be an ample supply of ancillary components. Justice would be a counterfeit pinback paid for in cash at a show with counterfeit $100s.

reproduction pinbacks
 

Posted By: <b>Tom Boblitt</b><p>I read an article the other day about fake coins coming out of China. Of course, a hotbed for manufacturing, the already manufactured fake coins from their own country and apparently now fake Trade Dollars and other coins are being generated in China, some good enough to be slabbed apparently. I'd think buttons would be especially difficult to counterfeit. Something such as a Cameo Pepsin pinback has such a distinct set of characteristics that it'd be very difficult to make one finding all the right components and aging it but I guess, as with everything else, it could be done someday.

reproduction pinbacks
 

Posted By: <b>Dan Bretta</b><p>Do you suppose there will ever come a day when counterfeiters become so skilled as to render collectibles virtually worthless? Is it really impossible (too expensive) to duplicate the ink and printing process used to make T206 cards?

reproduction pinbacks
 

Posted By: <b>Paul Muchinsky</b><p>I am not really at all qualified to render an opinion on anything in the sports memorabilia hobby other than pinbacks, so I will defer to the card experts on your specific question. But here are two issues I have thought about regarding what we call "authentic" and what other sectors of society call "truth". Neither issue has anything to do with sports memorabilia.<br /><br />1. Historically, where has the "big money" always been in collectibles? Art. When a Rembrandt or Monet sells for over $75M, somebody is putting their faith (as well as their money) in the word of some art authenticator that the painting in question is a} the picture was indeed painted by the attributed artist, and b) it is not a copy of the original by the attributed artist. How many times have we all read that painting X has been declared to be a forgery? Obviously someone's original judgment of authenticity was reversed by subsequent expert judgment. It wasn't all that long ago a leading auction house offered an Academy Award (the "Oscar") that turned out a very clever fraud, created by fusing the top half (the statue) with the base. The ultimate judgment was determined by the incorrect height of the award. If experts in the hyper-competitive world of the arts can be fooled, how about people who collect items of interest to us that the counterfeiters know will never be examined with the level of scutiny found in the arts?<br /><br />2. Up until very recently, judgments of guilt in a criminal trial were decided by human opinion---the verdict of a jury. With the discovery of the diagnostic properties of a DNA analysis, how many people are now being released from prison, sometimes after serving many decades, where DNA corroborates their innocense, and de facto, proves the human judgment of the jury was in error? The courts were initially reluctant to use DNA as a standard, but now the method is so established it has become the basis to re-open cases decided long ago.<br /><br />For me, the question will be whether our hobby will ever have the equivalent of our own "DNA test" for the items of interest to us. Since I know nothing about cards, I can offer no opinion about the possibility of a "DNA test" for paper and/or ink. I also know nothing about autographs. But from my reading of the members in this forum, it appears an autograph is never so much "validated" as being legitimate, as much as the experts can find no tell-tale signs it is not authentic. Thus all autograph experts can do (as it seems in my opinion) is to arrive at the conclusion, "either it is authentic or one really good counterfeit". Human judgment is fallible. As the art world has revealed, even people who are "world renowned experts" can and do sometimes make mistakes. We are all human, with some of us being "more human" than others.<br /><br />Until our hobby discovers/develops/invents its own irrefutable "DNA test", errors of judgment will always be possible. It is just a question of how much skill, time, effort, and money the counterfeiters wish to invest in items to deceive us. In the art world, the answer is "massive".

reproduction pinbacks
 

Posted By: <b>Dan Bretta</b><p>I think we're getting to the point where there are so many card issues going for huge amounts of money that it's feasible for the counterfeiters to go all out and spend a lot of time and money making the fakes. Probably not so in pinback collecting right now, but from what you've written I would stay very far away from those 1960s Yankee issues, but I would have no problem going after a Cameo Pepsin pin at this point.