Leon and Terry-- help me avoid disaster and spot fakes.

[Archive]

Posted By: hankron

This applies to online viewing and not in person examination. In person, most counterfeits and reprints are obvious to anyone with experience with the cards. As I've already mentioned before, the collector of early cards or photos should get a blacklight. A blacklight will quickly and easily identify many modern counterfeits due to the bright fluoresence.

1) Most sellers on eBay are honest and essentially good people. When most people sell a fake, it is accidental and they offer a refund and an apology. When it is pointed out that an item in auction is significantly misrepresented, the seller will amend or remove the auction, and thank you for the help.

2) When viewed online: Most reprints have viewable deficiencies that, at the least, makes a bidder think twice.

Many homemade counterfeits have obvious trimming that iis described as ‘natural wear.’ One of the hardest things to produce on these types of counterfeits is natural corner rounding. They often clip off the corners with a scissors and rough up the edge a bit. While there are genuine cards with obvious trimming (crooked edges and clipped corners), a legitimate seller would not mistake it for ‘natural corner rounding.’ If a seller can’t tell the difference between obvious trimming and natural wear, STAY AWAY. I bet you that every single ‘Library of Congress’ counterfeit ever offered on eBay or Yahoo had problems with the cut that was obvious just looking at the image.

Even in an online image, many commercially produced T206 and other reprints are apparent to anyone who’s handled the real thing and often to those who’ve only seen a lot of them online. Often the reprints simply don’t look right. The experienced collector’s eyes are a sophisticated tool. Avoid high end 1933 Goudeys with conveniently placed scrapes on the back-— meaning, where the reprint text would be on a reprint.

On or offline, I've never seen a reprint of a T206 Honus Wagner that didn't look like a reprint of a T206 Honus Wagner. It doesn't matter how long he baked it in the oven or sent it throught the washing machine or steeped in the afternoon pot of Earl Grey or how poor the scan, it always looks like a reprint of a Honus Wagner.

Many reprints of significant cards, especially the T206s and E-cards and real photo cards (Old Judge, Fatima, etc), will have an incorrect moiré pattern.

3) Why the on earth would someone selling an Old Judge Cap Anson picture the card at a 25 degree angle? This is known as the ‘Give me a break’ effect.

4) Most intentional sellers of counterfeits, usually of expensive cards, have serious deficiencies in their description. Never ever buy an expensive card from someone who says “sold as is”, “may be real or reprint, I’m no expert” or similar.

5) Ask the seller what is the return policy and guarantee of authenticity. If he or she won’t offer a guarantee of authenticity or reasonable return policy, DO NOT BID. Check the bidder’s feedback and what else they are selling.

6) If you have concerns about a card, get your concerns answered before bidding.

7) Why on God’s green earth would someone bid $2,000 on a 1933 Babe Ruth Goudey from someone with feedback of 0?

8) If anyone reading this post ever bids $1,000 in an auction of a Old Judge Cap Anson pictured at a 25 degree angle, with clipped corners described as ‘natural corner wear’ from a 0 feedback seller who claims “May be real, may not be real, I’m no expert” and “sold as is”, I’m will personally come over to your house and smack you.

9) If you have a question about the card, post it to the board. I can think of no better use for this board than addressing these types of issues.