Are their known counterfeits of the 1983 Mickey Mantle 52 Topps reprint?

[bruin805]

I always loved the allure of the 1952 Mantle but I definitely don't want to pay thousands for it. I had a PSA 8 copy of the 1983 reprint card, and recently I picked up a PSA 9 copy.

When I looked at it next to my PSA 8 copy, something looked fishy. When I flipped them over to look at the back, they were clearly printed on different paper stock and they were printed 180 degrees off of each other.



On the front, the shade of blue is different, the thickness of the black border is different, and the quality of the image is lower.



The signatures on the front look different as well.



Are there known variations of this card, or is the PSA 9 a counterfeit?

[bswhiten]

Your PSA 9 copy is a Fake reprint. Unfortunately PSA slabbed a good number of them. I would send it back to the seller for a refund if you can. If not send it to PSA. I wrote something on this subject 3 or 4 years ago but I can’t recall where.
These were mine at the time...the right one is the fake.

[bruin805]

Originally Posted by bswhiten

Your PSA 9 copy is a Fake reprint. Unfortunately PSA slabbed a good number of them. I would send it back to the seller for a refund if you can. If not send it to PSA. I wrote something on this subject 3 or 4 years ago but I can’t recall where.
These were mine at the time...the right one is the fake.

Thanks for the feedback. I contacted the seller so hopefully I'll hear back soon.

[todeen]

Who would make a fake of a reprint? How much is a 1983 version worth? I've never heard of it. The first Mantle series I can recall is the 1996 Topps.

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[bruin805]

Originally Posted by todeen

Who would make a fake of a reprint? How much is a 1983 version worth? I've never heard of it. The first Mantle series I can recall is the 1996 Topps.

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This wasn't a "Mantle series," Topps reprinted the entire 1952 set (minus 5 cards where they couldn't get the player to sign off on including them in the reprint set). It was released as a complete boxed set. In 1991 Topps did a reprint of the entire 1953 set and those ones were released in packs. A few years after that, they did a reprint of the 1954 set that was also distributed in packs.

The 1996 Topps set was released as a tribute after Mantle died.

[todeen]

The 1953 reprint set was the beginning of what we consider Topps Archives, right?

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[bruin805]

Originally Posted by todeen

The 1953 reprint set was the beginning of what we consider Topps Archives, right?

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Yes.

[bmattioli]

PSA now grades a reprint of a reprint?? Oh my..

[bruin805]

Update - the seller approved the return, so I will be getting my money refunded. Sent the Mantle back to the seller. Will be interested to see if it gets re-listed.

[hockeyhockey]

did they sell these as inserts in packs or were they just available as a set?