Posted By:
David SmithI still say the United Cigars logo is an optical illusion. I mean, if the black ink was put on thick enough to vertically leach into the lower layers of the card then WHY didn't it ALSO spread out horizontally??
What I am trying to say is, if the United Cigars logo was put on a blank back first and THEN the red ink was added later, then WHY did the ink, if put on REALLY heavy, only bleed straight down? Why didn't it also bleed outwards?
I think the card was printed like most other T 206's and THEN the logo was added later.
I think the logo was only lightly stamped on the back of the card (if it were stamped heavily enough for the ink to go into the lower layers, it would have left and indention in the back). Because of the smooth, flat surface of the back of teh card and the fact there is probably some surface dirt and oil (from people's hands) on the card at the time the logo was added, the ink didn't adhere very well. Because of that, it looks faint.
Now, where the paper loss is, the surface is rough and hasn't had as many years to accumulate dirt and oil so, the ink was able to adhere to that area better and that is why it is brighter or bolder.
Either way, I wouldn't spend $15 dollars on that card.
If the seller THINKS he has something rare and valuable, then all he has to do is consign it to Mastro, REA or some other large auction house (I would say B & L but we KNOW that wont happen). But to do this, he would first have to get them to accept this is as a legitimate underprint and then they would have to think this was a card with some value to it.
Just my two cents,
David