Questionable Ruth postcard
 

Stumbled across this on ebay and looks to be a fantasy piece to me. Can't seem to find any like it or any info indicating it is indeed from the 1930's

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1930-S-POSTC...item3383d33784

Looks like a fantasy piece to me too....

I heard post cards made by this particular manufacturer should have some sort of serial # on it to date exactly when it was made, but this one doesnt. Must be fake

That, I don't know. I do know, and have handled several cards with these attributes (not the exact look), and all were no good.

That's a known fantasy piece, stay away.

curt teich postcards
 

Curt Teich Postcards made a zillion cards; they do have identifying numbers on them (not serial numbers) that are helpful in dating a card. Details here, at the Curt Teich Archives site:
http://www.lcfpd.org/docs/teich_guide_dating.pdf

I don't think there are a lot of baseball subjects done by Curt Teich. A few stadiums. Also, he/they made (only?) color postcards. Doubly fake.

Could somebody please explain what is meant by a fantasy piece? I am not familiar with this terminology as it applies to baseball memorabilia. Thanks, guys!

A fantasy piece means that basically anyone with Photoshop (or similar tool) and a decent printer can create a postcard if they have the appropriate paper stock and cut it down to the right size.

Here is an example of a fantasy piece that has found its way into my collection.

Attachment 106832

A fantasy piece is also one that generally never existed before. It's different than a fake or reprint in that those generally exist as real cards but the one(s) in question are not real.

I guess those "Helmar" cards are fantasy pieces too?

Yes.

Thanks guys, I understand now.

It means the item is made up, never existed. Like a 1950 Bowman Mickey Mantle.

Sometimes a fantasy piece is for innocent fun. Sometimes it's a fraud.

This Ruth Postcard
 

In this case, several of these Ruth postcards surfaced a few years ago and they even were artificially aged (baked?).

This card even was the subject of an article in a postcard magazine warning collectors about it.

The manufacturer/publisher listed on the back did make postcards, but they were linen cards made later than the 1930s.

Robert S

Fantasy or not, thank you for posting the link to that Curt Teich info. I had never seen that reference before, and may never need it again, but it's good information to have in case something like this comes up. Thanks!

Questionable Postcard
 

This Yankee Stadium with Ruth card showed up 10-15 years ago. I first noticed it about 10 years ago and mentioned it in the newsletter I was publishing at the time. I've tried to attached a PDF of that issue to this post but couldn't (to large) it includes images of several other fake baseball theme postcards and how they were spotted. If anyone would like me to email them a copy just drop me an email request. jsrna@aol.com

I've also noticed "fake" real photo postcards over the past couple of years, the backs are rubber stamped. Jim