Hi Guy
There really aren't any dumb questions, in my opinion. It's better to ask when you're unsure about something, and not operate under an assumption that could ruin your day. So, fire away. I promise you I've asked more dumb questions than you could ask in a lifetime!
1. I haven't been to a card show in several years, so take this with a grain of salt. But I wouldn't expect to see anybody using a black light. In order for the black light to effectively show signs of recoloring, modern printing technology, chemical cleaning/bleaching, paper repair, or incorrect card stock, you need a place where sunlight and artificial lights are not an issue. But a loupe? I wouldn't think it uncommon for hobbyists to bring one of these along. A seller set up at a card show is looking to make sales, and if everything they're selling is on the level, I can't imagine they'd object to your looking over a card of theirs should you have any concerns. If it were me, I'd kindly ask the proprietor to take the card out of the display case so I could look at it up close. Understand that it's going to be in some kind of case or top loader. But I'd give it a once over with the naked eye, and only break out the loupe on the rare occasion I needed a closer look.
2. There are different kinds of loupes, some lighted, others without a light source, as well as hand held loupes, and ones you can put right up against your eye. And they come with different price points depending on the power of the loupe, and the materials used. I've been very happy with the one I've got. I've found the optics to be very good. I use a Bausch & Lomb 10 x like this:
Example
I just picked that seller at random. You might find a slightly better price, but I think I paid about $15 for mine.
I've seen a few different companies mentioned here that sell optics. Here's one:
http://www.peakoptics.com/
Another I've yet to find while searching deals with forensic document examination. If I stumble across it, I'll link it for you. David Cycleback also talks about portable microscopes, which can offer power up to 100 x. With those, you can actually examine the paper fiber and inks up close. He makes his book
Judging the Authenticity of Early Baseball Cards available on his website for free. It's an outstanding resource that I highly recommend. I'm going to go back and read it a second time when I'm done with my Matty book. You can also get a hard copy, which is available on Amazon. I bought mine for under $20 shipped if I recall. It's always nice to have a copy you can take with you.
3. If you're examining a PSA graded card looking for tampering, the slab itself should be rigid.
First, look at the slab itself along the edges. Place it on a dark surface so you can see examine the plastic more clearly. PSA, SGC and I think Beckett graded slabs use sonic welding to "seal" the two pieces of plastic together along the seam. When this is done, a little bit of "frosting" will appear where the pins lock the card down. If you see a long uninterrupted line of frosting, then there's a good possibility somebody has tried to tamper with the case.
Here's a good example of what a frosted case looks like (from the PSA forums):
Clicky
Long lines of frosting indicate that somebody has tried to separate the two pieces enough to remove the card, and replace it with another of lower grade, or an inauthentic card. The area appears as a bright white. People take things like a flat head screwdriver to try and separate the pieces. Novices will leave tell tale signs like the frosting, or cracking. But I have seen examples that are much less noticeable. Thus, you always need to examine the card. Never assume a card is authentic because it stuck inside plastic.
If you hold the PSA slab by the flip (the card with the information typed on it), and hold on the other side of the seam between the flip and the actual card, try gently to wiggle it
very very gently, there should be no give. That means the slab's structural integrity is most likely intact along the seams. Now SGC's slab is constructed a little differently. You can still try to wiggle it, only instead of trying to wiggle it top to bottom, I try it gently side to side. Beckett's slabs are pretty much impossible to crack without leaving very clear indications of tampering.
4. I really don't know how much fake stuff is out there. The more expensive cards are more likely to be faked, but there are also less legitimate examples of those particular cards the market. People might try to fake a Honus Wagner, but there's only 50 or so known examples. So if you see one that is in near pristine condition on Ebay selling for $10,000--it's more than likely a fake. I suppose there's always a chance that somebody's grandpa liked him, and has stashed away a T206 Wagner for 100 years, but it's unlikely. With cards like that, there will be established provenance, and they're more often than not going to be sold by one of the major auction houses like Robert Edwards, or Heritage.
The Hall of Famers like Cobb, Johnson, Mathewson, Speaker etc might be a better bet for unscrupulous people to try and fake. Once you've handled some of the T206 cards, you'll start knowing what to look for, you'll be able to more quickly identify inauthentic cards.
The first thing to do if you spot a card you feel is inauthentic--flip it over, and look for the word "reprint" on the back. Or, look at the bottom of the back. If there's suspicious paper loss, or an eraser mark, it might be the word "reprint" being skillfully (or unskillfully) removed. Then, look at the lettering at the bottom of the card--the player's name and team. The first letter of the city should be slightly raised above the rest of the city name. Pay special attention to the typography. The letters should all look the same, though there might be some very slight kerning (or spacing) variance between the letters. Look at things like corner wear. If three corners are worn down and rounded, and one appears sharp, that's a likely indication of trimming. If a card's been handled for 100 years, and three of the corners are rounded, the likelihood of one card being sharp is pretty low. You'll get used to the printing used on these cards. As you learn about T206 cards, you'll understand better how the cards were printed, one color at a time. That explains why sometimes you'll see some registration issues, like one color slightly bleeding beyond the others, or color going slightly outside of the black border around the card. As far as things like trimming, or other card alterations, start with the guide provided by our forum:
http://www.net54baseball.com/forum/c...terations.html
It's good to be skeptical. To quote the David Cycleback book I referenced earlier (
Judging the Authentication..), "start by knowing there are reprints, counterfeits, fakes, and scams out there. If you start by knowing you should be doing your homework, having healthy skepticism sellers' grand claims and getting second opinions, you will be infinitely better off than the beginner who assumes everything's authentic, and all sellers are honest."
If you're buying from reputable dealers, or forum members with an established history, you're going to
greatly reduce the possibility of buying an inauthentic card right off the bat. When I am buying from a member of the forum, I typically look through their post history quickly to see if they've sold cards before. And that's usually more than enough to satisfy the little voice inside my head. If they've been active members for several years, I don't even need to do that. Leon exercises great care. Anybody who registers on the forum, as you know, has to provide their name and full contact information. And the members of this forum not only police the forum, but the hobby in general. If a member sees an auction on Ebay, or a card being sold by an auction house that raises any kind of red flag, they report it. In this hobby, reputation is everything, and you only have one chance to demonstrate you are trustworthy. If you are looking to buy a card from a seller on Ebay, Google their user name and Net54 at the same time. You'd be surprised how many vintage and pre-war sellers are also members here.
5. There have been discussions here as to back rarity, and lists that have been created and revised over time. I generally go by the one on t206resource.com:
List
Gallery
I don't know if you should expect to see any of the rarer backs with any regularity. If you're doing back runs for a player, or just looking for a particular player and back combination, patience is a virtue. The Monster is not easily beaten, so there may be times where you cannot get the card you want immediately. The BST is useful in helping you to fill your want list. The forum is a giant network of the best collectors in the hobby. A lot of times they can find things that you might think impossible. Or, there might just not be a particular card available at that time. For rarer front and back combinations, cards are locked away in private collections.
6. A card that's been assigned an "authentic" designation is a real card that has been altered in some way, which precludes it from receiving a numerical grade (1-10) or a conditional grade (poor, excellent, near-mint, etc).
The most famous T206 card of em all is the Honus Wagner card that was owned by Wayne Gretzky. I think it's owned by the Diamondbacks owner now (his name escapes me). It most recently went for $2.8 million. It was initially graded as an "8", near mint, but in the last few months, it's been confirmed that Bill Mastro trimmed the card.
Clicky
Basically, this is an original T206 card printed in the period of 1909-1911, included in a Piedmont Cigarettes package. Trimming involves using a very sharp blade, like an x-acto knife, and cutting away a very small portion of a card's edge to give it a better appearance, and by extension, drive up the price. It's highly unethical, and there's been debate that the card should lose its grade, and be designated as an authentic card. The guide I linked on the forum includes information on determining cards that have been trimmed. Other kinds of alteration that would necessitate an "authentic" designation include bleaching to whiten the white borders, erasing pencil marks, or rebuilding a card that has had paper loss. Any kind of restorative work is generally considered altering the card, though soaking a card falls into a grey area. Some people take issue with it, but I would expect a majority do not. Soaking involves removing the soiling that accumulates on a card over a long period of time (smoke, body oils, dirt, etc).
Hope that helps. Let me know if you need any clarification. And if anybody spots an area where I've misspoken, please feel free to correct me.
12-16-2013, 01:14 PM
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