The origins of card counterfeiting, 1972-74

[Chris-Counts]

I recall fakes showing up in the mid 1970s at the Southern California card club shows. Some local guy got busted for making phony 1963 Rose rookies.

[trdcrdkid]

Originally Posted by Chris Counts

I recall fakes showing up in the mid 1970s at the Southern California card club shows. Some local guy got busted for making phony 1963 Rose rookies.

Are you sure that was the mid-1970s? Rookie cards didn't become a thing in the hobby until about 1980, and the 1963 Rose didn't become valuable until the early-to-mid 80s, when fakes of it proliferated.

[barrysloate]

I remember seeing fake Rose rookies in the early 80's, when I first got into the hobby. And I got a sense that they were freshly minted. That's when the real ones started to get very expensive.

[CurtisFlood]

That was some interesting reading.

[oaks1912]

Some of the 1925 Zeenuts that Jim Nowell referred to turned up a few years ago, slabbed, in an auction. The paper stock is now more than 40 years old and can more easily slip by than they did in the 70's. The person that is believed to have produced those cards also did the Sommer & Kaufman cards, which also pop up from time to time...He is still in 'the hobby' and known by longtime collectors, but rarely appears in public any longer... Some of the Remars were printed in black ink, rather than blue, but that was by Sport Hobbyist and they are marked on the back....I seem to recall the Rose card scandal being in the early 80's (82/83), but that too has become a blur....

[bigfanNY]

This post brings up a lot of memories. The First is the Old Judge proof sheets. My Dad and I visited the library of congress with the express purpose of seeing their baseball card collection. My Mom was a librarian so even at 14 I knew my way around a library catalog. Started with some albums and boxes of 19th century sports and non sports cards. Then the docent said he knew of some nice baseball items. He returned with a cart full of boxes that contained the Old Judge Proofs. Having them in my hands was almost surreal. We spent hours just going through them just My Dan and me in a room with the old judge proofs. I remember discussing with the staff how valuable these were and they seemed surprised.
Secondly I remember the article about the number 68 Ted williams. Back when Detroit was the center of the baseball card collecting world. It is a shame that fakes have permeated our hobby even from the beginning. I remember the 63 Rose rookies and how a guy showed up at a show I think in New Brunswick NJ with a few and The first red flag was he was selling them cheap ( less than 50% of market) If I remember he was asked not to sell the cards by the promoter. He claimed of course I bought them from a guy who swore they were real.
Nothing new under the sun and that is a shame.

[rhettyeakley]

I think it is important to see some examples of these cards, they aren't really very well done in most cases and probably wouldn't fool anyone today but important to see nonetheless.

I have a small collection of these reprints I have picked up over the years. In a strange way they are part of hobby history.

Home Run Kisses...



N172 w/ shellacked front w/ stamps on back...



N172's



Remar Bread (Sports Hobbyist B&W) along with a regular issue. This one is a collectors issue/reprint from back in the day that are sometimes advertised as real...