thoughts on how prevalant fake t205 cards are?
 

Being a "newbie", how concerned should I be regarding ebay lots of t205 cards being forgeries? Seriously, I only look for vg-pr range and I would like to think that this area of collecting isn't that threatened by fakers. Or is it? I think that I have a pretty good eye and I don't expect any "great deals" but just curious what others with much more experience are thinking or experieceing.

Thanks all.

Fake t205s are super easy to detect in comparison to others. Because the gold borders use real gold the borders chip and also shine and tarnish in uneven ways. The fakes never use real gold. If you are ever unsure feel free to message any of the t205 guys on the forum, but I'll bet after holding a few real ones then searching out the repros you will become good at detecting fakes very quickly.

Agree
 

I agree with Dennis , I've never seen a real convincing T205 fake once you've been accustomed to holding and viewing real ones. Most are laughable.

It's always good advice to start slow, learn your cards, feel a few!
Buy from reputable buyers and use the experts on this forum if needed.
(I have about 300 T205's in my collection, but some here have multiple times that amount.)

Agree, t205's are real easy to tell a fake ir reprint due to the gold border, and if you not sure deff post any question im sure u will get a quick responce

thanks

I don't believe the real ones use real gold either.

Copper, though the N173s have genuine gold.

so t205 card had copper pigment in the ink?! Wow. That is excellent info, is that what makes it easy to tell when the border has been recolored?

The T205s are gilded in copper, meaning the borders have copper flakes pasted to them. The printers put glue on the borders then dusted them in tiny copper flakes. The borders originally were shiny as a new penny but have tarnished with age, sometimes turning greenish.

so that's why some people describe auctions as having "rare green borders"! very interesting indeed!

It's funny that a collector would give a premium to a T205 with borders tarnished to green. That's on the order of thinking a T206 should get a premium because the stock has a discolorizing fungus or the printing has faded. But we're talking Pre-War baseball card collectors here, so allowances are made :)

At the weekend card show in Seattle some of us (including some who were avid T206 collectors!) were joking about how things that would be considered a major defect on any other issue (factory miscut, wet sheet ink residue, bad color registration) gives a premium to T206s.

interesting. I think that I will stick to collecting what I like (mostly poor - vg) in whatever back that I can afford/find! I find that I am more attracted to the national leaguers and I very much like the minor league subset.

Ahh copper, makes more sense in retrospect.

Just remember that gold doesn't tarnish. One of the easiest ways to identify gold on an antique.