Introduction to the Alteration and Forgery/Reprint Section of Net54

This section is for the benefit of all collectors in the hobby. There seems to be more and more alterations and forgeries running rampant in our hobby and hopefully this section will help collectors detect those issues. It is put together by not one, but many, hobby veterans and insiders. Some of the contributor's names will be acknowledged and others wish to remain anonymous. This section is to help folks but should not be considered unequivocal in its approach. The possibilities in altering cards are almost limitless as the mind of a forger is very creative. Alterations are very difficult to detect from scans and pictures, and even when holding a card in hand, it can be difficult to detect expertly done alterations. The best way to get to know cards is by handling them and getting to know the series and the characteristics associated with each one. For instance certain caramel issues, i.e....E101, E102, etc.., will almost always have nice top and bottom borders and frequently one of them is oversized. For an E93, that is not the case and the borders will be a bit smaller. The subtleties between different issues are what experience will teach, and for a good guide to detecting, forgeries, reprints, and alterations we hope this will be it.

We have decided to take a very detailed approach in this section and will put up many articles and facts on trimming, soaking, adding color and so forth of individual series. All trimming doesn't look the same for different issues, and all soaking of cards will not net the same result. This section will be a work in progress and we hope anyone with more information will contact the moderator. It should be useful to all board members but please understand it is a work in progress. As new good information is received we will post it here. Even with the guidelines, and tips we give for helping to identify problems, it is still 'Caveat Emptor' in the hobby. The moderators, nor Net54, assume any liability for a decision based upon any information used from this section. We recommend a professional opinion when in doubt such as SGC, PSA, GAI, and Beckett grading services for 3rd party verification. Best regards and happy collecting.