PreWar Fakes by Price and Condition

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Posted By: hankron

Gil,

In most areas of collecting, 99 percent of the forgers are not trying to fool Bill Mastro or Lew Lipset or even experienced collectors. They are trying to make a quick buck by fooling total beginners. Most forgeries on the market are not creations of master printers who got a hold of the original printing plates. Most forgeries are on the order of those comical T206 Honus Wagners that look as if they were made on one's computer printer and perculated with the morning coffee.

As 99 percent of the fakes are intented for collectors who have no experience or knowledge, this means that a collector who gains a certain basic level of knowledge ane experience will become immune to 99 percent of the fakes.

I have never been a fan of professional graders, but, as far as authenticity goes (as opposed to trimming, labelling etc), buying known cards graded by reputable graders is a reliable way to go for a collector. Graders have and will make errors, but for the most part the top graders are not going to encapsulate counterfeits of commonly known cards.