reprint wagner piedmonts

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Posted By: Corey R. Shanus

You (and Joe) have presented some forceful reasons why the PSA 8 Wagner is a 1950's reprint. In doing so you are asking that people view the matter with an open mind. And indeed, based on everything I've read in the past number of months on this issue, coupled with the yet-to-be refuted belief that there is only one known T206 Piedmont Plank and it is trimmed/hand-cut, I'm willing to say that unless and until the PSA 8 Wagner passes muster under microscopic scrutiny, I cannot say absolutely positively that it is not a reprint.

So too now I'm respectfully asking that you keep an open mind on this back-comparison-based-on-scans issue. Based on a lot of experience on this issue, I can tell you point blank that scans of reproductions can be misleading pertaining to things such as comparing colors and spacing between lines. Different reproduction processes, not to mention how many generations of reproductions an image has been though, will tremendously impact resolution/clarity, making subtle judgements about how closely lines are spaced together next to impossible. For example, ever see what happens when you fax a fax of a fax of a fax? Eventually you can't read anything on it. How do we know what image Mastro used to make its high definition scan. For all we know it was a fourth generation copy, which by that time the resolution became so degregaded that the lines appeared closer together. How do we know that is not the case?! In regard to comparing colors, for any professonal photographer to get that one right he/she will need to insert as background in the image a color bar to use as a control mechanism. I doubt both these images that you posted did that. And even if it is the case that the depth of the blue on the backs differ, what does that prove? I always thought that real T206's of the same card can/do exhibit different depth of the same colors. Indeed, I recall reading a thread on this board some months ago discussing how original Sweet Caporal Wagners show different depth of the orange in the portrait background. Are you saying that all real T206 Piedmont cards have the exact same depth of blue on their backs? Admitedly my knowledge of T206's pales in comparsion to many others in this hobby and on this board, but am I wrong on this point?