The question isn't if text can be removed but if there are signs of removal left behind. I'm confident that any reglossing would be identifiable. For a starter, compare the gloss and black light fluorescence to other 1989 Fleer cards. The reglossing also suggests the person found that the original surface texture was altered in some way and reglossing was needed.
And I didn't even ask what the card smells like.
If cards have to be coated in something to hide the work, alterations will be easy to identify. The foreign surface coating would be straight foreword to identify.
Visa vie foreign substances added, I won't go into the theory of invisibility other than to say that physicists will tell you that, when something is invisible, it is only invisible at that wavelength of light. It can be seen at others. That's why soldiers wear night goggles (infrared viewers), doctors use X-rays use infrared detectors and and collectors use black light. They're looking at things invisible in the visible light range, but visible (or made visible) at other wavelengths. Military jets are cloaked or camouflaged and ground sensors jammed, but only at specific frequencies. In fact, in instances, a cloaked fighter jet can be visible to the naked eyes when it flies over, but cloaked at a non-visible wavelength, as the intent is to hide from, say, the enemy's infrared detectors. This cloaking involves cooling the outside surface of the plane, as infrared light comes from heat and is often called 'heat radiation.' A human can't see infrared light, but can feel it. Some animals, including snakes and geese, have different optical abilities than humans (a different range of light sensors in the eyes) and can see infrared or black light. Geese are famous for being able to navigate at night and rattle snakes identify prey and enemies by being able to see heat. What is invisible to humans can be seen by certain other animals. It's just that humans have invented instruments to detect and 'view' non-visible (to human) wavelengths. An infrared viewer translates infrared light into a visible wavelength that humans can see on the screen. We aren't literally seeing infrared light, just a translation of it. An x-ray photo is a visual translation of what is there but human eyes can't see. Interestingly, a black light works a bit different in that it uses invisible light (ultraviolet) to make materials give off visible light. The light adds energy to the atoms and, when the material fluoresces, it is giving back the energy in visible form. When you use a black light, you're actually testing the atomic makeup of the material-- even when you had no idea that's what you were doing. The different colors of fluorescence are the atoms giving back the energy in different wavelengths, with each color being a different wavelength.
From a more normal collector's angle, duplicating the original visual gloss is very hard. I think that's one of the hardest things for a counterfeiter to duplicate. Comparing gloss between questioned and known real cards is one of simplest ways to identify reprints and counterfeits and something even beginning collector can do.
Last edited by drcy; 08-20-2014 at 04:12 PM.
|
08-20-2014, 02:02 PM
Similar Threads
Hybrid Mode
