1951 Bowman Mantle real or not real
 

Hello board members. I was sent this scan (will ask for better ones) of a 1951 Bowman Mantle for sale. I have not yet set up an appointment to see it as I would like to have your help first. I can see that there are many creases almost like it was rolled up and then unrolled. I can also see on the back some signs of water/moisture damage. Other than that, there just seems to be something not right. Maybe it ]is a fake. Or if it is real maybe it was soaked?? The white boarders are very white while the corners are dark. Not uniform wear like one would suspect. I am a fairly proficient student of the 1952 Topps counterfeits, but I can't seem to find much about the 51 bowman's and various counterfeits. Any help would be great.

Hey there MM,
The link i usually provide for the 52's RC...also has a link to detect a 51 Bowman
Here the link: http://home.comcast.net/~52mantle/52toppsmantle51b.htm
I cant see much without a larger view, but i do see the corner tips being black.
Like the link says, the facial feature is important to see...look natural in color---not sunburned.

The border/corner contrast notwithstanding, I must say that "name box" hits the eye as preternaturally black. There is almost always, if not always, some white "cracking" to that box area. Could possibly be a scan/camera setting issue but worth mentioning. Cards of that magnitude I personally prefer slabbed, from a top-notch point of sale, and then I even review them after personally scrutinizing them. But then again I am Mr. Overkill in that regard. Hope that helps a bit.

From the scan I don't like the looks of it.

Thanks guys for your help so far, I am still waiting on better scans from the seller.