Card doctoring...

[1952boyntoncollector]

Well you always run the risk of someone posting the exact card on a prior sale in which the cards look identical but for the alteration.

So theres a ticking time bomb and musical chairs as the card keeps changing hands before the music ends


I have often touted an ownership registry with pictures so you can tell if your 1952 Mantle is claimed to be owned by someone else and it would also aid in the alteration issue, maybe I'm before my time there as well.

[WillowGrove]

Leon - thanks for posting that from Lew.

I guess I should not be surprised but seeing such details and proof in print from so long ago, kinda confirms for me that a lot of doctoring is being done today.

I've been seeing/handling t206's, etc since the late 1970s and I don't remember seeing so many sharp old cards as I do today. Could they have come out of olde timie collections? I guess. But if I was a betting man, and I am, I think doctoring is pretty darn wide-spread.

Sad face.

peter

[drcy]

For my book, I did a case study research on ancient American Indian artifacts. Many of the artifacts on the market have similarly been altered and for similarly various reasons-- from a century old farmer innocently cleaning up a chipped age of an arrowhead he found in his field to a modern dealer deceptively reshaping a broken artifacts into a whole or even better shape.

Luckily, in this area the authentic artifacts are centuries old with centuries old wear, patina and mineral deposits from the earth, so you can identify when and where an arrowhead or such has been altered in modern times. Unlike with baseball cards, a razor sharp edge or corner is not a desirable quality.

[samosa4u]

1. Any foreign substance removed from any card is an improvement and need not be mentioned to a buyer.

I don't consider this restoration, such as removing glue residue on the back, but it should at least be pointed out to the buyer. Most buyers IMO are OK with this.

2. Anything added to (like color) a card is fraudulent. Or building up corners. Horrors!

Agreed. How the hell do they rebuild corners? That is FREAKY!

3. Nobody should trim cards. It's not the same card.

Agreed.

4) If ironing out creases is successful, fine.

Hell no! Sometimes these creases or wrinkles can reappear many months or years down the line (when the card is sitting inside a PSA 8 case!)

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by samosa4u

1. Any foreign substance removed from any card is an improvement and need not be mentioned to a buyer.

I don't consider this restoration, such as removing glue residue on the back, but it should at least be pointed out to the buyer. Most buyers IMO are OK with this.

2. Anything added to (like color) a card is fraudulent. Or building up corners. Horrors!

Agreed. How the hell do they rebuild corners? That is FREAKY!

3. Nobody should trim cards. It's not the same card.

Agreed.

4) If ironing out creases is successful, fine.

Hell no! Sometimes these creases or wrinkles can reappear many months or years down the line (when the card is sitting inside a PSA 8 case!)

Yeah re 4 I've seen that happen at least twice, either that or PSA somehow missed the very obvious wrinkle the first time which is highly unlikely.

[drcy]

Originally Posted by samosa4u

[

2. Anything added to (like color) a card is fraudulent. Or building up corners. Horrors!

Restored corners and major restoration like that is easy to identify. I wouldn't worry about that stuff sneaking forever undetectable into the hobby.

[frankbmd]

Perhaps we should discuss the impact of card nursing on the hobby as well.

[packs]

If restoration is no big deal then it should be no big deal to disclose it either.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by frankbmd

Perhaps we should discuss the impact of card nursing on the hobby as well.

I suspect you would have made a better nurse than doctor yourself.