1914 Baltimore News Orioles - Ruth

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Posted By: Mike

Can anyone help me on this issue ? Are their reprints of the Ruth card ( both red and blue) ? Please advise the best way to tell the difference. For example: the dot pattern etc. between original and fakes. I seen one the other day and assumed it must be fake, but I'd like to go back to this guy and see if it really is or not. How would you make the determination ? Again any help appreciated. Mike

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Posted By: davidcycleback

If it's a common home computer reprint, the card printing will be made up of multi color dot under high magnification. The originals ussed either red-only or blue-only ink. Computer printers don't have blue or red ink, and must combine other color inks to make pure red and pure blue. Don't look at just the writing or border, but all over the card. In fact, even modern professional lithography printers don't use blue and red ink anymore, and would also have to combine other colors. Even on a professional lithograph reprint by Topps or Upper Deck (if they made reprints of the issue), the image area of Ruth would likely have multi-color dots.

To see what this kind of multi-color dot pattern looks like, examine a modern card or color magazine picture.

If you really know what you doing, the originals were made with photoengraving, an old time printing methods which can be identified under high magnification. But the multi-color dots will suffice to identify the vast majority of reprints.

Also, even beginners can learn to use an inexpensive black light to identify many reprints of antique cards and other paper items, as the black light identifies much modern paper. A black light, which is simple to use, won't identify all reprints and fakes, but will identify many. You don't have to be a baseball card expert or printing historian to determine that the paper stock on that 1915 Cracker Jack Joe Jackson is modern, meaning the card is a fake.

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Posted By: fkw

Post a clear scan of the card.

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Posted By: Anthony S.

Just kidnap David and take him to the card.

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Posted By: davidcycleback

The simple answer is if it's real it would be too expensive to afford anyway.

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Posted By: PAS

Wait for Rob's next auction, he is sure to have another one.

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Posted By: cmoking

LOL!

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Posted By: Peck

Reprints of the Baltimore News Ruth were being sold on ebay a few months ago. The seller was listing 10 to 12 card lots of reprints that included both red and blue 1914 Baltimore News Ruth, 1915 Sporting News Ruth, etc. Lots were bringing $50 to $75 and the seller stated: These cards are reprints even though they do not have the word reprint on them.