Unbelievable (?) Buy at Athens Flea Market

[JustinD]

Originally Posted by ChiefBeef

A little more information concerning the thought all are fakes. i do not feel one can know that for sure from a bunch of low res photos on a website, but what do i know. That is why I ask. Am willing to listen and learn.

When surrounded by rabid wolves, you don't hold out your hand to hope one is nice enough to let you pet him. 90% of the group should be obvious fakes to a moderately knowledgeable vintage collector. Do you stake your money on someone who obviously loaded the group with fake flash that they then somehow mistakenly provided a real card? I wouldn't take that bet in a lifetime.

I will not give away more methods than I am comfortable with on a public forum, however I am very comfortable saying the remainder are also fake. Obvious markers that are well known are the general fuzziness of reprints, the artificial aging is all poorly done, and not a one of these post war items is not perfectly centered by the counterfeiter. There are innumerable other signs, but it's unnecessary to add,

If you have any belief in one of these cards I would suggest an Etsy search for the card and you can find the reprinted card with the exact same printing fingerprints shown (registration, centering, coloring) in a couple minutes. Granted the seller added a little sandpapering and additional aging on many like on the Star Jordan here,

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1678253...search_click=1

...However, they can all be identified. It's kinda weak that the scammer likely ordered them all from the exact same source...that's very little effort.

[D. Bergin]

Taking bets on whether this flea market dealer has another pot-o-gold at the end of the rainbow when he sets up next week, with remarkably similar looking cards.

[TAFKADixie]

Originally Posted by D. Bergin

Taking bets on whether this flea market dealer has another pot-o-gold at the end of the rainbow when he sets up next week, with remarkably similar looking cards.

It was actually a woman and I THINK she brought the box to the guy who has a permanent spot there selling mostly records/comics/magazines.

[TAFKADixie]

I'm obviously not condoning this but it's actually a pretty good TAKE THAT hustle to get someone who knowingly is taking advantage of you (or so they think).

[scottglevy]

My personal fave is the T206 Wagner with Ty Cobb back

[yanks87]

Any time that you see a Leaf card with true white in the name that doesn't match the border, it is the sure sign of a fake. What cracks me up is that we used to "age" reprints when I was a kid, took a lot of pride in it, and I think some of those might be better than the ones in the pictures.

That said, fakes are getting REALLY good now. I took a flyer on a Ramly that I found at an antique shop and it is 100% fake. My spidey-sense was screaming that the T204 and a Sports King were both fake based on the stock and weight, but for $20 a piece I thought I would take a flyer. As soon as I got home and took another look at them I realized that I had burned $40. Bring a loop, go with your gut. If it looks like a duck, and walks like a duck...

[bobbyw8469]

Originally Posted by yanks87

Any time that you see a Leaf card with true white in the name that doesn't match the border, it is the sure sign of a fake. What cracks me up is that we used to "age" reprints when I was a kid, took a lot of pride in it, and I think some of those might be better than the ones in the pictures.

That said, fakes are getting REALLY good now. I took a flyer on a Ramly that I found at an antique shop and it is 100% fake. My spidey-sense was screaming that the T204 and a Sports King were both fake based on the stock and weight, but for $20 a piece I thought I would take a flyer. As soon as I got home and took another look at them I realized that I had burned $40. Bring a loop, go with your gut. If it looks like a duck, and walks like a duck...

I've gotten real good at spotting fake Sports Kings as that was the first set I completed. I got to know what to look for as far as the real ones.

[yanks87]

Originally Posted by bobbyw8469

I've gotten real good at spotting fake Sports Kings as that was the first set I completed. I got to know what to look for as far as the real ones.

I should have phoned the board for a consult. Instead I am out $20 and feel dirty for getting duped on them.

[scottglevy]

My personal fave is the T206 Wagner with Ty Cobb back

I used to know a renowned hobbyist back in the day who would patiently listen to folks’ stories about how they came into a collection and then briefly flipped through the cards - usually (but not always) reaching a conclusion that they were no good. Many of the things he looked at were obscure issues and I asked him point blank how he could be such an expert on so many varied cards - before the days of the internet were mainstream.

His answer was so simple it was brilliant. He knew the major issues well enough to know what to look for - but not the obscure ones. So he went by a few simple rules. If the cards he knew well were fake 1 he assumed the others were too. If he didn’t really have a handle on any of the obscure issues - at least he knew what the stars and rarities were. If a random collection was packed with those and few to no commons - he assumed it was fake … and he was almost always correct.