Babe Ruth $$$

[SteveS]

With regard to the Fro Joy (at least the #1 card), one thing I've noticed that I don't know has ever been pointed out is that in the authentic ones, if you look very closely, there are a bunch of tiny crosses below Babe's chin and on his jersey. I have not seen that on any of the fakes or reprints. The top set of pictures below are of mine and one that Leon posted in a previous thread. The bottom two are being marketed as reprints. You can see the crosses on the top ones that are lacking on the bottom. I hope that helps anyone looking for a Fro Joy to add a Ruth to their collection.

[ullmandds]

Originally Posted by SteveS

With regard to the Fro Joy (at least the #1 card), one thing I've noticed that I don't know has ever been pointed out is that in the authentic ones, if you look very closely, there are a bunch of tiny crosses below Babe's chin and on his jersey. I have not seen that on any of the fakes or reprints. The top set of pictures below are of mine and one that Leon posted in a previous thread. The bottom two are being marketed as reprints. You can see the crosses on the top ones that are lacking on the bottom. I hope that helps anyone looking for a Fro Joy to add a Ruth to their collection.

damn! Never heard of this/noticed this? Still not sure if I can see it????

[jingram058]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

damn! Never heard of this/noticed this? Still not sure if I can see it????

Looks like "noise" or pixels that actually look like tiny crosses or x's, is that right?

[SteveS]

Pete and James, here's a comparison of the same area of the jersey. If you blow it up you can see the tiny crosses on the left picture that aren't on the right. I've never seen those crosses on the fakes, and always figured that they were part of the printing process and difficult to replicate.

[ullmandds]

Originally Posted by SteveS

Pete and James, here's a comparison of the same area of the jersey. If you blow it up you can see the tiny crosses on the left picture that aren't on the right. I've never seen those crosses on the fakes, and always figured that they were part of the printing process and difficult to replicate.

Thats helpful thx steve!

[TUM301]

Thanks for pointing this out. Acquired this raw example a while back and just never got it graded. Took your advice and there they are plain as day, thanks again.
1928 Frojoy, Babe Ruth`s Grip ! by Hugh Murphy, on Flickr

[SteveS]

Very cool, TUM301. One thing I should say is that I haven't checked every type of reprint out there. I checked several just to make sure, and it holds true for the ones I saw for card #1. I imagine there are printers out there that can replicate things to the tiniest detail, like the crosses. So check other things, such as making sure that the box on the back is a full square, without any breaks in the corners.

EDIT: I just spent awhile looking through a bunch of Fro Joys advertised as reprints. Some better than others. But while I did not see any crosses on cards #1-4, I did see them on a few of the #5 (Grip) and #6 (Crack Fielder) cards. I attach an example of a #5 reprint that appears to have the crosses. However, in every one of those that I saw, the corners of the box on the back do not connect. I also attach a picture of that. While I can't say for sure as I haven't checked every single example out there, when it comes to the #5, the crosses on the front and the connecting box on the back are very good signs.

[mrreality68]

Amazing How many different types of collectible items there are from cards, to photos, to books, pins, Tins and so much more

Time to potentially expand the Search for Ruth Collectibles

[ullmandds]

Very cool and I learned something new here! And I’m relieved to have just checked my three raw examples (1,4,5) and they all have all the characteristics of authentic examples…Lots of crosses and continuous box lineage.

Originally Posted by SteveS

Very cool, TUM301. One thing I should say is that I haven't checked every type of reprint out there. I checked several just to make sure, and it holds true for the ones I saw for card #1. I imagine there are printers out there that can replicate things to the tiniest detail, like the crosses. So check other things, such as making sure that the box on the back is a full square, without any breaks in the corners.

EDIT: I just spent awhile looking through a bunch of Fro Joys advertised as reprints. Some better than others. But while I did not see any crosses on cards #1-4, I did see them on a few of the #5 (Grip) and #6 (Crack Fielder) cards. I attach an example of a #5 reprint that appears to have the crosses. However, in every one of those that I saw, the corners of the box on the back do not connect. I also attach a picture of that. While I can't say for sure as I haven't checked every single example out there, when it comes to the #5, the crosses on the front and the connecting box on the back are very good signs.