Red Man Sample?
 

Recently bought this 1954 Red Man Sample since it looked unique! Any idea on these sample cards? I have seen zero documented example of these cards and no grading results.I have never even owned a red man tobacco card, so I don’t have anything to compare to. Back looks like a lighter colored stock than actual red man released cards. I took some closeups.

Anyone seen these? Any info on them? Ihttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...6ff54340be.jpg

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Sample
 

Can you get a refund if needed? Looks like a fake to me but I’m no expert

Looks like a fantasy piece.

Not an expert on Red Mans but I would not have purchased that piece.

I tend to agree with all your sentiments. Which infuriates me even more as I bought it from an auction house auction (Matthew Bullock) who described it as a 1954 Sample. I’m sure I’ll get something about “as is” when I reach out, but I never thought I’d get duped by an auction house. I’ll keep researching and see what I can find, but I imagine I’m up a creek. Thanks y’all.


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Appears to be one of the reprints that pop up sometimes on eBay, but with a back stamp. Clever thing to do, sample stamp it to excuse some of the ‘doesn’t look quite right’ and pass that off as being because ‘it’s not final production’. Sorry OP, hopefully you get every penny back.

Highly questionable authenticity by my eye. Gotta love that tea/coke staining that exists on so many. Agree that it's clever and can see how it would get by some folks not as knowledgeable about the issue or their reprints and perhaps tough when not in hand. Maybe it's an honest mistake by the ah. Good luck. *Sidenote - I think it's good to permanently identify pieces like this as fantasy or reprint so they don't get recirculated. A sharpie to the back with "Reprint" or something similar.

My experience is generally samples of card issues do not say "sample"
 

There may be exceptions, but most of the "samples" I have seen just don't say it - not specific to this issue (of which I have never seen a sample), but all issues.
I agree with prior posts, this looks like it was "made to fool" - I would think that it would be a lot less costly for them to do the right thing with you here than to incur the damage to their reputation that not doing so could/would cause dependent on how vocal you chose to be about it. They essentially offered a "fake" item amongst a slew of real ones.

Please keep us updated

Update: super fake as I suspected thanks to you guys verifying some of my already growing skepticism. I bought it from the Matthew Bullock auction house and they were super awesome about it when I reached out. Full refund. But they want the card back. I told them all the signs of questionable authenticity and requested they destroy or mark as fake!

Thanks for all your help!


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Yup, struck me fake as well at first glance. Glad it worked out for you though.

Glad you got your money back, OP. Shame it's a fake, as a sales sample Red Man Willie Mays would be a really awesome card to see.

That is a fake made by a blatant fraudster who has done a lot of these so-called back-stamped 'sample' cards over the years. There is one dealer at the National who has dozens of them in his inventory (along with quite a few other fakes) and either does not know or does not care.

Never heard of this Bullock place but they clearly do not know WTF they are doing when it comes to cards.