My all-time favorite "fake"

[SMPEP]

A few years ago on Ebay I saw the BEST fake/forgery I've even seen.

It was a newspaper obituary of Mickey Mantle ... with a "real, authentic" Mickey Mantle signature!

In retrospect, I wish I had bought it! That's so bad that it's funny.

Anyone else ever seen any great "fake" memorabilia?

[novakjr]

That's funny

If I remember correctly, there was a discussion a while back, where there was a legit possibility for a scenario to play out with an "Authentic" signature. Although not with the Original newspaper clipping. I think it had something to do with authentic signatures on blank photo paper, and laser printers. Or something like that..

[ALR-bishop]

The SCD Standard Catalog has listings for some fakes, at least two that I know of for Topps. Someone got a bunch of those Topps Surf books and cut out the small player pictures, which were actual card replicas, and pasted them to cardboard stamped with "Topps Promotional Sample" on the backs, and sold them on ebay as "rare" Topps promo cards. Bob Lemke included a listing for them, picturing a 61 Mantle, stating they were fakes and without value. I think the listing appears at the beginning of the 1960s Topps listings in the 2011 Catalog.

He also listed fake Pewter ingots, that were designed to look like the Topps Gallery Of Champions silver, bronze and aluminum die cut cards that came in boxed sets of 12. For most years ( they ran from around 84 to 91), Topps did produce one pewter figure with each set as an extra premium, but different pewter ingots started showing up on ebay of additional players. Why someone would counterfeit them is a mystery ( The actual silver sets do have some value). Bob noted them as fakes in the Catalog and stated they had no value.

Well, since both were actually in the Catalog, they did have some value to warped individuals like me who had to have at least a couple examples of each, which I bought on ebay. An example of the real Gallery items is below




I keep the Surf "cards" with my corresponding sets and the fake ingots with my boxed Gallery of Champions sets

[novakjr]

Al, I too have noticed those scenarios in the SCD book. I think it's great that they point them out. However, my argument is with saying that they have NO VALUE. Some of those type listings do have some value. I can understand that there's no MLB authorized value, but let's face it, there's a select few of those type listings that people might still want.. Take the B/W Billy Ripken F*** Face fake TEST cards. I'd maybe pay a buck or two for one of 'em.. or the fake '84 Nestle Mattingly Test/Proof. I think there was fake blank backed '82 Topps Ripken that I personally wouldn't mind having. That to me gives them SOME value..

[ALR-bishop]

I am sad to say I bought one of the "test" Ripken cards, thin stock, knowing it was fake, to add to all the other ones, fake or otherwise, I already had. Also one with a Homer Simpson head.

I agree that once Bob put it in the Catalog it had instant value of a sort

[CobbSpikedMe]

I picked up one of the fake Don Mattingly Columbus Clippers minor league cards for $0.25 at a show last year. It's on paper thin stock and can be easily identified as fake in person but it looks great. Even though it's a fake I still love it for some reason. I still want to pick up a fake 84 Donruss Mattingly that were going around in the 80's to go with my real one. Not sure why but I want one.

My favorite fake though is the 63 Pete Rose rookie that was made famous when they were all confiscated in the 80's and stamped as counterfeit on the back. I really want one of those cards. I just like the story behind them and think it would be cool to have one. I think most of them were destroyed if I remember correctly but there are many still out there with the stamp on the back.

AndyH