Detecting 1934 Goudey Reprints
 

I'm relatively new to the 1934 Goudey set, and I'm trying to learn as much as I can about detecting reprints. For many of them, I can quickly tell, due to the coloration, cropping of the bottom Gehrig Says logo, etc. For the better fakes, however, I find it more difficult.

For instance, this reprint sold relatively recently on eBay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1-Day-Aucti...d/133545222229

The coloring (especially the back), Gehrig Says logo, etc., generally look right to me. Are there any tells here that I'm missing? Or is it just very difficult to detect the better fakes online?

Obviously I know not to buy a high dollar value raw card from the set, at least until I have a heck of a lot more experience with them . But just trying to learn what to look for. Many thanks in advance.

The card in question has myriad issues. Start with the listing. Guy had virtually no feedback and is running a one day auction. Even before you look at the card that should be setting off warning bells.

The card itself has issues too. The edges are just weird. Possibly a Dover reprint that had to have perforations removed? The image on the front is obviously a reproduction. It's not as crisp as an original. The back is all sorts of wrong. I don't know if it was a bad attempt at aging or what, but that mottled brown color is something I have never seen on a real Goudey. You can also more easily see that all of the borders are fuzzy which is also something I've never seen on a Goudey.

Hope this helps.

Paper is wrong, back is too dark...

Thanks to you both. The back paper coloration stands out now that you both pointed it out. The crispness of the front image is harder for me to discern, though. I actually thought this one looked pretty good...I must have a bad eye for these sort of things!

And yes, obviously the seller's history, one day auction format, etc., would have been huge warning signs in this particular case. I'm just trying to get a feel for the cards themselves.

It sounds like you have a pretty good handle on it. Like you said, it can be harder to tell online especially with images that are intentionally meant to be deceiving in most cases.

In the first image, if you look near the top there is a upward curl that doesn't look natural. It makes the cardboard look thinner than it should be. The bright then dark corners look off too. Goudey corner wear is pretty consistent if you look at correct examples.

The third image(back) is the real smoking gun for me. The cardboard is made of a brown colored, rough textured cardboard. Those qualities are not similar to a genuine one. The edges are way too rough. The card is also way too small it seems. There is no border below "Made in USA" or if you focus on the left/right of the line on the back, it's too narrow.

The Goudey cardboard has a very distinct look that is hard to duplicate. It also has many characteristics that repeat over and over and over again. Most Goudeys end up with very similar indicators like wrinkles, corner wear, toning, etc that have a similar look for the whole set.

Good luck!

Lou Gehrig #37 reprint
 

With this comparison its obvious. but the the card on the right does have a bid-- --note the clarity & colors between the two.

Thanks Trey and Tom!

That was pretty close to what I thought.
I don't usually look at the seller until last.

The front looks commercially produced, and like it was at least a little glossy. Just like the Dover reprints.
The back... wrong color stock that looks more like blotter paper, but is probably printed. The printing was probably done on a home computer printer then glued to a Dover so the stock isn't as obvious. I think they got the size of the back wrong, making it too large.