Everything You Need To Know About Counterfeit Cards

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Navigating the bustling online market of sports card trading can be thrilling, yet the shadow of fake baseball cards looms large, threatening the integrity of the hobby.

This issue isn’t new, but with advancing printing techniques, identifying fake cards is much harder nowadays.

This article deciphers how to tell if a sports card is fake, offering a solid foundation for making informed purchases and avoiding fraudulent listings. 

By recognizing the signs of counterfeit cards, you’ll be well-equipped to ensure the authenticity of your acquisitions.

What Is The Difference Between A Fake Sports Card And A Reprint?

Before diving in, I must explain a common point of confusion among newer card collectors.

A counterfeit (or fake) card is created for the sole purpose of misleading collectors. These cards try to replicate an original card as closely as possible. Vintage counterfeit cards are often aged to make the cards look old and more authentic.  

This T206 Wagner card is considered a fake or counterfeit. It has been artificially aged and created with the sole intention of tricking collectors into believing it is authentic.

A reprint baseball card (sometimes referred to as a ‘reproduction’) is created to be utilized as a collector’s item, with full acknowledgment that the card is not authentic.

Reprint cards are commonly reproduced for very expensive cards so collectors can purchase a replica of the original card at a big discount.

Sometimes, but not always, a reprint baseball card has text such as ‘reprint’ printed to help distinguish it from the authentic version.

Reprint cards are sometimes re-created as an entire set, as we have seen multiple times with various 1909 T206 reproductions.   

The lines between a reprint and a counterfeit card can often be blurred. For instance, scammers will erase the word ‘reprint’ on a reprinted card to try to pass it off as the real thing. 

Here is one popular example: a Galasso Reprint card of a 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth. The card has the text ‘Renata Galasso Reprint’ shown as circled in red below. Scammers will try to erase the section that says reprint and artificially age the card to pass it off as the real thing.

Are Reprint Cards Worth Anything?

Generally, reprint cards are not worth much, as collectors view reprint cards as novelty items. Some reprint sets have more demand than others, specifically some of the older T206 reprint sets. However, on average, reprint cards are not worth more than a few dollars each. 

There are some minor exceptions for reproduction cards produced by an original manufacturer. A good example is the 1996 Fleer Decade of Excellence Michael Jordan card, produced in limited quantities and inserted randomly in packs of 1996-97 Fleer basketball.

However, its value is still a fraction of the value of an original Michael Jordan rookie card.

Beware Of  ‘Aged’ Reprint Baseball Cards

A sneaky little subset of the sports card scammer population is dedicated to taking reprint cards and aging them to make them look authentic. 

The cards are soaked in coffee, tea, or some other liquid. Once they dry, they get that ‘wrinkled’ look with a ‘crackling’ on the surface. 

Some are more covert about their operations, but some call what they do ‘antiquing’, and just that word alone drives me absolutely bananas. 

The big thing is that the ‘antiquers’ supply a lot of the fakes I see on eBay.  

So where do these antiquers hang out? 

These cards are mostly on ETSY, and in some cases, buyers shell out close to $100 for them. A case in point is this fake M101-4 Sporting News Babe Ruth rookie card I found on ETSY, selling for $75.

The seller stated that the card is ‘museum quality’ and ‘has not been professionally examined,’ yet there is no acknowledgment that the card is fake.

One poor, unsuspecting buyer said that the card ‘reeked of coffee,’ which is unsurprising since many aged reprints are soaked in coffee to give them a wrinkled look.

It’s easy to spot once you’ve seen an aged reprint in person, so I find this to be one of the most important lessons for vintage novice collectors. 

Here is an aged reprint of a Sporting News M116 Ty Cobb Card that has clearly been soaked to age it.

The front has some obvious signs of a fake for me, but for a less experienced collector, it might be a bit more challenging.   

It’s easy to see the spider-like crackling on the front, and if we were to compare it to an original card, the paper color and thickness are completely wrong.

Red Flags on eBay to Help Avoid Counterfeit Card Sellers

Unfortunately, eBay has become a breeding ground for counterfeit sports card sellers. I’ve outlined some key things to look out for to help identify fake card listings. 

1. Watch Out For A Lack of Seller Feedback, Poor Feedback or Re-Listed Items

Before buying on eBay, check the seller’s previous auctions and feedback history.

Be wary of sellers who suddenly list a high-value card with no prior feedback or for sale listings.

Also, sellers with less than a 99.5% feedback score might have some telltale signs in their feedback comments.

If you see that the eBay seller has tried to pass along a fake as authentic with a past buyer, odds are they will do it again.  

In addition, sellers might need to re-sell a fake card since the previous buyer smartened up and returned it.  So, be sure to review their past completed listings.

2. Watch Out For Sellers That Plead Ignorance Regarding Authenticity 

Some commonly worded scams on eBay help collectors pinpoint a fake. Usually, it goes something like this:

I found these cards in the attic of my grandfather and I’m not sure whether or not they are real as I don’t collect cards

Note that eBay requires that sellers list a card as a reprint if there is a question about authenticity. Here’s a real listing, which is usually how they are advertised:

This card is being offered on consignment as an unknown vintage reprint and sold to the highest bidder. Looking at this card carefully, I can say it definitely looks vintage and factory made like a real card with actual wear when compared to a  vintage Topps card from the 1950’s era. This card is not a modern reprint or a DIY copy.

The above description was for an obviously fake ’52 Topps Mantle (see below) yet the card ended up selling for $280! 

Thankfully, eBay has begun to step up its policing of fake cards on its platform in recent years. The new eBay Authenticity Guarantee will ensure that any ungraded cards priced at $250 or more are eligible for certification from a third-party grader. 

3. Be Wary Of Cards Of Questionable Authenticity In Old School Screwdown Holders

I don’t know how this happened, but scammers LOVE screw-down holders for some reason.

Do they think a buyer is impressed by the fact that a card is squeezed between two slabs of plastic and four screws?  They must because I see it all the time. 

I will say that maybe 10% of the sellers with fake cards in screw-downs have no idea of what they have (and were possibly scammed themselves) and that maybe 2% of the cards in screw-downs are real.

I only mention that last part because I found an old and authentic Honus Wagner for sale in a screw-down holder. So, while there are rare exceptions, if you see a screw-down holder and a card with questionable authenticity, it’s probably best to move along.  

Making Sure A Graded Card Is Authentic

The grading companies are good but don’t always get it right. In addition, there are scammers who bust cards out of slabs and replace them with a counterfeit. 

Thus, collectors need to verify that the graded card they buy is authentic.

As an example of a grading company getting it VERY WRONG, a fellow collector purchased a Tris Speaker strip card that PSA graded as authentic but later determined to be a reprint (see below).

This is especially important with some of the older, more obscure issues, like the Speaker above or cards that were graded early in PSA or any other grader’s history.

Here are the key steps to take. 

1. Verify the Cert Number On PSA Or Other Gradin Website

Start by verifying that the grading company has recorded a graded card. This will help confirm that the card has been graded and that the HOLDER is real.

PSA Certification: https://www.psacard.com/cert/

SGC Certification: https://www.gosgc.com/cert-code-lookup

Beckett Certification: https://www.beckett-authentication.com/verify-certificate

I’ve had a few cases when I went to enter a cert number, and the PSA website returned a 1-800 phone number asking me to call the office. This is a sure sign that someone is using that cert to produce fake PSA slabs. 

2. Look For Tampering and Fake Graded Slabs

You must also look for signs of tampering on the exterior of the cardholder to ensure that someone didn’t replace the card. See our complete piece, which discusses the History of PSA Slabs and How to Detect Fake Slabs. 

3. Review Graded Card Sales History

If you go to the PSA website and look up a specific card with past sales history, you can search on the page (Ctrl-F) for that cert number to see when it was sold.

Sometimes, you can revisit an old auction listing to verify that the card currently in the holder matches up to one of the older auctions.

I’ve spotted a few fakes this way when the card being sold at auction was not the same card I was considering buying.

Normally, this card replacement scam occurs more often with expensive big-time cards, such as the ’86 Fleer Jordan Rookie, where good reprints are readily available.

Other Steps To Help Identify Fake Cards

1. The Blacklight Test

A simple black light can be a big help when trying to detect a vintage counterfeit card. I own this one here, which looks more like a flashlight and is only around $15.  

The key is to go into a dark room with the lights off. Remove the card from the holder and shine the black light directly onto it.

Take a piece of white printing paper into the room or another modern-day baseball card.

You will be able to see how the paper (or card) glows like crazy due to the pigments used in its production.  

If the card in question ‘glows,’ it’s likely a fake.

Under blacklight, these 100+-year-old strip cards (on the left) show no brightness, while a 1987 Topps Dave Winfield glows like a light bulb.

It can also help to get a similar card from the set you are analyzing that you know is authentic. 

If that isn’t possible, after doing this a few times, you’ll be able to notice the glow in the card if it’s fake. 

In the video below, we conducted a blacklight test to demonstrate how collectors can help detect a fake sports card. 

David Cycleback, who has written extensively on the topic of authentication, notes that optical brighteners were used in cards starting around the late 1940s.  

Starting in the late 1940’s, manufacturers of many products began using optical brighteners and other new chemicals to their products.  Optical brighteners are invisible dyes that fluoresce brightly under ultraviolet light.

Thus, the blacklight technique won’t normally be very effective if examining say a 1952 Topps Mantle, but for pre-war vintage cards, it’s almost a necessity to have one around.

2. Examine Card Using A Jeweler’s Loupe

You don’t need to go too crazy here; you just need something that can magnify a card by about 5-10x. 

I bought a cheap jeweler’s loupe (for around $5) off eBay which is probably overkill (as it is a 60x loupe) but it does the trick.  

It has a regular light and a little black light (which I think is used for detecting fake currency, in case that’s your thing, too). 

Now, the reason you’ll need this is to help detect any printing irregularities on a fake card.  Modern cards (and counterfeits) are made with color-half-tone printing and produce what appears to be a dot-matrix type of effect. 

I tried to get a good shot of this. It’s not great, but I think you will get the idea, as the dots in the printing are quite uniform in nature. Note that the text, solid borders will typically look like a solid line under microscope.  

Thus, if you have a suspected fake pre-war card that has this sort of dot matrix printing, it’s likely a fake.  

Here’s a T206 card under a microscope. You can see irregular patterns and that the printing is not as clearly defined as on a more modern card.

Note that the loupe can also be handy on more modern counterfeit cards.  As discussed in our Michael Jordan counterfeit discussion, the lettering and borders on a Jordan fake are often blotchy and not as clearly defined as on an original. 

3. The Flashlight Test

I get a lot of questions from collectors asking whether or not a flashlight can help detect a fake card.

Counterfeiters find it extremely challenging to replicate the original cardstock of vintage sports cards. 

A simple way to detect a fake card is to place the card directly on a light source, like a flashlight, and observe if light passes through.

Due to their thicker cardstock, authentic cards block light, whereas counterfeit cards often allow light to pass through.

Although not all counterfeits may be printed on translucent cardstock, it’s likely unauthentic if light easily shines through. 

Most Commonly Faked Sports Cards

I’ve spent many years examining fake cards and working with collectors who are unsure whether they have been scammed.

Based on my experience, these are the top ten faked sports cards, along with a link to a complete guide on detecting fakes for each card.

1. 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan Rookie

2. 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle

3. 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth

4. 1979-80 Topps/OPC Wayne Gretzky

5. 1984-85 Star Michael Jordan #101

6. 1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle

7. 1909 T206 Honus Wagner

8. 1980-81 Topps Bird/Magic Rookie

9. 1954 Topps Hank Aaron Rookie

10. 1987 Fleer Michael Jordan

Let Us Know About Any Good Forgeries

Please let us know if you see a good fake that would pass even the harshest critic at PSA.

We are working on building a database of counterfeits on the market and would love to hear from you if you see a good one.  

Just drop me a line at chris@allvintagecards.com.

Counterfeit Card Guide Resources

• David Cycleback Guide to Authenticating
• SABR Baseball – Using a Blacklight to Identify Fake Cards
• PSA Certification Lookup 
• PSA Sales History