Fake Signed T206 Cards (Too Many to List in the Title, See First Post for List)

[drcy]

Originally Posted by conor912

For those talking about testing the ink, does it test for how long the ink has been on the card (if that's even possible) or just the age of the ink itself? Like if the forger bought an antique pen with the original ink in it, wouldn't that pass an ink/age test all day long?

There is a standard test to judge how long the ink has been on the paper. A particular quality of pen ink changes over time after it's been applied. No scientific test is perfect, but it is often used to identify writing that has been applied relatively recently.

[SetBuilder]

Originally Posted by drcy

There is a standard test to judge how long the ink has been on the paper.

I'm sure there are many scientific tests. None of which can possibly be done in the amount of time the TPA's take to make a determination (likely minutes) and the amount of money they charge for the service (peanuts).

[drcy]

Originally Posted by SetBuilder

I'm sure there are many scientific tests. None of which can possibly be done in the amount of time the TPA's take to make a determination (likely minutes) and the amount of money they charge for the service (peanuts).

Agree. TPA's are offering quick opinions for a relatively small fee.

And there's nothing wrong with a quick opinion for a relatively small fee, so long as you take it for what it is.

I think some parts of the hobby are a joke, but that it's just as much a fault of the collectors and sellers as the TPAs and graders. If a TPA gives a $10 quick opinion and on the LOA itself it says it's just an opinion, and collectors and sellers turn and treat it as the Sermon on the Mount & final cosmic arbiter of right or wrong/truth or untruth/holy or unholy/riches or rags, that's the collectors' and sellers' faults more than the TPAs-- at least in my opinion. My old saying is: If you go into a Three Stooges movie expecting Orson Welles, that's your fault not the movie's.

Duly note that I like the Three Stooges. I'm not putting the Three Stooges But they are, of course, what they are.

[conor912]

Originally Posted by drcy

Agree. TPA's are offering quick opinions for a relatively small fee.

Quick opinions are very different than guarantees. They keep teetering between the two terms at their convenience.

I'm sure their argument would be that a thorough enough examination to conclusively determine authenticity would be price prohibitive, but then that begs the question (yet again), "well then what the hell have you been doing this whole time?"....even though the answer to that is quite clear now.