Identifying Fake 1968 Topps Baseball Rookies
cor3y7
Posts: 29 ✭✭
I'm working on obtaining the HOF rookies in the 1968 Topps set to be autographed. I'm on a limited budget, so I can't generally afford graded examples and have instead been buying mostly raw cards. However, I've heard that this set in particular is one of the most faked sets and was hoping someone had some info and photos about what to look for? Also, below are scans of the Bench and Ryan RCs I recently picked up. Is there anything out of the ordinary on these? They look okay to my untrained eye but I wouldn't mind some professional opinions. Thanks!
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Comments
*Look at the letters in the title “1968 Rookie Stars”. The red and the black should be solid colors. Counterfeits usually contain print dots.
*The back should be a solid yellow color, versus small yellow dots.
*The color on the front should be red, not orange. Many times counterfeiters will try an make the card look older than what it really is.
*Check the card stock. Back in 1968 baseball cards were thinner and not as durable like today. A thicker card with a glossy front could actually be a reprint.
Hope this helps -
Marc
The main card counterfeited will be the Ryan, and maybe the Beach years ago before that cards interest and value dived a bit.
When someone counterfeits a card they need to rescreen the whole card, especially a '68 where the design goes all the way to the edge. When a card is rescreened it will loose crispness to the image and also there will be print dots where there shouldnt be print dots (solid areas or pure white areas). Also it would be very tough for someone to locate the same type of card stock used 40+ years ago. Another thing to look for is the contrast, many reprints whether they are of modern Topps cards like the '68 or vintage cards like old Tobacco and Candy cards will have the colors messed up a bit. The light parts of the card will be too white when compared to the darker parts of the card. Look at where 2 colors meet up and look for differences in the shades. Use Google images to compare cards, if you dont have them. Another easy way is to just compare the card in question to a common from the same set, compare the slickness of the card stock, the gloss, the size, and use a light to backlight the card to see if the stock is thinner or thicker.
The 1968 Ryan cards should be easy to tell a counterfeit from an authentic card, especially trying to get the back color right, but keep in mind there are 3 different versions of the Ryan... the normal one, then there is the extremely overrated Milton Bradley card with its subtle shade difference on back, and the truly rare Venezuelan card which says "Hecho in Venezuela" on back along with inferior quality card stock if I remember right.