Everything about the doctoring business (no M.D.'s here): card doctoring and what to look for

DeutscherGeist

I have been reading a lot of posts, new and old, about the techniques some use to enhance the appearance of a card. I created this new thread to kind of conglomerate all the information that has been floating on these boards and some that still needs to be added. Please share what doctoring methods you have seen or heard about.

The black marker: This has been used on the 1987 Donruss alot to color in the chipped areas on the corners and edges. I always catch this even without a magnifying glass. Hold the card up to a light and tilt it in different angles to see differences in gloss and shade of black. Also look for bleeding directly on the edges. The marker ink does travel to the white edges, making them black as well and really obvious that it has been recolored.

The green marker: I have seen this used on the 1989 Score Aikman rookie.

in terms of trimming, what are "bat ears." What should one look for on the edges of suspect cards. I know the size is not always going to help or reveal trimming.

gemint

I'll focus on vintage since that's what I collect:

Black marker is also prevalent on '71 baseball (and likely '62 football). The absolute best way to pick up recoloring/restoration (could be used to fill in snow or poor print quality) is by using a black light. But usually a 10x loupe and good lighting is sufficient using the technique you outlined.

Power erasing is also used (though more rarely). Looking at the card at an angle in bright light will reveal the gloss being scuffed off (less shiney) in the altered area. People use power erasing to improve the centering of the card by erasing the border of the photo on the side with the thinnest border. It could also be used to remove print defects, like factory smudges, from the borders.

Pressed corners - Used to repair wrinkles or light creases. This can be detected by looking at the edge of the card. You'll see the card is thinner in the altered area.

For trimming, the first obvious thing to look for is an uneven edge. This could either mean a factory miscut or a poor trimming job. If the edges are straight, look along the edge of a card and see if there are any signs of pinching from top to bottom. If the top surface (or bottom surface) of the card bends down slightly at the edge it usually indicates the card has been cut with the blade pinching the cardboard down at the point it contacted the cardboard. Aside from that, look at the characteristics of the cut. Ensure that all the edges have the same characteristics and compare it to a card from the same issue which you know is unaltered. They should all have some roughness to them.

Vargha

True professional restoration of expensive cards, including use of "donor cards" from the same set for material is probably difficult to detect by most people. The guys who do it are like professional painting restorers.

joestalin

....and then there are the 52 topps printing plates that Arthur Shorin uses as paper weights in
his office!

Griffins

For trimming I've found the best way to detect it is to run your fingers over the edge, without looking at it. Often it's easier (at least for me) to feel a change in texture and waviness on the edge, rather than see it. On bleaching you can see the bad jobs, but sometimes you only need to smell them to tell. If you want to see some obvious bleach jobs take a look at '15 Cracker Jacks- they seem to be the most commonly bleached. I agree that the professional restoration is tough to detect- building up of corners with donor stock of similar cards, trimming, then soaking and stretching the cards back into full size, and power erasing. Other than a loupe and a hand held blacklight I don't really know how you would how to detect this- if longtime dealers and grading companies miss some of these it's just not a level playing field.
It does make a good argument for collector grade (PSA5-6) cards.

Vargha

However, if I were a really good "doctor", I would take PSA 3 grade pre-war material and build it up to PSA 6 level. There is a killing that can be made via that avenue as well.

Griffins

David-
I agree, I doubt people look for doctoring that hard on mid grade cards. But I think ego and greed plays into it, and the stakes are much higher on 8's and 9's. Plus I imagine it's easier to tweek a 6 into an 8, rather than a 3 into a 6. Much less work, much higher return.