Tell Tale Signs of Reproductions

[rtsmith18]

I have been intrigued by the lengths people take to make reproductions. Beyond tea stains, misspellings, scratches on certain letters, and card discoloration, what else do people look for when they examine non-graded vintage cards?

[bswhiten]

I almost dropped a couple grand on this fake bazooka box 6 months ago or so...

[Sean]

With the T206 set, you can see under 10x magnification the dot matrix that was used by printers 100 years ago. Current print techniques produce a solid color rather than dots.

Also, one more give away one fakes is the artificial wear around the corners. On fakes the corners usually have similar rounding on all four corners, whereas on real cards the corner wear is uneven. Also if you look close at the real cards, the corners will usually show some fraying, whereas fake cards usually have corners that are round but smooth, as if they were sanded down rather than worn down over time.

[thescooper]

And REPRODUCTION printed on the back

[Huck]

Originally Posted by bswhiten

I almost dropped a couple grand on this fake bazooka box 6 months ago or so...

Wow, a fake Bazooka box. What was the tip off that the box was fake?

[drcy]

1) The language/rhetoric the seller uses. A good seller of a real card (and according to eBay's own rules) says in no nonsense terms what he is selling and that it is genuine. Sellers of counterfeits won't do that but will say stuff like "it looks real to me, but according to eBay rules I have to sell as unuathenticated reprint" (there is no such ebay rule), "I'm no expert, but it looks real to me. You be the judge," etc. Most sellers of fakes use a lot of words and serpentine, ambiguous and double sentences, but don't actually ever tell you that they are selling you a real card.

2) Compare to real cards from the issue. There will always be big differences: Article on the subject

3) Learn what genuine corner and edge wear looks like.

4) Ask collectors what the front/back gloss/texture to the card is. Gloss is hard to reproduce, and the backs and fronts of the real cards often have different glosses/textures. For example, the fronts of the T206s are smooth with a slight gloss, while the backs are fibery and have no gloss.

5) For Pre-WWII cards, get a black light, as blacklight can identify many Post-WWII cardstock. Article on blacklight:

[bswhiten]

Originally Posted by biohazard

Wow, a fake Bazooka box. What was the tip off that the box was fake?

I looked at my other bazooka's and noticed that all of them from that time period were on brown cardboard...not white. You can tell something is off with the printing/coloring at tabs, etc. I couldn't believe someone went through that much trouble.

[irv]

Originally Posted by bswhiten

I looked at my other bazooka's and noticed that all bazookas of that time period were on brown cardboard...not white. You can tell something is off with the printing/coloring at tabs, etc. I couldn't believe someone went through that much trouble.

I have no idea how hard it would be to make something like that, but that's exactly what I was thinking.

[Tennis13]

Originally Posted by rtsmith18

I have been intrigued by the lengths people take to make reproductions. Beyond tea stains, misspellings, scratches on certain letters, and card discoloration, what else do people look for when they examine non-graded vintage cards?

So my dad bought a Jordan Fleer rookie back in 1993 or so. We had it in our possession ever since. Bought it at a reputable local FLORIDA dealer. Got it graded at National and came back fake.

The SGC guy said Florida is a transient state, a lot of transplants and people passing through, and is known for fakes. Thats purely qualitative and could be BS but makes sense to me. Like the olden days (early 1990s) some dude shows up with a box of good stuff, sells it off into circulation, and until some guy gets it graded 25 years later, its in the hobby as legit.

Like I would have sold it and never thought twice that it was a fake, except that that card is known for fakes, but even back in the early 1990s, that thing would have cost a pretty penny to fake given technology. I was shocked it was a fake but totally understand how.

[swarmee]

Most of the original Jordan fakes were easy to spot, because of the use of only one yellow shade in the Fleer streamer. Real ones have two shades of yellow, one for the straight "Premier" part, and another for the arrow part.


1986-87 Fleer - [Base] #57 - Michael Jordan [BGS*8]
Courtesy of COMC.com

Did you even compare it prior to grading?

[Buythatcard]

What kind of equipment would someone need to reproduce a box like that? I would assume that the equipment alone would cost more than what the box would fetch.

If this was the real thing, what would it be worth?

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by Buythatcard

What kind of equipment would someone need to reproduce a box like that? I would assume that the equipment alone would cost more than what the box would fetch.

If this was the real thing, what would it be worth?

If you are referring to the Bazooka box the guy posting said $2000 is what he would pay for one.

They would be very easy to make. There are a few of us on this forum that make custom/fantasy pieces that are way harder to make than just making a copy of something.

[irv]

Originally Posted by swarmee

Most of the original Jordan fakes were easy to spot, because of the use of only one yellow shade in the Fleer streamer. Real ones have two shades of yellow, one for the straight "Premier" part, and another for the arrow part.

Did you even compare it prior to grading?

I don't pay much attention to Jordan RC's, but that info is good to know.

I assume, by you saying "original Jordan fakes" that with the newer fakes, that has been corrected?

[swarmee]

There are many webpages to help you tell the difference between Jordan rookies and the fakes; I believe there have been multiple versions. You just have to search for them.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by bswhiten

I almost dropped a couple grand on this fake bazooka box 6 months ago or so...

Never would have thought about a whole fake box, crazy.

.