How to tell if a 1954 card is original or reprint

[Zach Wheat]

Wow great job Eric. One other item which is important and seemingly harder to fake is the paperstock used in 54s. I think Keith (con40) in another post originally mentioned that cards printed from '52 through '91 were printed on clay coated chipboard called C1S. A white high-gloss paper was added, along with a coating of clay, on top of the chip board which allowed easier printing of high quality products. This isnt easy to reproduce currently since it involves 2 types of paperstock etc. if you look at the edges of the card or even the worn edges, you can see the two layers.

I was fooled once 9 years ago when i bought a fake 51 Mantle. The seller had recreated the exact look of a chipboard stock on the back along with wax stains. Fooled me in scans and pjotos, but not when i had the card in hand. One of the few times ive been fooled.

Best of luck.

Z