This can't be real? Can it?

[jayshum]

Thanks for the information about what to look for to determine if cards from these sets are originals or fakes. Unfortunately, since many online listings don't have high quality pictures posted, it can be hard to tell if the images are worse than they should be because the card is a fake or just a bad image of a real card. All of this does make me nervous about possibly starting to collect some of these older sets. I have not collected T206s so I still can't readily say why the Cobb shown in this thread would be a fake. I am not a big fan of graded cards and clearly the grading companies don't always do a great job of identifying fakes, but that may be what I will need to rely on more going forward, at least for buying cards online.

I have been thinking of starting to collect the T205 set. Is that a set that has significant issues with fakes being sold? If so, is there a good way to tell specifically for that set, or do the same suggestions listed for other sets apply to T205s as well?

[charlietheexterminator]

It’s the new move of late. They sell the $100 or $200 graded cards, mixed in with just the right amount of (RAW) high dollar fake stuff, the newer guys to the hobby always fall for it.
This seller has an SGC graded card that I don’t trust. It’s the W515-2 Cobb. I don’t like the freshly sanded down corners, nor the super clean milky back and frame. It just doesn’t look right.

[Seven]

Originally Posted by charlietheexterminator

It’s the new move of late. They sell the $100 or $200 graded cards, mixed in with just the right amount of (RAW) high dollar fake stuff, the newer guys to the hobby always fall for it.
This seller has an SGC graded card that I don’t trust. It’s the W515-2 Cobb. I don’t like the freshly sanded down corners, nor the super clean milky back and frame. It just doesn’t look right.

It's ridiculous and sad that this is becoming the new norm. And on top of some of the listings being of fake cards, some of them aren't even labeled properly. His Cobb listing with the Ty Cobb back, is listed as being from 1923!

I trust your opinion on the slabbed Cobb, Chuck. Always interesting to hear what the more experienced collectors know about these sorts of things.

[oldeboo]

Originally Posted by jayshum

I have been thinking of starting to collect the T205 set. Is that a set that has significant issues with fakes being sold? If so, is there a good way to tell specifically for that set, or do the same suggestions listed for other sets apply to T205s as well?

Absolutely nothing wrong with staying away from graded cards. I'd recommend buying a few things here and there on the net54 B/S/T and that will develop your confidence in looking at the cards. Buy a few relatively low cost cards of common players to look at the characteristics of the set. I think that goes a long way. Unfortunately, it's kind of the nature of the hobby that cards like a T205 Cobb end up getting graded at some point. It's one reason why you see such high numbers on many of the better cards in population reports. Once you get into the top handful of cards in a set you can always buy graded and crack the cards out as many prefer. Because of the issues with graded fake cards, it's good to look at several for comparisons sake as well.

When it comes to Ebay, you'll start to recognize the people that are running scams even while having 100% feedback. It's good to look at all of their listings and that will tell a story. If someone lists 100 raw T205 cards saying that it's a partial set break, I'd tend to believe them. If someone has just one raw T205 Cobb and a bunch of hammers and screwdrivers, my radar would go off. If someone says no returns, that's a red flag. If someone says read description, that's a red flag. If someone says in the listing that the card is 100% original five times, that's a red flag. You get the drift. One good thing is you have buyer's protection there, so you can always verify regrettable purchases here.

For a set like T205 there aren't a ton of fakes I'd say, but they are out there for the better names especially. Once you get a feel for T205s you'll realize that the gold borders are very hard to replicate on a modern printer. A real one will look very metallic, while a fake will be very flat looking. Again, you'll run into the fuzzy images and sometimes that fake crackled look along with doctored reprints. There are nuances to sets you'll recognize as well the more you see them. A good example for the T205 set is the Polar Bear backed cards. Go look at a bunch of Polar Bear cards and nearly all of them will have brown stains visible on them, especially on the back. You'll even see actual specks of tobacco frequently. This is due to how the Polar Bear cards were distributed with scrap tobacco as opposed to cigarettes.

[swarmee]

Originally Posted by jayshum

I have been thinking of starting to collect the T205 set. Is that a set that has significant issues with fakes being sold? If so, is there a good way to tell specifically for that set, or do the same suggestions listed for other sets apply to T205s as well?

The gold flake borders on T205s make it very difficult to create a counterfeit that would fool people. If the gold border is printed on, it's counterfeit.