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warshawlawThere are three main forms of reprint known with Exhibit baseball (I am not counting the 1980 sets issued by the company, as these are clearly labeled 1980 and are legitimate company issues):
1. The 1948 HOF set was partially reissued in the 1970s by the company on thinner, whiter stock. They are legitimate but worth only a tiny fraction of the originals. On line, these cards are indistinguishable from the earlier version. I have been burned on a couple. The reprint is so common that my advice is not to buy this set except in person or from reputable sellers who will accept returns.
2. Several of the 1947-66 Exhibits were reprinted on coarse grey stock some years ago. These cards are easily distinguished in person, not so much on line unless you have a back scan where you can see the grey chip board. Oddly, the reprints are much rarer than the real thing. These include Mantle, Reese and Mays, and some others I don't remember. I was burned on a few early in my career: haven't seen any in quite a while. Again, if you know Exhibits and are buying in person, you will immediately be able to tell that these are fakes.
3. There is another reprint set of the more popular 1947-66 cards floating around. It has bright white stock backs and on close scrutiny some of the cards are muddy looking. The weight and cut of the cards are right, however and on line they are not distinguishable from the real thing. Fortunately, these reprints are rarely encountered too. I have a set of 32 which I use for autographs. I had a 1955 Dodgers team card signed by Don Newcombe as a present for my father.
I do not know of any prewar reprints.
Now, there are also some other "Exhibits" to watch for:
1. There is a collector issued set of 4 on 1's; they are profiled in the SCD book, so I won't go into them here.
2. The Canadian printings of Exhibit cards from the 1950s, while legitimate cards (i.e., contemporary issues not recent reprints), are quite different both in terms of colors used and cardboard quality (lousy). Whether these were Exhibit products, licensed products or rip-offs is unclear. If you are into other sports, esp. hockey, there are some great and rare 1940's-1950's Canadian Exhibits. I picked up a Maurice Richard at the National last year. The boxing cards from the 1940's and up also are printed in Canada in a pink tone.
3. Some major arcades reprinted Exhibit cards on their own stock. These cards are easily distinguished because they look like 2nd generation prints. They have borders, which do not appear on any exhibits after 1924, and are on different stock. Again, these are collectible and rare cards in themselves but they are not Exhibit.
4. Among the boxing cards, the 1960s issue was reprinted by the company in 1966-1971 (ca.). These cards are brown print; the first run was green. They are legitimate and sell for roughly the same as the green cards but some collectors distinguish between them.
The key to differentiating between real Exhibit cards and the known reprints is card stock. All real exhibit baseball issues from 1921-1966 are printed on a creamy stock with a smooth back (there are some textural differences between sets, but you'd have to see them to know them). This stock must be hard to fake because reprints are found on rough chipboard or smooth white stock. Flip over a real card and a reprint and you will immediately be able to tell the difference.
I probably over-answered your question...
03-24-2005, 06:18 PM
Exhibit question...
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