things to look for in T206 authenticity?
 

a good example is this cobb... what are things to look for to try to determine if it's real? I know a couple things but is there anything to look for on the back? http://www.ebay.com/itm/T206-Tobacco...item1c1f14335b

I don't think there's one obvious thing in particular, but most reprints are obvious to those that have handle a bunch of them. Thus, my .05 cents advice.......buy some beaters and then loupe them, feel them, take them to dinner, dream of them, smell them, and as some on this board have suggested "take a bath with them." Thus, short of putting T206 cards on your bicycle spokes, you really have to make a commitment before you start taking some chances on high dollar :confused: raw T206 cards.

Hey, just be careful out there, the T206 reprints are getting better and better all the time. As the years have gone on, you can see that some scammers have read this board and picked-up some valuable tips.

For the record the T206 in question is .99% authentic (can't guarantee that extra .01% without the card in-hand and a backlight).

Lovely Day...

Are you saying .99% or 99%?

A small detail to look for: On the original cards the stock is off white or maybe a light sepia. The face of the card (not the back) had a white coating put on it before the printing. Same is done for a lot of cards, with the white making for brighter graphics. On a damaged card, if a tear or an corner bump or such shows a distinctly whiter underneath than the face that suggests it's a reprint. As the stock under the front white surface should be darker not brighter.

Same rules applies to a 1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle and other many other white bordered cards. The basic stock on a 51 or 52 Bowman is much darker than on a T206, and those cards have the same front white coating.

On the lower torn left of the Cobb it looks awfully white underneath.

Cole, at the top f the page there is a great guide on detecting reprints if you wish to learn a ton. Great info in there.

Fake T206
 

Cole,

Frank Wakefield had a good response to a similar question back in 2006 regarding T206's in general. I have found Frank to be extremely knowledgeable about these issues. I think it would be helpful reposting & re-copying the response for all (in the event the link does not work). Following is the link to get the context of Frank's answer & response copied from the old forum:

http://www.network54.com/Forum/15365...eid=1147532454

==============

There are usually differences in reprints and originals. BTW I dont think there are reprints from the 50's and 60's, T206 originals were cheap back then (most well under $1 ea.), why make reprints. Most of the reprints are from the 1980's-now.

Most reprints have at least one of the following. The caption has a slightly different font and the spacing of the letters is different, also many will have a caption printed in black ink while the authentic cards caption is not black, its more of a grey-brown color. Also many have had the photo area cropped slightly so the thin black line around the photo is missing. Also many reprints have borders that are too wide. The backs on many reprints will be printed in the wrong ink color or have the Factory District # missing at bottom.

The only fakes that sometimes look good and can fool someone in a scan or picture is one of the homemade fakes, the ones where they use an inkjet printer and print out a front and back of the card from scans of an authentic card, then they glue them together. These would be obvious in person, but when you see them on eBay they will sometime fool an expert.


Frank

=================

Thanks guys. Am I missing something? because the tear in the cobb is white, which suggests a reprint right? But the font looks grey-ish brown, which suggests it's real... also does the factory # on the back help with finding fakes at all? Thanks, I really appreciate it

Hi Cole,
In terms of front/back combos I found this link on T206.org to be extremely useful. I'm not sure when it was last updated but it has helped me verify front/backs on many of my T206s. I'm with Iggy that you really need to see and feel the card to know for sure if it's authentic. In many cases, scans don't do justice to the cards in terms of colors, creasing etc.

That said, I'd be surprised if the Cobb in question is not authentic although David's expertise on these things and observation on the white border has me scratching my head.

I went back through some of my "torn" T206 cards and none exhibit that very white border. In fact, they do tend to be darker as mentioned in David's post. I've flip flopped a few times but perhaps it is a reprint.

Regardless, I think there are a lot of good resources that have been mentioned on this thread. Take care.

George

The black font indicates a reprint. The greyish brown font means you need to check the other factors.

It looks grey-ish brown to me

Most of what I know about reprints comes from David, but in my opinion if that Cobb is a reprint we are in big trouble ("99%" sure we are in trouble :)).

Just for comparison, I did a quick Google search on "T206 Mathewson paper loss" (since the Mathewson is found so frequently) and here are two with the same white as snow spots.

Lovely Day...

I think one way to look at it is "the three f's" - frame, font and focus. On reprints, the frames usually seem to be printed at the same time as the image. On real cards there is almost always some minute offset. That leads to the focus of the image - the multiple color runs for ink on the originals are never quite perfect and, like the frames, are a little off in some way. The font has been discussed already as to color and size, and I agree with the previous posts on that.

So you think the Cobb is a fake?

All in all, I think that the Cobb is probably a fake. The tear seems recent compared to the aging on the card and the font looks not quite right in the scan. The staining might be plausible, but it seems more likely that is a poor attempt at artificial aging.

....................
 

The differing opinions is why i prefer to buy graded, for just a little more $$ you get a lot more peace of mind. Just my 2

My thoughts exactly.

Having looked at the Cobb Bat on Shoulder for sale on eBay and the Cobb Bat on Shoulder for sale from Gradedcardman, I purchased the latter this weekend.

I was watching the auction on eBay, but just had a bad feeling about the card. The card was sold by someone who did not appear to generally sell tobacco cards, the staining on the card was odd and something about the card just put me off. I'm not saying that I personally thought the card was fake, but I never purchase any card I have any hesitation about, even if someone else ends up with a good deal because of my inaction.

Personally, I felt it was worth it to spend extra on a card like Cobb from someone I've bought from in the past, had good experiences with and was providing a graded card. I think the card on eBay had greater eye appeal, but I prefer knowing that my card is authentic.

Perhaps my worst buying experience is of a card, which passes tests for authenticity (blacklight, loupe), but because of the concerns I had about the card, always gives me pause and takes some of the joy away from owning it.