Does anyone own This Playball 1939 Williams Rookie? Know Don Rose?

[Leon]

It would be nice to do the deal and arrange for local pick up....with authorities in attendance unbeknownst to the seller .

[Texxxx]

Here is the Craigslist ad for it.
http://cleveland.craigslist.org/clt/3312496407.html

[grundle20]

I knew something was effed up about that card.

First off - you guys rule. Thanks for helping me sniff this one out!

I had arranged a local pick up with a friend. I think I'm going to try to keep the appointment and do something about it.

And good advice, I'm going to alert PSA about it....they're the ones who should really be fired up about this. Pretty crazy that they managed to get it in a holder looking the way it does....it's a pretty good con job.

[thecatspajamas]

Good luck, be careful, and let us know how it turns out!

[steve B]

Fascinating how the fake has more black space above the head. Usually they crop a scan of an original, this one looks like they had some better source material like a copy of the photo.

Steve B

[vintagecpa]

It is my meager opinion that these type of scams are far more numerous than on craigslist. I personally have found numerous examples of this occurrance, and i am far from a sophisticated collector. It is far more prevalent in post WWII cards because of the larger population. I believe the print-shop technology has gotten to a point where it is simply too easy to replicate a flip. It takes a very sophisticated collector to detect many of these cards. We can only guess how many of these cards are in private collection. We might only be finding the sloppy work. I hope I am over-estimating the problem.

[grundle20]

I agree with you Mike. I mean, reprints are ridiculously close (and getting better, as printing improves) to the real thing. Sometimes to the eye, they are indecipherable. Up till now, at least getting it graded was a nod towards authenticity (even if you disagree with the grade they gave).

If a crook can get the slabbing down, I mean, what then? There's not even a good hologram on the top of the current PSA paper in the slab. All you need to do is master the plastic. It's plastic! I mean, phone China and they'll send you thousands of 'em.

This guy was smart enough to make sure the cert # was the proper grade and all.

And why not? He pulls this off, he makes several thousand dollars off plastic and cardboard. Seriously, it's even MORE lucrative and EASIER than fake Rolex and Montblanc.

[Bocabirdman]

Originally Posted by grundle20

I agree with you Mike. I mean, reprints are ridiculously close (and getting better, as printing improves) to the real thing. Sometimes to the eye, they are indecipherable. Up till now, at least getting it graded was a nod towards authenticity (even if you disagree with the grade they gave).

If a crook can get the slabbing down, I mean, what then? There's not even a good hologram on the top of the current PSA paper in the slab. All you need to do is master the plastic. It's plastic! I mean, phone China and they'll send you thousands of 'em.

This guy was smart enough to make sure the cert # was the proper grade and all.

And why not? He pulls this off, he makes several thousand dollars off plastic and cardboard. Seriously, it's even MORE lucrative and EASIER than fake Rolex and Montblanc.

It used to be that a slab was foolproof, the grade disputable, yes, but a PSA or SGC (etc.) slab was at least an assurance that it was authentic. Trimmed perhaps, altered in some other way, but the card in the slab was "real".

Counterfeiters are an industious lot. Even if the grading companies upgrade the flips to include holograms, there are eleventy-two bazillion "old style" flips in our collections for them to duplicate. As of now, it seems the targets are limited to high-end cards. The hobby is on high alert. Every superstar slab is eyeballed endlessly. How far off can bogus slabs of $25-$50 cards be? The profit margin would still be insane. With nobody looking twice at a PSA 6 1956 Topps Larry Doby, if it was better than good, a counterfeiter could pump out hundreds and go undetected.