W551 Ruth Authenticity in Memory Lane Auction

[glchen]

The current Memory Lane auction is selling a W551 Babe Ruth card here: Link. I've also attached a picture of it.

The card is graded by PSA, but is it actually authentic? From what I thought, if the lettering was in blue at the bottom of the card, the card would be a fake/reprint. Let me know if I am incorrect.

[NiceDocter]

Never seen one in blue before.

[Leon]

Fake. Name should be in black.

.

[ullmandds]

Don’t be cheated

[NiceDocter]

Doing some quick research looks like these are 1970s Larry Fritsch reprints not made to deceive but being artificially aged by unscrupulous people to pass off as authentic. Thank goodness PSA is never wrong LOL CAVIOT EMPTOR or something like that as the saying goes!!!!

[Lorewalker]

Originally Posted by glchen

The current Memory Lane auction is selling a W551 Babe Ruth card here: Link. I've also attached a picture of it.

The card is graded by PSA, but is it actually authentic? From what I thought, if the lettering was in blue at the bottom of the card, the card would be a fake/reprint. Let me know if I am incorrect.

Great find. Not the last time we see PSA f up. Registration is all wrong on the card to boot. Has anyone let them know? Hopefully they will take it down.

[NiceDocter]

I talked to the auction house and they were in total agreement and are pulling the card. I must say they were very responsive and professional about the situation! Good job Memory Lane!!! Rocky Rockwell

[mrreality68]

Wow Great catch Gary and
I am impressed with the responsiveness of Memory Lane.

Wonder if the seller has any recourse with PSA or is it a total loss

[Leon]

Originally Posted by mrreality68

Wow Great catch Gary and
I am impressed with the responsiveness of Memory Lane.

Wonder if the seller has any recourse with PSA or is it a total loss

IF I were PSA, I would refund his grading fees and offer an apology. I might even throw in a few free grading vouchers for good will.
Then I would chat with whomever had a hand in putting it in a slab. They probably will have that chat, is my guess.
.

[YazFenway08]

for those much more familiar...how old is that particular PSA slab? something from the early 2000s?

[Jay Wolt]

If it was legit, what would be the approx value?

[ullmandds]

Originally Posted by jay wolt

if it was legit, what would be the approx value?

2500-3500?

[GasHouseGang]

$1698 is the average price for a PSA Authentic according to the latest results in VCP. A really nice example went for $3900 and one with the borders cut off went for $1245. So it's a bit hard to pin down.

[Lorewalker]

Originally Posted by mrreality68

Wow Great catch Gary and
I am impressed with the responsiveness of Memory Lane.

Wonder if the seller has any recourse with PSA or is it a total loss

The consignor may have been the submitter.

[111gecko]

Originally Posted by Lorewalker

The consignor may have been the submitter.

This is probably true or sold off-market a long time ago. Probably would have been caught by now via an open auction.

Very early PSA mistake....right thing to do is just give the consignor a couple thousand dollar grading credit with an apology and destroy the card. Would be reasonable to everyone involved I think.

[ullmandds]

Originally Posted by 111gecko

This is probably true or sold off-market a long time ago. Probably would have been caught by now via an open auction.

Very early PSA mistake....right thing to do is just give the consignor a couple thousand dollar grading credit with an apology and destroy the card. Would be reasonable to everyone involved I think.

Personally I wouldn't want grading credit...I'd want check!

[111gecko]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

Personally I wouldn't want grading credit...I'd want check!

Ha!!! You and me both! But I think we all know how that's gonna go fighting it. Might as well take the credit and be done with it.

[Vintageclout]

Originally Posted by Leon

Fake. Name should be in black.

.

FYI, this lot has been removed. 👍

[JimmyC]

Great catch! Well done! I bought an Ernie Banks game used bat years ago - like many moons ago from a MAJOR auction house - and when it arrived, it came with a PSA COA for Ernie’s autograph….let me repeat - a PSA COA for the autograph….problem is, the bat was never signed…..

Buyer beware - do your research - never trust third party authenticators - buy the card not that slab…..just sayin’

[swarmee]

If the original submitter was the consignor, PSA wouldn't really owe them anything. If it was bought by the consignor somewhere along the way, PSA would technically owe them the current equivalent value of a real card in that condition, per their grade guarantee.

[ullmandds]

Compared to a real one of those don’t look very real!

[Snowman]

The serial number and flip indicate that this card was probably graded about 20 years ago, maybe more. I doubt you'll learn much by trying to figure out who consigned it.

[Jobu]

The right side of the slab looks pretty frosty. Could be a legit card was graded and removed to be replaced by this one.

[dragonwagon9080]

Added to altered Card Database https://www.tiffanycards.com/altered-card-database

[christopher.herman]

Mine for comparison. NFS.

[todeen]

Here are my Speakers for comparison. I bought the blue name not knowing it was repop. A kind member of this board informed me maybe 5 years ago. It was the first strip card I ever bought.