Seeking opinions on c. 1897 Page Fence Giants trade card...
 

Guys..........Hello. I have a friend that recently acquired this c.1897 Page Fence Giants trade card and has offered to sell it to me. This card measures a small 2.5" x 3.5". I've done some research via REA and Heritage to find similar examples, but other known examples are larger in size (4.5" x 5.5") and most have narrower side boarders with a sharper, more photographic image. There is a nice example Heritage sold with these same 'wide' boarders, but it's the larger size comparable to all other known example I've seen. Any thoughts? I've not seen it in person yet, but it appears to show heavier wear with soiling and a few creases. I'm assuming it's possible the printing company responsible for producing these back in the late 1890's could have printed 2 different sizes of this trade card, right?

Thanks in advance for your help..........Matt

I've seen the other ones that you mention that are larger. Never seen one this size though. I would think, if legit from the period, the image would be better. If it's real then it's very cool. Sorry not much more help.

I would not buy it. Here is mine, from REA a couple of years ago.

After seeing Kenny's example, have to agree that the one in the original post looks pretty wrong. There is some weird curling that you can see on that top edge cut, the corners don't look natural, and the image quality is very low. Even on the reverse fence, the detail is pretty bad. When comparing it to the Heritage example, some of the characteristics match up like the break in the outer frame of the image in the upper left, the fence design on the back and font variation as easily seen in the capital "M." Again, the image quality seems lower than the Heritage example too. Possibly a copy of that one? Maybe an interesting piece to have for very cheap, but doesn't look original. Who knows though, I've never even seen one of these before. Very cool looking card that Kenny has.

Sometimes I wonder if Kenny is real or if he is some short of mythical posting creature who exists only in some wing of Cooperstown which cannot by found

Amazing stuff

I agree with Kenny. Matt's offered example looks like a reproduction especially the image which is less sharp than the original, and the overly white color of the stock it's printed on.

Kenny is the HOF's research mole who only comes out at night. He has incredible collections.

Stay safe,
Mike

Does it fluoresce under black light? Does it smell old?

Not real. If you weren’t sure, you could always ask the seller to have it graded by PSA or SGC prior to purchasing it. Maybe even give them an incentive by offering a little more money to have it slabbed prior to you making the purchase.

Y'all actually made me laugh out loud.

Thanks for your opinions guys, I really appreciate your advice.

As I clearly stated in my first post, the seller is a friend of mine and I have not had the card in hand, as he lives about an hour from me. He just acquired the card yesterday and he never sends anything in for grading as he hates the whole process. That's why I was asking for opinions here first before purchasing.

Thanks again..........Matt

I'm going to go the other way and say that I think it could be real. If someone was copying the bigger one they would have made the printing the same. There are notable differences between the two. I'd want to loope it before I could say with certainty, but I think it has a good shot of being fine.

Is it possible to get a scan? The printing isn't very sharp - and the lines look fuzzy. That could be because this is a print out of a scan/photo. If there are rosettes and multiple colors, then you know this is modern printing.

Over the years I have been contacted about this "mini proof" as one guy tried calling it a couple times. Both times I have had them sent to me and both times they were fakes.

Possible? I suppose. Likely? I’m going to say not. Printing quality aside, I’m also skeptical that they printed a smaller version that just happens to coincidentally be the exact measurements of a modern baseball card. Again...possible, but not likely.

nice card

I have no knowledge of this issue but look at the font, especially the "M" in Make and the "M" in Michigan on the reverse. Seems the font is different.
I am not sure if that is any indication or not though.
Bob

Graphics on the back of these two cards are totally different - for what it's worth ;)