With the stakes rising, how worried should we be about high quality counterfeit cards

[obcbobd]

I recall a year or two ago there it was proven that a large percentage of vintage autographed cards that were authenticated/graded had fake autographs. I had always thought that some day I would splurge big bucks on an autographed T206. Of course one graded/authenticated so I know its real. I no longer plan on making that splurge.

What happens if we reach a point that fakes get so good that people lose confidence in the grading companies to detect. Will people spend $100,000 on a card that might be a reprint?

[ASF123]

This one looks pretty darn good to me - none of the obvious telltale signs, and the print pattern looks like it *could* be legit if you were able to zoom in more closely/clearly.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1958-Topps-...EAAOSwGm1gNO8Y

Am I missing any dead giveaways about the card itself?

[steve B]

Originally Posted by ASF123

This one looks pretty darn good to me - none of the obvious telltale signs, and the print pattern looks like it *could* be legit if you were able to zoom in more closely/clearly.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1958-Topps-...EAAOSwGm1gNO8Y

Am I missing any dead giveaways about the card itself?

Only some that are only semi-obvious.

They're more obvious if you've handled a bunch of 58s, which is one of the reasons I usually recommend that anyone getting started buy a good sized lot of commons and spend some time with them before buying the expensive ones.
Even then, it helps to have the sort of brain that lets you see the details, and not everyone does. I can do it with cards, but usually not with autographs.