A small detail to look for: On the original cards the stock is off white or maybe a light sepia. The face of the card (not the back) had a white coating put on it before the printing. Same is done for a lot of cards, with the white making for brighter graphics. On a damaged card, if a tear or an corner bump or such shows a distinctly whiter underneath than the face that suggests it's a reprint. As the stock under the front white surface should be darker not brighter.
Same rules applies to a 1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle and other many other white bordered cards. The basic stock on a 51 or 52 Bowman is much darker than on a T206, and those cards have the same front white coating.
On the lower torn left of the Cobb it looks awfully white underneath.
Last edited by drc; 09-25-2011 at 10:50 PM.
|