1888 R & S Artistic mini-find

[aquarius31]

I'd caution about trying to get these slabbed. I submitted 2 of these diecuts to SGC a few months back. One of them was in exceptional condition but while SGC was encapsulating it the head came off one of them! They informed me that it had to do with the vibrations while it was being encapsulated. So yeah these things are very fragile and there is some risk with getting them graded. FWIW the other diecut was not damaged during encapsulation.

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by aquarius31

I'd caution about trying to get these slabbed. I submitted 2 of these diecuts to SGC a few months back. One of them was in exceptional condition but while SGC was encapsulating it the head came off one of them! They informed me that it had to do with the vibrations while it was being encapsulated. So yeah these things are very fragile and there is some risk with getting them graded. FWIW the other diecut was not damaged during encapsulation.

Thanks for the warning - I would love to hear the recording of their explaining that to you.

[aquarius31]

Originally Posted by Runscott

Thanks for the warning - I would love to hear the recording of their explaining that to you.

Hi Scott, they were actually very apologetic and in all fairness, they sent me back the card (slabbed authentic) and provided me a credit for the insured amount of the diecut. You can see where part of his head came off right under his nose (sorry for the crappy scan). Best of luck whatever you decide to do.

[deebro041]

George, in the photos Scott provided looks like he has 2 Brooklyn's. Maybe you could swing a deal!

[drc]

A great thing about die cuts like this is that they're hard for someone to trim.

For those who have never seen one in person before, they're straight foreword to authenticate as they are embossed and the fronts are very glossy. Plus, I've never heard of anyone making reprints.

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by drc

A great thing about die cuts like this is that they're hard for someone to trim.

For those who have never seen one in person before, they're straight foreword to authenticate as they are embossed and the fronts are very glossy. Plus, I've never heard of anyone making reprints.

David, I had never seen these before and they were so new-looking that I thought they were modern. What gave it away was that some of the other die cuts still had the connecting pieces attached.

[drc]

For whatever reason embossed scraps from back then tend to be glossy. Something to do with manufacture. Perhaps they added a varnish so the shape was kept. Flat scraps and trade cards tend to matte.

I've never seen forgers attempt to duplicate embossment. Too much work and detail. They either leave out the embossment or forge cards that aren't embossed.

And the R & S are the double whammy of embossed and die cut. So much easier to forge those flat rectangular 1952 Topps Mantles.

[danmckee]

hinged? did u soak them? roll creases? come on, spill ur poison

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by danmckee

hinged? did u soak them? roll creases? come on, spill ur poison

Dan, I figured out quickly they were just pieces of white paper-tape, forming a hinge. On the first one, I cut the cardboard away from it, then gently scraped off the part of the 'hinge' remaining on the die-cut.

For the second one, I left it attached to the cardboard, but gently pushed the die cut upward until the hinge 'rolled' off. It worked perfectly, so I did that for the rest of them.

I have found that these 'hinges', if left attached to paper for a long period of time, end up forming a bond that removes part of the paper on the host object, or leaves a sticky mess. Luckily, these had not formed a strong attachment to the die-cuts.

[smallstocks]

I found one of these in a collection I bought a few years back. Just wondering if these were ever reprinted and if mine might not be an original.

[drcy]

I am unaware of them being reprinted. They should have glossy fronts and be slightly embossed.