53T Mays - real or fake?
 

Thoughts on this 53T Mays? I have my opinion, but I will withhold it for the sake of discussion.

By the way, please let me know if these types of threads are frowned upon for any reason. I'm not asking to try to figure out whether to buy the card (auction already closed) - I just figure discussing counterfeiting techniques and warning signs is a public good, especially to help other new/returning collectors learn.

Sorry the images aren't larger - that's the best I could do with the snipping tool.

For me it's so difficult to tell on the web. In my recent experiences the fakes aren't even close to an original when held in hand. I have recently ordered several reprints so I can be familiar with what they look like. Every single one so far has been on a coated two side stock which means it's slick on both sides. They have a matte (dull) finish but are still coated card stock and not uncoated on the back (rough) like an original. Are there a lot of reprints floating around with an uncoated back? I have yet to see one out of about 30 different ones I've ordered. I know many of the Topps reprints are but they are all clearly marked reprint. I've really been shocked lately at the number of high bids being place on some cards that are obvious reprints with perfectly rounded aged corners, etc. There is a 54 Aaron RC on Ebay right now that looks vintage but if you look closely you can see the bright white edges where the stock has been sanded off and hidden deep down in the really lengthy description it says it's an older reprint. Some of the sellers are really tricky with their use of descriptions to stay out of trouble selling fakes. Ebay should stop the obvious deception attempts.

reprints vs. counterfeits
 

The scans are too small to offer an opinion. That said, there is a big difference in spotting counterfeits vs. reprints.

A reprint is usually going to be easier to spot as the word "reprint" usually needs to be covered or removed in some way and as the previous post stated, reprints are usually more modern creations done on clearly different (often glossy) paper stock. While it is possible to learn to spot reprints via scans, good counterfeits (as opposed to bad ones) are much more difficult. So there will be times you will be able to look at a scan and know - that is a reprint. It will be next to impossible to know for sure until a card is in hand if the card is real vs. a good counterfeit.

With the limited pic it Looks fake to me, not sharp enough.