Help verifying card's authenticity

FrankWakefield · #1 03-23-2023, 05:43 PM

Easy for you to determine, illuminate it with a black light. If it fluoresces, then you will know it's not authentic.

I think it'll fluoresce. It doesn't look right to me, the left and right edges on the back are suspect, to me. It may be real, but I'm among the doubters above.

Get a black light and let us know what you find out, please.

2dueces · #2 03-23-2023, 06:39 PM

Tea stained back

JollyElm · #3 03-23-2023, 07:04 PM

I know nothing about this set, so here's the card in question (left) matched up with a graded one from eBay...

e95philadelphiacaramelmerklecomp.jpg

Other than the purported 'fake aging' happening, what jumps out at me is how the real card has all sorts of natural gradations in the colors, like the way the background goes from yellowy orange to real light green and then into dark green, and the gray of the uniform is shaded and nuanced, but your card has none of that gradated toning, and the contrast is stark, dark or light. The border of it is pretty weak, too. Not strong, thick lines like the eBay one.

Again, I know nothing about the set, but it doesn't look right to me.

FrankWakefield · #4 03-23-2023, 08:21 PM

Great comparison, Darren.

the facial details look second generation when compared to the image from an eBay listing.

It is not a genuine card.

BobC · #5 03-23-2023, 09:11 PM

And look at the difference in the lettering on the front, clearly some marked difference between the two in how thick and sharp the lettering is.

Pat R · #6 03-24-2023, 05:18 AM

Joe, the most obvious is the apparent lack of print dots on your Merkle you can see them clearly on the example that Darren posted in the side by side with your card.
The image you posted seems a little blurry to me take a look at your card under magnification and see if it is actually missing the print dots as it appears to be.

Northviewcats · #7 03-24-2023, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pat R

Joe, the most obvious is the apparent lack of print dots on your Merkle you can see them clearly on the example that Darren posted in the side by side with your card.
The image you posted seems a little blurry to me take a look at your card under magnification and see if it is actually missing the print dots as it appears to be.

Thanks everyone for the input.

I know that it is difficult to authenticate a card based on a picture. In this case, it may be even more difficult because I think the card may have been coated with a substance to protect it. I do have loupe and there are hundreds of black dots on the surface of the card that show up under 16x magnification. Originally, that is why I thought that the card might be real. Perhaps, if the card has been coated with something it maybe more difficult to see the dots on my card, when placed next to the card in Darren's picture. (Thanks, Darren for taking the time to do the side-by-side.)

Thanks, Frank for the black light suggestion. I will purchase a black light flashlight from Amazon and check to see if the card fluoresces, and report back. Can you explain why a reprint will light up while an original will not under black light? I am sure that it has been discussed before, but it may be of help to someone else (like me) that may be reading this thread.

Again, I appreciate all of the comments.

Best regards,

Joe

Northviewcats · #8 03-27-2023, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FrankWakefield

Easy for you to determine, illuminate it with a black light. If it fluoresces, then you will know it's not authentic.

I think it'll fluoresce. It doesn't look right to me, the left and right edges on the back are suspect, to me. It may be real, but I'm among the doubters above.

Get a black light and let us know what you find out, please.

Frank you were right. I got the black light flashlight today and the card fluoresces. It is not authentic. Thanks. I can see where having a UV light is indispensable to a vintage collector. I am sure that black light also helps identify doctored cards, when modern material is added to a vintage card.

Thanks everyone for all for your help.

Best regards,

Joe

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