1954 Hank Aaron & Ernie Banks authenticity opinion?

[nkesterke09]

Bought these on blowout forum with seller guaranteeing them authentic. They look good to me and I should have them by middle of this week. Just wanted others opinion. Thanks!




Results:

[jchcollins]

They look ok to me too, but if cards from 1954 are not going to be graded before I buy them, I'd rest a lot easier if they were commons and not HOF rookie cards. There is a virtual cottage industry online now dedicated to making fake cards look authentic and old - which usually involves making them look worn. Unseen for yourself, it's simply hard to tell with any reasonable accuracy from a picture, I think. Hope it works out.


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[Bestdj777]

The wear looks natural, so I'm leaning towards good.

[jchcollins]

Also depends on whether you know / trust the seller I guess as to whether or not you take the risk on ungraded cards of that stature.


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[mintacular]

i vote look good

[EYECOLLECTVINTAGE]

Originally Posted by mintacular

i vote look good

Looks good, but from recent experience, you won't know until you feel it.

[nkesterke09]

Thanks everyone. Does anyone do group submissions on here to PSA? My membership expired in February. Contemplating renewing......

[bobbyw8469]

I do, but for cards of that value, they won't be eligible under the monthly special. They are valued too high. You would need to piggyback under someone's "re-up" special or pay a higher fee.

[the 'stache]

I got a quick look at these last night, but didn't get a chance to respond before I had to unplug my electronics because of severe thunderstorms coming through. Sorry for the late reply.

I didn't see anything disqualifying. There's fairly uniform corner and edge wear, and the light surface scuffing apparent on Ernie's face is comparable to what I see on some of my cards from the same era. There's some water staining, or heavy soiling on the front bottom of the Aaron. It looks right to me, at least in the picture. Nothing appears to be artificially aged, but I'd really want to see it in person to be sure.

I don't recall off the top of my head if the '54 Topps set had any back variations (like the '56 Topps set, with its white and gray back), so my question is, does the paper loss on the Aaron back look like what you guys would expect? The back appears a tad lighter than what I'm used to seeing, but it could just be the picture itself. I compared the Banks back to the back of a PSA-graded '54 Banks, paying careful attention to the Topps logo within the baseball, the stitching, and the proximity of the type to the graphic. None of the spatial issues that I know were present in some reprints (especially the '52 set). These are the kinds of things that fakes often mess up on.

My gut reaction is that you've got two authentic cards there.

[ALR-bishop]

The first 50 cards in the set can be found in white or extremely scarce gray backs. The gray backs, like cards 131-190 in the 52 set, are sometimes referred to as Canadians for one theory about their origin. The 52 and 54 gray backs carry huge premiums as they are much sought after by master set type collectors.

[the 'stache]

Thank you, Al. So, the areas of paper loss showing white stock are what I would expect.

[nkesterke09]

Thanks everyone for the input. Sounds like from the looks of things we all think they are authentic. I will update with the results from grading when I get them back.

[pokerplyr80]

Originally Posted by nkesterke09

Thanks everyone. Does anyone do group submissions on here to PSA? My membership expired in February. Contemplating renewing......

I would recommend sending them in as quickly as possible just in case they are not determined to be authentic. In a worst case scenario assuming you paid PayPal goods you can file a dispute and get your money back.

But from the scans they look good to me.

[nkesterke09]

Received the cards yesterday and I am reassured more that they are authentic. Color, feel, and smell all accurate to what I currently have. Will send in for grading and update when I get them back. Thanks all!

[nkesterke09]

Long overdue update with grades....

[Bestdj777]

Glad to see they were real! Congrats!

[savedfrommyspokes]

Originally Posted by nkesterke09

Color, feel, and smell all accurate to what I currently have.

I love the smell of vintage cards, but I have never used it in determining authenticity.....I would have to believe that the unique smell many vintage cards exhibit is one of the few things counterfeiters have yet to master.

[Bestdj777]

Originally Posted by savedfrommyspokes

I love the smell of vintage cards, but I have never used it in determining authenticity.....I would have to believe that the unique smell many vintage cards exhibit is one of the few things counterfeiters have yet to master.

One of the first things I do when I have a card in hand is to smell it as a check. I like to think it's a pretty accurate measure.