How Do You Spot a 1915 Cracker Jack Reprint??

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Posted By: Collector

I'm getting pretty good with knowing the reprints for certain cards from certain years, but a relatively new set to me is the 1915 Cracker Jack cards.

What are some reprint characteristics to this set? How do you spot a reprint? Of course there are the obvious things like gloss, but I was told the reprints have more Red in the player's pictures, which is one way to spot them.

Is this true? and what are some other ways.

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Posted By: Hankron

I don't own a Cracker Jack and haven't owned one in a long time, so feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. My guess is that on the original Cracker Jacks, the red is sold red, even under a microscope. More than likely, in person, the reprints will have a multi-color half tone dot pattern: meaning, under the microscope there will be many tiny dots of different colors throughout the entire player image, like you will find on a modern card.

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Posted By: BROOKS

THE WHITE IN THE CARD AND THE BORDERS SHOULD BE THE SAME COLOR(OFF WHITE) AS THIS IS THE CARD STOCK AND NO WHITE WAS ADDED.........IN THE REPRINTS WHITE COLORING WAS ADDED. THIS GOES FOR THE 1914'S ALSO...........REGARDS BROOKS

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Posted By: Hankron

My personal recommendation to beginners or not so beginners collecting Pre-WWII cards is to get a handheld microscope of good power, and study the multi-color dot pattern of modern cards, modern postcards, etc. Once you know what these modern items look like under the microscope, you will know what most early baseball cards do NOT look like under the microscope.

This is rule of thumb, rather than an absolute rule as there will always be exceptions to any rule, but almost NO early baseball cards-- from Allen & Ginters to T206 Honus Wagners to 1933 Goudey Babe Ruths-- have the multi-color dot pattern of a modern baseball card or postcard. And almost all reprints of those items will.

So any collector, even those who are just starting out, who has a nice little microscope and knows what a modern color half-tone printing looks like (by examining items around the house) is going to be able to identify or at least be wary of nearly all reprints and counterfeits of early cards.

Beleive me, it's as simple as that.

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Posted By: Hankron

Of course I'm full of myself, but in the previous very brief post I explained how anyone can identify nearly all counterfeits of early baseball cards-- and I hope that beginners print out that post and tape it to their forehead before the next time they go the flea market.

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Posted By: runscott

but my experience with Georgia flea markets has been yucchy (sp?). Every single vintage card I have spotted at flea markets has been a REPRINT, and all have been priced at well above the book value for a REAL version of the same card! I haven't even wasted my time telling the card owner - you can probably imagine what the proprietor of a flea market booth in North Georgia would be like...not that there's anything wrong with being a slack-jawed yokel.

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Posted By: Hankron

After reading your post, Scott, I started thinking (you gotta start sometime) and had to ask someone "Do we have flea markets around here?" I don't think I've been to a flea market before, and am not even sure what they look like. However, I was advised that there are indeed flea markets in the area.

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Posted By: Hankron

As we say about Henry, if two of his fleas went in the same direction, Henry might be able to fly

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Posted By: runscott

Flea markets in North Georgia are like giant garage sales where each garage is contained in a booth...I don't go to such things unless tremendously bored.

I do;however, stop in Antique malls - hoping to find antique sports equipment - and that's where I've seen the reprints.