This is the first fake I ever bought, at the first show I went to in 1978. It was a whole $2....
besides the falsely aged stock, the tip off was that that back didn't come on that card. (Pointed out to me by the dealer I hung out at)
I got a lot better at picking that stuff up, partly because they made themselves a few fantasy cards, which were always sort of obvious.
in 82 or 83 they showed me a 51 Mantle that was being sent around to dealers in hopes they'd buy it.
Without telling me anything, they just handed it to me one day and asked me what I thought. It was incredibly nice looking. Today it would probably be a 9 or 10.
"Beautiful card, but it's fake. And it bugs me that I can't explain why"
I tried finding an explanation for maybe a half hour.
Apparently that was their opinion, and that of at least 3-4 other dealers who had seen it.
It still sort of bugs me, and I'm almost positive that today I could explain why.
I also wonder where that card is now, and if it's in a very highly graded slab.