Posted By:
Dave FHi Brett,
If your just getting involved in T206's I would still suggest graded varieties. Not sure what you mean by they are too expensive...you can get low grade decent looking cards 1-2's or 10-30's for just about what you get the raw versions for. 1 or 10's can be had for $15-20 and 2's or 30's aren't much more than that.
If you do see a card raw that your going to gamble on...the type on the front (as far as color and size of the letters), front/back combinations...if you do a search on the board here I think you can find a thread linked to the different possibilities of each cards backs. For example you don't want to go picking up a Demmitt St. Louis with a Piedmont 150 back, or a Mathewson portrait with a Piedmont 350-460 back.
You should also try and pay close to attention to the borders...narrow borders on all sides could mean a trimmed card.
Fuzzy or grainy scans or pics of a raw T206...probably best to stay away from unless your really sure what your looking at.
There are alot of ways to be "had" with a fake T206...my recommendation would strongly be pick up a few low grade varieties and study them up close before going after the raw counterparts...just IMO though...good luck