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Posted By: David

Michael, I understand that you are differentiating between condition and non-forgery alteration and the item's 'core' identity. However, my description of fakery and authenticity is accurate. Authenticity, and fakery is judged by comparing the description or label with the actual item. If there is a significant discrepency (again, 'significant' is subjective as long as it conforms with with widely held standards within the hobby) between the label and the item, then the item is not authentic and it is a fake.

I'm not suggesting that a 1957 Topps common misgraded Vg instead of VgEx is a fake (see 'significant' above). However if a card is purposely and significantly altered and incorrectly labeled so as to raise its value from, say, $5,000 to $70,000, it is most certainly a fake. If it makes you more comfertable, you can switch the word 'fake' to 'fraud' in my definition (though fraud usually implies money is infolved, while fakery does not neccesarily involve money).