New guy here...1952 Mantle...is it legit?

[Stonepony]

I believe the card is fake. It overall doesn't look " right " to me. Also, the bat has the white area above his hands- seen on sophisticated fakes.

[1952boyntoncollector]

Originally Posted by Stonepony

I believe the card is fake. It overall doesn't look " right " to me. Also, the bat has the white area above his hands- seen on sophisticated fakes.

fakes always have decent centering too

[CW]

Nothing is really screaming at me that this is a fake other than the near perfect centering and the yellow around the Yankees logo looks a bit brighter compared to a known legit copy (this could be from the photo, though). Another odd factor is the unnatural perfectly rounded bottom corners. I own cards with rounded corners, so it's not uncommon, but the color and wear on the white borders doesn't really match the wear of the corners, as if the card may have been artificially aged. Lack of creasing is also strange. I'm 50/50 on it.

Thanks for providing such good pictures to study, and please, even if the card is determined to be a fake, come back here to let us all know the result. That would be a nice score if it turns out to be real, so good luck!

BTW, I will mention that with the rounded corners, the surface scuffing, and the stain in the upper right corner area, you would be likely to get a 2 or maybe a 3 from PSA, although most collectors would pay a big premium for the centering, so it's still a $20K card, give or take, if it's real.

Also, if you submit to PSA you can choose to have it graded with no qualifiers, as it would likely get an ST qualifier for the stain. Keep in mind this would also knock the grade down a grade or two. For example, if you go with qualifiers, the card may grade as a 3 ST. If you request no qualifiers, PSA may give it a straight 2 or even a 1.

Most collectors would prefer a card without a qualifier, and if you do more research with the search function you can probably find some prior discussions on qualifiers to help with your decision.

[savedfrommyspokes]

Originally Posted by CW

Nothing is really screaming at me that this is a fake other than the near perfect centering and the yellow around the Yankees logo looks a bit brighter compared to a known legit copy (this could be from the photo, though). .

I agree with the front centering screaming fake.....the back centering is off l/r though....that is not as typical with the fakes.

[Prof_Plum]

Not an expert but if we're taking a poll, I'd vote fake. Front centering is almost too good. The yellow of the box doesn't seem to match the yellow of the bat. There seems to be more of an orange-ish tint to the box. Also considering the scruffiness of the surface, I'd expect more wear elsewhere, e.g. the corners.

[Zach Wheat]

Originally Posted by Stonepony

I believe the card is fake. It overall doesn't look " right " to me. Also, the bat has the white area above his hands- seen on sophisticated fakes.

I was thinking the same thing. The yellow seems to be off also...but could be the scans. It is hard to tell more given the info supplied.