Real or Fake?! Mathewson & McGraw (If You Have a Heart Then Help PLEASE)

[ullmandds]

Scott...is he 1 or 2 financial analysts?

[smokelessjoe]

Hi Colby,

Nice cards..

You did the right thing and actually the smartest thing by coming here and asking. Unfortunately I have seen this happen many times over the years (you are not the first) where someone new comes on board and then gets slammed. Not sure why (I have several theories) but is does happen. This board has wasted time and posting (from regular members) on more stupid / absurd postings than what you have brought to the game.

Fairly crazy as it is often spoke about "new collectors" / "young folks" and will they be around when were gone. You are exactly what we are looking for in the hobby.

Another aspect of what I like about your post is that we now know of three (new to the hobby) cards! And there has been some huge FINDS that came out (ON THIS BOARD) by people doing exactly what you did - and if they would have just went the GOOGLE route we may never have seen the cards!

Just relax for a little bit and everyone will warm-up to ya,

Shawn England

[Ease]

Originally Posted by Tanman7baseball

I do not want to get heated about anything said here. I simple just wanted to get opinions from you older fellows. I'm 22 and just would like to learn from some of the best old guys in the business. Best way to learn is from experience. I went to Net54Baseball because I respect the unmatched knowledge about the hobby. I trust my judgement on cards, but I trust the collectors/dealers on here much more. All because of one thing, EXPERIENCE.

It just makes me kind of angry people think I am some lazy person who just doesn't want to do research and make someone else do it. I really don't know why it has gotten to me this much, but for everyone who is just messing with me to give me a hard time I say, "Touché'".

Don't worry bout it Colby, for me the best resource on anything pre-war is this forum's archives. Click the search tab at the top, put something in, and you open a world of information. I spend many hours, days even, just reading old threads and trying to gain knowledge. I guarantee there are countless threads there hashing out the differences in reprints vs. real, etc. Nothing wrong with asking the questions you have, and I'm sure you are a nice guy (Leon said so), you just came off a little over the top with your Jackie Robinson thread titles and the title of this one; ie "if you have a heart" "for the love of God help me"

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

Scott...is he 1 or 2 financial analysts?

I don't know, but this thread is ridiculous. I made a reasonable suggestion and got raked over the coals. The interesting thing about this is that I went through this same process many years ago, so I actually know how to tell T206 fakes from real ones

I learned from that process that you don't just post a picture of a HOF'er from a set you know nothing about, and ask if it is real, unless that's the end of it for you. If that's the case, Colby got his answer very early on, so he should be off posting them for sale in the BST sub-forum, asking us for offers.

But if he REALLY wanted to know how to tell the difference, I provided that info as well. And he's still not happy.

Me either, Colby. Me either. But this is a fun board and there are plenty of other threads that won't cause me any additional angst today. It's possible I'll see you and Sean in one of those, but not in this one. Later.

[Tanman7baseball]

Yes I respect all of you that spent years gaining the knowledge you have now. I don't blame you for keeping your secrets from me and the young collectors that will carry on this hobby. But as time goes on and the closer you old guys come to the end, hopefully you will finally unveal your treasured secrets to the world!!:

Sorry for getting a bit dramatic but I couldn't sleep last night. I just couldn't figure out if these cards were real or not... It was killing me inside. Honestly, you guys were my last hope to finally getting my mind to rest. The bastards who keep bantering me I get it (lol). It's quite funny to me now, because I am now looking at it as if I were in your shoes. Sure maybe some of you are actually genuine bastards, but I can see why you would be one to me. I don't trust anyone as well and I respect the ones who question my questions/concerns.

Thanks though everyone for the comments. It has made me pretty happy that I finally know that they are real. Once, again thanks for the help

[Matthew H]

Originally Posted by ullmandds

colby...I hope you don't/didn't take my comments personally. you have to understand our perspectives. some of us have been frequenting this board for years and years...collecting vintage for decades...and there are routinely people coming on here looking to capitalize on the knowledge and experience of the members here. It took me decades to amass the knowledge re. vintage cards I have...these days it is much quicker and easier to gain knowledge with the WWW...and forums such as these...but many newbies aren't interested in putting in any time!

TO make a long story short...you seem like a good guy...but many arent...and noone likes to be taken advantage of!

Sure it's easier for todays newbies to www any info they want, but I'd trade that experience any day for the advantage of being able to buy cards in the 70s-80s market.

In Tan's defense (although he needs to learn how to respect his elders) I've never asked google if my cards are real.

Tan, I agree with Scott, study some real cards. You can just study the ones you have, they are real. Note the difference between the front and back surface. I haven't seen a fake that properly replicates the clay texture on the front. Look closely at the the white borders, look at where they meet the edge. Look at the bottom left corner of your McGraw. You will see where some of the clay surface has chipped away, hopefully that will help you identify what the surface is made of.

You really should have gotten a photo of the cow. T206 are a dime-a-dozen,,, never seen a house cow before.

-Matt

[ullmandds]

That's easy to say today...that you'd rather pay 70's-80's prices today!!!!! Ever heard of inflation?!?! The thought of spending $7...or $25 on a card in the 70's for me...was not an option!!!!!!

[Matthew H]

If cards rose with inflation the 25$ card should cost around 150-200.

[Leon]

Colby is a nice guy folks. He is a young collector and I welcome him with open arms. Not one person in this thread meant any harm, none. Colby understands we are skeptical. It is our nature. I think we need to get Colby out of the 50s stuff and into T206s. And to that I say....BRING on the COW!! It's all good.....and it's just cards.......

[ullmandds]

ok Matt...you got me!!!! I should have said appreciation...in addition to inflation!!!!

[I Only Smoke 4 the Cards]

Colby,

I'm pretty young myself, 26. I bought some cards back in college and just recently got back into t206. When I did I joined this board because my knowledge was very limited. It has been a lot if fun so far.

[Cardboard Junkie]

The 65 YO lady in the barn/house probably thought ("I'm gonna keep these cards till the cow comes home!").

I wanna see the bovine pics!

[Tanman7baseball]

Originally Posted by Matthew H

Sure it's easier for todays newbies to www any info they want, but I'd trade that experience any day for the advantage of being able to buy cards in the 70s-80s market.

In Tan's defense (although he needs to learn how to respect his elders) I've never asked google if my cards are real.

Tan, I agree with Scott, study some real cards. You can just study the ones you have, they are real. Note the difference between the front and back surface. I haven't seen a fake that properly replicates the clay texture on the front. Look closely at the the white borders, look at where they meet the edge. Look at the bottom left corner of your McGraw. You will see where some of the clay surface has chipped away, hopefully that will help you identify what the surface is made of.

You really should have gotten a photo of the cow. T206 are a dime-a-dozen,,, never seen a house cow before.

-Matt

I am just messing with you the old guys who had at first gotten me heated. I respect the older collectors more than anything. That's why I am on this website posting threads and also reading them. Most or almost all of my baseball stories have been either from books or from dealers/collectors I have met through the years. Unfortunately, it seems rare to find many collectors my age so obviously most of my baseball card friends are considerably older than I. Obviously, its hard to really show any emotion through text, but I respect the hell out of the older collectors. Everything I am saying is just out of good fun. I mean you old guys got to live and see my favorite players of all-time.

It is amazing reading about how great Mickey Mantle was, but its even better listening to someone talk about watching "the Mick" play in person. Just listening to how it affected their childhood and everything that baseball was back then. I love baseball and history. That's the reason I collect baseball cards.

[Cardboard Junkie]

ok i'll do it!

[Tanman7baseball]

here are the other pictures of the t206 "Cow" find

[Tanman7baseball]

pictures

[Tanman7baseball]

pictures

[smokelessjoe]

Show us the backs!

[Tanman7baseball]

Originally Posted by smokelessjoe

Show us the backs!

Sorry for the poor photos but I was in a rush this morning and did my best. I can take photos of the backs when I get home.

[T205 GB]

I bet sweet caps for the 205's

[bn2cardz]

How did you make the connection with the lady wanting to part with these?

[Cardboard Junkie]

"The Great Stillwater Oklahoma Cow Pie Find!"

[Tanman7baseball]

I helped out the struggling local card shop in town and her son happened to walk in asking if the owner would be interested in buying cards. He couldn't afford them so I offered to buy them.

[Tanman7baseball]

Apparently the sets were on craigslist and the t206 cards were later discovered in the abandon house/barn.

[GasHouseGang]

Wait a minute... Real cards were on Craigslist????

[Cardboard Junkie]

A couple of my best "finds" were on craigslist! Go figgur.

[Tanman7baseball]

The sets were. Super overpriced though. The t206 cards were still hidden away.

[Tanman7baseball]

Originally Posted by Cardboard Junkie

"The Great Stillwater Oklahoma Cow Pie Find!"

I'm enjoying these images haha perhaps I'll get them graded with that quote on the holder.

[freakhappy]

Must be some real interesting cards for this thread to get this much attention! Or some real bored individuals

[Exhibitman]

Give the guy a break! He comes to the experts here looking for help and some of you react like an old man chasing those pesky kids off your lawn.

The cards all look good. If you have a doubt, send them to SGC for review and encapsulation. They've still got a $5 T card special going.

[Jantz]

Hi Colby

Nice purchase on the T205s, T206s and T207s!

In the future, if you have any further questions about the T206s you have, feel free to PM me any questions. I'll be happy to help you if I can.


Jantz

[T206Collector]

Colby, welcome to the forum.

Some of us have a lot of patience, and some of us don't. I lose my patience when complete strangers come on here to ask about $50 Honus Wagner cards that, if were real, would be worth $500,000. A lot of times the expectation is that newbies are scam artists trying to make some money on the unsuspecting -- and this is a place where scam artists get eaten alive.

But, I thought your inquiry was just about perfect, and in my opinion, totally genuine -- just like the cards you found. They're pretty terrific. I especially like the Donlin hands on knees, which is a tough common to find.

This is a really great environment for learning about pre-WWI baseball cards, but sometimes the personalities can muck it up a bit. We have stupid feuds over stupid things with some level of regularity. Sometimes entertaining to watch, sometimes frustrating to be a part of. Welcome aboard!

[Tanman7baseball]

Originally Posted by T206Collector

Colby, welcome to the forum.

Some of us have a lot of patience, and some of us don't. I lose my patience when complete strangers come on here to ask about $50 Honus Wagner cards that, if were real, would be worth $500,000. A lot of times the expectation is that newbies are scam artists trying to make some money on the unsuspecting -- and this is a place where scam artists get eaten alive.

But, I thought your inquiry was just about perfect, and in my opinion, totally genuine -- just like the cards you found. They're pretty terrific. I especially like the Donlin hands on knees, which is a tough common to find.

This is a really great environment for learning about pre-WWI baseball cards, but sometimes the personalities can muck it up a bit. We have stupid feuds over stupid things with some level of regularity. Sometimes entertaining to watch, sometimes frustrating to be a part of. Welcome aboard!

I appreciate the post. I totally understand where everyone is coming from. I rarely believe anyone until I see whatever they are talking about in person. I often call out scam artist on Craigslist for fun, or I just tell them I'm really interested in what they have then lead them on for a few days or so. And no I don't have time to do this but it really just makes me angry when people try and take advantage of people. I've been buying stuff around Oklahoma for the past few months and have came across all sorts of things. I usually 99% of the time stay away from autos and I am mainly looking for 1950s and 60s cards. Occasionally I'll buy some 1930s and 40s. But two days ago was the first time I ever came across t206s. Really it seemed to good to be true... I have never bought nor had the inclination to research them. So I did my research for hours and everything seemed to check out. I wasn't certain, therefore I went to the forum. To my relief they were real.

[Tanman7baseball]

Picture of me getting the cards out of their dirt covered binder... They can finally breath.

[Tanman7baseball]

This is actually the 2nd binder. Apparently the other binder was missing the front cover so the old lady switched it with this rusty one.

[Tanman7baseball]

Pic

[Tanman7baseball]

Now out of all the stars the Aaron is the best condition.

[Sean]

They look like great cards. I'm just sorry I don't collect 1950s cards. Good luck with them.

[CW]

Thank you all for helping me through my stressful journey through this dark and shady hobby.

Sorry for getting a bit dramatic but I couldn't sleep last night. I just couldn't figure out if these cards were real or not... It was killing me inside.

I'm glad you got the information you needed and that the cards are real. Thanks for posting the cool pictures -- it's nice to see that you can still find decent vintage collections out there, even when the cow is in the living room.

All I might add is don't let the hobby stress you out so much. It should be fun, first and foremost. I know shadiness is out there, but you can learn to avoid it. This hobby shouldn't be keeping you up at night, and it shouldn't be a stressful journey. I'm glad to see young people still in the hobby (I'm in my early 40s, so I'm old), and the best advice I could give to you would be focus on having fun and relaxing with the hobby.

Now that you have some real, raw T206s in your collection, you'll know what to look for and maybe that next "find" will be less stressful.

Good luck!