1965 lou brock, worried if counterfeit

[RobertGT]

Originally Posted by anthonyNaz

hey guys, i appreciate the feedback. i realize that asking the question seemed a bit silly considering the guy would make peanuts off a counterfeit. i only recently have been collecting pre-80 cards, and that was only two months ago. i am kind of in the dark about collecting these and didn't know much about "registration" clarity. it would be great if there's some kind of guide to newbies or faq to this era of cards and especially the cards that would actually be counterfeited just so i don't have to rely on good ol common sense. i get brain farts too! =)

A good rule of thumb is to get accustomed to what the vintage cards look and feel like. Hold them close to your face, examine the printing, feel the texture and get a sense of the weight of a card. Most Topps cards are pretty similar. Get a cheap stack of vintage commons (available in abundance on ebay) and start there.

For the most part, you aren't going to have to worry too much about running into counterfeits from these years, but that's not to say they don't exist. A bigger danger from these years is purchasing trimmed cards that someone has altered to make them appear to be in nicer condition. Most of the counterfeits are going to be the high-priced stars and RCs. A few to be on the lookout for are the 52 Mantle (never buy unless graded), any early Mantle from 52-63 or so, 54 Aaron, 54 Banks, 63 Rose, 68 Ryan. I'm sure others can add to that list too. You are probably better off buying those graded until you can spot the fakes. There are some from the 80s too, such as 84 Donruss Mattingly, 86 Canseco etc.