Can you detect the counterfeit Rose rookie ?

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Posted By: Pennsylvania Ted

Can you tell which one of these two 1963 Topps Pete Rose rookies is a counterfeit ?

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Posted By: Tony Galovich

Both appear to be legit
But seeing cards in hand is much easier to decide as phonies usually had thin stock & a few other tell tale signs

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Posted By: MikeU

The one on the right.

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Posted By: Dave Haas

The middle one.

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Posted By: Anthony N.

I'm with Mike, the one on the right.

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Posted By: Todd Schultz

Without larger scans it's difficult, but if you tell me for certain that one's fake--I'd say the one on the right.

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Posted By: Pennsylvania Ted

They both are......

These fakes were almost perfect replicas that were produced when the Rose rookie was really "hot" in the early 1980's.
The clever counterfeitor was not so clever, as he tried to dump 100's of them at one show in California. The dealers at
this show compared notes and he was arrested. Most of the fakes were confiscated by the police. However, many did
get into circulation (like the one on the left).







TED Z

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Posted By: TONY

I recall being at the show where these surfaced, it was A East Coast show not Calif. if memory serves me correct
I went from table to table & saw dealers with 10-20 Roses in their showcases & said something to myself "Something is wrong"
Finally at Kit Youngs table he had 20 of the Rose's displayed for sale
Looking at them thru the showcase I knew something was fishy, something just wasn't right
About a hour later finally someone actually examined the cards & determined they were fakes
The 2 telltale signs I recall to spot a phony was if you held the card up to a strong light looking at the reverse side, you could see the 4 circles easily, due to a paper stock that was too thin & had a waxy feeling to them, not like the typical cardboard.
Also on the phony Rose, there was a black outline around the cap of the Rose photo.
Once you examine a phony Rose rookie, you can easily spot a counterfeit almost instantly
Also the card you show as the counterfeit does not appear to have the black outline on the cap, so I wonder if these cards were from a another counterfeiter
Also Jack Petruzelli had the counterfeit stamp added to the reverse of the cards, but I know for a fact not all were stamped, so unstamped counterfeits are still floating around & being sold at flea markets etc as the real thing
This is a card that all novices should buy graded only, unless you are buying it for A $1 or less
+ the only reason so many of the phonies were sold was dealer GREED.
Anyone want to buy A few $1000 Bills for $400 each?

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Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

It has been about 25 years since these counterfeit Rose's were circulating. So, my recollection might be off;
but, I thought these cards first surfaced on the West coast.
Anyhow, as you said, and the quickest way to discern that a Rose rookie is a fake is the black outline around
Rose's cap.

Both these cards have this outline. If I focus the scan on these Rose cards, and enlarge it, you will clearly see
the outline on his cap on both cards.

Other than the subtle differences between this fake and the real Rose rookie, this fake was one of the best
counterfeits in the hobby. It certainly fooled a lot of dealers and collectors in the early 1980's.

TED Z

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Posted By: Duke42

I say the Rose card on the right.