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Posted by: forester7 Mar 7 2008, 12:55 PM

Hello;

I am new to collecting vintage cards and I am concerned about how to tell if a vintage card is real or a reprint. I wasn’t very concerned until recently when I saw an old card on ebay that looked authentic in every way but was listed as a reprint. In fact, the seller even described the card as looking feeling and smelling old, but acknowledged it was a reprint. My question is… how can you tell!? Since then I have seen a couple other cards that looked old, but were being sold as reprints. It has now got me wondering about the cards I have already bought. Is buying a graded card the only way to know if it is an original? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Matt

Posted by: 19th Century Indiana Jones Mar 7 2008, 12:59 PM

If you are new to vintage, then I suggest you by graded (PSA or SGC) first. Also, buy a cheap vintage cards from the same set. At least when looking at a raw card you would know how it feels and looks. What years are you looking at?

Posted by: 19th Century Indiana Jones Mar 7 2008, 01:01 PM

Hello;

I am new to collecting vintage cards and I am concerned about how to tell if a vintage card is real or a reprint. I wasn’t very concerned until recently when I saw an old card on ebay that looked authentic in every way but was listed as a reprint. In fact, the seller even described the card as looking feeling and smelling old, but acknowledged it was a reprint. My question is… how can you tell!? Since then I have seen a couple other cards that looked old, but were being sold as reprints. It has now got me wondering about the cards I have already bought. Is buying a graded card the only way to know if it is an original? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

Matt

Posted by: 19th Century Indiana Jones Mar 7 2008, 01:01 PM

** Whoops! Double post. Dunno how THAT happened! **

Posted by: Ilovetheheat Mar 7 2008, 01:19 PM

Also, post pictures of the cards on TCC. Im sure someone will be able to help.

Peace
Jeremy

Posted by: aceecards Mar 7 2008, 01:22 PM

Its hard to tell by just looking at a photo actually..

For me I need to see the side of the card for the card stock!

Posted by: Oldskool70 Mar 21 2008, 08:27 PM

If you are going high-end vintage (without some sort of return guarantee) then yes, go the graded route. But like the others said, If you got a few common vintage to compare to, you should be fine. A $10 T206 common is worth it's weight in gold.

Buy a cheap handheld black light also (reprints will jump out at you in color under it). They go for $10 -30.

Also a 60x-100x handheld microscope is a big help . About $15-45. Look at the paper fibers, print, etc.

after inspection, you can make a pretty diffinative judgement. And if you got some leverage beforehand you can get back to them with some solid info for a return.

If it is the real deal, and you do your homework, you can get some GREAT bargains due to the speculations you just mentioned....

Posted by: finestkind Mar 22 2008, 12:58 AM

If your looking to learn about pre-war vintage as in pre World War 2, pick up a copy of this book.

The Encyclopedia of Baseball Cards by Lew Lipset. It's a 3 volume reprinted book. (the good kind of reprint) They show up on Ebay.
Two price guide books are The Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards for 2008. From Sports Collectors Digest or at most book stores. The other is Becketts annual price guide. I think they sell them thru their website or even sports card shops. A great book that shows vintage cards is Classic Baseball Cards The Golden Years 1886-1956 by Frank Slocum. I found my copy on Ebay and one for Topps baseball cards is The Complete Picture Collection A 35 year history. 1951- 1985. I found that on Ebay too. If you have any questions you can PM me or post in Ask the Experts forum. We're no experts. But we can always try and help.