brady-bucs-inperson

How To Spot A Fake Tom Brady Autograph

by All Vintage Cards

Over the past year or so, I’ve become a bit more interested in autographed cards.

I’ve learned quickly that buying any autograph without authentication takes guts.

For any high-profile players, such as Michael Jordan, Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams, or Joe DiMaggio, the forgeries typically outnumber authentic autographs by a wide margin. 

Autograph authentication is a tricky game and something I’m still trying to improve upon.

After exploring some local sales of un-authenticated Brady cards here in Boston, I realized that I didn’t have the chops to tell a real from a fake. 

So, I spent a few weeks examining hundreds of authentic Brady autographs to see how his autograph has evolved and how it differs from any of the fakes on the market.  The sad reality is that there are a ton of fakes out there.

I acknowledge I’m not a professional autograph authenticator but hoping to hone my skills by posting guides like this that others can help contribute to.  

See any issues here?  Have a Brady fake auto that you got scammed on? 

PLEASE let me know and I’ll add it to this guide and our Brady authentic signature database.

Feel free to email me at chris@allvintagecards.com

Read More

How To Spot A Fake Tom Brady Autograph
bowman-mantle-rookie

How To Spot A Fake 1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle Card

by All Vintage Cards

The 1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle card is one of the most iconic vintage baseball cards in the hobby. 

Oftentimes, the 1952 Topps Mantle or Mantle’s second year 1953 Topps card get all the attention but the 1951 Bowman Mantle is still his true rookie card. 

Today, even a mid to low-grade 51 Bowman Mantle can fetch upwards of $20,000. 

Of course, as prices go higher, the more we need to worry about fakes.  And there are no shortage of 51 Bowman Mantle fakes. 

This guide should give you all the information you need to avoid getting scammed on a fake 1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle cad.

As always, if you spot a suspect card and need some help or if you’re trying to sell an authentic 51 Bowman Mantle, feel free to shoot us a line at help@allvintagecards.com

Read More

How To Spot A Fake 1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle Card
fake-wagner

Step By Step Guide To Spotting a Fake T206 Card

by All Vintage Cards

While the majority of present-day card scams relate to more modern era cards that are easier to reproduce, there are most certainly counterfeit cards dating back to the Pre-War era.  

We have covered the evaluation of old counterfeit cards before, yet this piece will focus on detecting some of the more common fakes from the infamous T206 White Borders set.  

Hopefully, this guide will arm you with all of the knowledge you need in order to avoid buying any fake T206 cards.

As always if you come across a good fake or if you need any help in authenticating a T206 card, shoot us an email at help@allvintagecards.com

Read More

Step By Step Guide To Spotting a Fake T206 Card
fake-prism-circled

How To Spot A Fake 1985 Prism Jewel Michael Jordan Sticker

by All Vintage Cards

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t even aware of this card a year ago, but I wish I was, as the 1985 Prism Jewel Michael Jordan Sticker has skyrocketed in value.  

Recent sales of PSA 8 graded copies of the card have reached nearly $50,000.  

The cards were inserted into vending machines, likely mostly outside of your local grocery store.  

And given that they are stickers, most kids that plopped the quarters into the machine to grab these were peeling them off to use them how a kid might actually use a sticker.  

Hence, they are super rare to find intact and in good condition.  PSA has graded only 87 copies of the card, with only 8 reaching a PSA 9 and only 1 garnering a PSA 10 Gem Mint. 

I started to become more curious about the card when I started to get inquires from people that had one (or two) that they were trying to sell.  Knowing how rare these are, to receive multiple inquiries on this issue, just seemed sort of strange to me.

Read More

How To Spot A Fake 1985 Prism Jewel Michael Jordan Sticker
1987 fleer jordan

How To Spot A Fake 1987 Fleer Michael Jordan Card

by All Vintage Cards

With Michael Jordan Fleer rookie card sales continuing to break records on a weekly basis, collectors priced out of Jordan rookie card ownership have turned to his more affordable 1987 Fleer second year card. 

And while the 1986 Fleer Jordan is heavily counterfeited, the 1987 Fleer card fakes are not as common.  However they exist, and would expect more sophisticated scammers to start firing up the printing presses again to try and take advantage of novice collectors.

Thus, this guide is here to help you know the ins and outs of detecting a fake 1987 Fleer Jordan second year card.

Please, do let us know if you come across any fake ’87 Fleer Jordan’s, as your assistance can certainly help us in aiding fellow collectors.

Feel free to reach out to me at chris@allvintagecards.com

Read More

How To Spot A Fake 1987 Fleer Michael Jordan Card
hank-aaron-rookie-card

How To Spot A Fake 1954 Topps Hank Aaron Rookie Card

by All Vintage Cards

With the unfortunate passing of baseball great Hank Aaron, there has been a lot of buying activity with his 1954 Topps rookie card.

There are some pretty good 1954 Topps Aaron fakes out there, so this counterfeit guide will help you avoid getting scammed.

Of course, like anything, even before you read this, make sure you check out our guides on ‘Buying Cards Safely on eBay‘ and our first piece dedicated to authenticating vintage cards. 

As always, after reading if you have any questions on authenticating your Hank Aaron rookie card, please shoot me an email at chris@allvintagecards.com

Read More

How To Spot A Fake 1954 Topps Hank Aaron Rookie Card
jordan-fleer-sticker

How To Spot a Fake 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan Sticker

by All Vintage Cards

Michael Jordan’s Fleer Rookie card has been on a mind-bending, stratospheric price increase over the past few years. 

A PSA 10 Jordan rookie card just sold for over $200K back in December of last year. 

Like anything else with dollars behind it, the scammers have come out in full force trying to peddle fakes for thousands of dollars to unwitting buyers. 

We’ve tried our best to educate collectors (here, here and here), but I keep hearing about swindles all the time.  

While Jordan’s #57 Fleer rookie card has seen a monstrous rise in price, his sticker from the same set (#8 of 11) has also garnered a ton of collector demand, driving up its price significantly.  

While scammers have focused on Jordan’s base card from the Fleer set, there are definitely fake Jordan sticker cards in circulation.  

This guide will helpfully help you avoid buying a fake Jordan Fleer rookie sticker card.

PS – If this guide or any of other articles have helped you in getting scammed, please let us know in the comments below. 

In addition, we could always use more reviews — you can leave us a review on Google here: Leave A Review For All Vintage Cards

Read More

How To Spot a Fake 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan Sticker
fake-10-jordan

Fake PSA 10 Jordan Rookie Leads to Courtroom Battle

by All Vintage Cards

I’m slightly late on this one, but another collector alerted me to this lawsuit regarding a Fake PSA 10 Michael Jordan rookie card.

Donald Spence, who is a heavyweight in collecting circles (just take a look at his PSA registry here) is the plaintiff in the suit. 

Back in May 2017, Spence purchased a purported PSA 10 graded Michael Jordan Fleer rookie card from Common Cents Coins in an eBay transaction worth $19,999.99.  

Read More

Fake PSA 10 Jordan Rookie Leads to Courtroom Battle
bird-magic-pd

How To Spot A Fake Bird/Magic Rookie Card

by All Vintage Cards

The 1980-81 Topps Bird/Magic rookie card has seen a huge increase in price this year; for most grades, an increase of more than 300%.

Back in June of last year, we posited that the Bird/Magic rookie might actually be undervalued given the hysteria with Michael Jordan’s rookie card. 

With the rise in value for the Bird/Magic rookie card, there is certainly the potential for more fakes to hit the market. 

In this piece, we review the Bird/Magic rookie card, help identify and fakes, and ultimately try and help collectors avoid buying a counterfeit card.

If you have a Bird/Magic rookie card you think might be suspect, shoot me an email to chris@allvintagecards.com.  

Read More

How To Spot A Fake Bird/Magic Rookie Card

The Complete Guide To Safely Buying Sports Cards on eBay

by All Vintage Cards

I’ve had the unfortunate experience of breaking the news to many eBay buyers that the card they spent many thousands of dollars on was fake.

Thankfully eBay has strong buyer protection rules in place along with PayPal guarantees.

They also offer options to dispute the transaction through your credit card company. 

Thus, many of the buyers I’ve spoken to have been able to recover their funds.  

Still, I hope that eBay can develop a program for sports cards, similar to what they have done with sneakers and watches.  

Despite this, I decided to create this guide to help buyers protect themselves from the most unscrupulous of eBay sellers. 

eBay does a good job of shutting down fake listings if enough people complain, but oftentimes many fall through the cracks.  

Note that eBay does require that any cards that have a questionable authenticity be listed as a reprint.

Yet, buyers are still bidding up these cards thinking they’ve found a diamond in the rough.

This guide to safely buying sports cards on eBay will help you avoid these mistakes.

And hopefully, help you become a better-informed buyer. 

Read More

The Complete Guide To Safely Buying Sports Cards on eBay