Artificial Aging

With vintage issues from tobacco cards to 50’s gum cards, counterfeiters are always looking for ways to make their product look more realistic. Most counterfeiters will use artificial aging techniques to try and dupe buyers into believing a card is real. This is usually an attempt to hide flaws in the printing.

The most common technique used by counterfeiters is “Staining”. This method involves using a solution of lemon juice, dirt, and exposure to the sun’s UV rays to imitate the natural aging process. Since aging is a natural process age marks that appear on a card should appear to be evenly brown. In most cases where a card is artificially aged the brown stain appears as if someone had spilled a drink on it. Stains of course are not always an indication of forgery because cards have had things spilled on them, but it is also not an indication of age.

A more resourceful version of artificial aging is a technique known as “Painting”. Here the forger will take a thin paintbrush and apply a very thin layer of brown or tan watercolor paint. This is done to try and tone all the areas of the card evenly. How well the deception appears is dependent on how talented the forger is at his nefarious craft. In most cases when the card is put under very bright light or under a black light the brush strokes will become evident.

Here are a couple of examples of possibly forged artificially aged cards.



My thanks to greywickedboy for these pictures. Everyone have a great weekend and

Before You Bid Arm Yourself With Knowledge !

Update Sellers To Be Concerned About

Authenticity dislclaimers the grey area where scam artist's try and dupe you with their wares. Here is the rule according to eBay " Sellers may not disclaim knowledge of, or responsibility for, the authenticity or legality of the items offered in their listings.Sellers should take steps to ensure that their items are authentic before listing them on eBay. If a seller cannot verify the authenticity of an item, the seller is not permitted to list it."

This is the number one rule broken by sellers of unliscensed reprints. This is also the number one give away letting you know the card you may want to bid on is FAKE!!!! eBays own expample of such rule violation reads as "I cannot guarantee the authenticity of this item, so please bid accordingly."

Why does eBay have this policy? This is what eBay has to say " The sale of unauthorized replicas is illegal, as well as against eBay policy. Sellers who are unsure of the legality or authenticity of their items should not be selling these items on eBay. This policy helps protect buyers from purchasing counterfeit or fraudulent items, helps protect intellectual property rights owners against infringement and helps create a safer marketplace."

I was one who screamed for a long time about how eBay did not protect the buyer, how they made it easy for the scammer to sell fraudulent items. In reality we as consumers also need to take responsibility for educating ourselves to the rules of the playing field. A hasty buyer is as guilty as the scammer selling bad merchandise. The reason most scam artist's get away with selling their wares is simple, greed. To many buyers are out there hoping to land that magical buy that will net them a huge profit. The scammers know this and they use it to their full advantage. Again I remind you educate yourself, it is not difficult to do. There is plenty of support and informaton available to you on the net before you bid.

Our list this week is as follows:

Seller: blclawncare Seller NARUED 0 Feedback unauthenticated card and autograph, seller says"Card has never been authenticated since obtained in late 90's and is sold as is & as pictured/described guaranteed". What exactly is he guarantying? Gee 2 for the price of one.
1952 Topps Mickey Mantle Signed item#5211110965

Seller: hoss4321 is not a new face to our blog. He has had several items removed in the past. He has stayed low for a while and now is back offering:
ITEMS REMOVED
1909 honus wagner T-206 item# 5210486139
1956 topps mickey mantle #135 item# 5210487187
Sellers dissclaimer "I make no guarantees and this is sold as is all sales are final."

Seller: partypokerchampion a new seller who claims to be offering you over $7000 woth of Hockey's hardest issues. A few days into his auction he has added this " HI JUST TO UPDATE THINGS, I'VE BEEN TOLD THAT THE ORR AND GRETZKY ROOKIE MIGHT BE A REPRINT, SO I AM SELLING THOSE TWO AS REPRINT SINCE THEY ARE NOT GRADED BY ANY LARGE GRADING COMPANY TO COMPLY TO EBAY POLICIES. THANK YOU"
ITEMS REMOVED
GREATEST HOCKEY COLLECTION item# 5209307224

Seller: kelticharmony1114 Not much to say here except according to the seller "This Card is worth Thousands." Such original inuendo.
1953 topps Mickey Mantle item# 5209688064

Seller: blazer4220 Seller NARUED Had this item removed last week and is back with it again.
Topps 1952 Mickey Mantle item# 5210106406

Seller: krsnik33 Seller NARUED 0 Feedback lots of vintage cards. Sellers dislcaimer " The card is ungraded and sold as is."
ITEM 52 MANTLE REMOVED
1952 TOPPS #311 MICKEY MANTLE item# 5200423032
1951 BOWMAN MICKEY MANTLE item# 5210424038
1956 TOPPS MICKEY MANTLE item# 52104255172
1909 TY COBB BAT ON THE SHOULDER item# 5210426107
1951 BOWMAN WHITTY FORD CARD item# 5210427305
ITEM 1933 RUTH REMOVED
1933 GOUDEY BABE RUTH item# 5210428440
ITEM RE LISTED
1952 TOPPS #311 MICKEY MANTLE
and for good measure he also adds this unique item valued at better than 30K if real:
First Edition Superman Vol 1 item# 6541001489

Seller: 16gary1472 Another newbie to the vintage market with the same old disclaimer " THIS CARD HAS NOT BEEN GRADED BY A GRADING COMPANY AND WILL BE SOLD AS A REPRINT/UNGRADED. TAKE A LOOK AT THE SCAN AND DECIDE FOR YOURSELF. BATTER UP"
ITEMS REMOVED
1933 GOUDEY BABE RUTH item# 5210684949
1953 TOPPS MICKEY MANTLE item# 5210680405

Have fun and please remember,

Before You Bid Arm Yourself With Knowledge !

BOGUS AUCTION WITH PIRATED SCAN

Seller NARU ed

Here is a clever way for someone to take a collectors hard earned money.
Seller: asldude Is claiming to have inherited this card from his dad who passed away several months ago.
1966 Topps #35 Bobby Orr Rookie PSA 7 NM

This card was sold on May 25, 2005 at the Mile High Spring Auction :

Mile High Lot 536 1966 Topps #35 Bobby Orr Rookie PSA 7 NM

He claims "I know basically nothing about it, because it was my dad's and he passed away a few months ago." Now if his Father passed a few months ago how is it that he bid on this card? For that matter how about these?
1971 Topps #20 Reggie Jackson GAI 9 MINT
1948 Bowman #24 Leo Klier PSA 10 GEM MINT
1969 Topps #60 Willis Reed PSA 9 MINT
1911 Imperial Tobacco #31 Arthur Ross PSA 7 NM
1958 Topps #66 Bobby Hull Rookie PSA 6 EX/MT

Mile High Lot 533 Bobby Hull Rookie PSA 6
Mile High Lot 463 #24 Leo Klier PSA 10 GEM MINT
Mile High Lot 473 1969 Topps #60 Willis Reed PSA 9 MINT
Mile High Lot 297 1971 Topps #20 Reggie Jackson GAI 9 MINT

This guy has pirated every scan from Mile High Auctions and is attempting to defraud the public using a one day auction. Not only is he selling dirty laundry but bogus cards as well. Special thanks to the members at the Sports Collectors Universe Board for this valuable information.

Before You Bid Arm Yourself With Knowledge !

Update Sellers To Be Concerned About

It never ceases to amaze me how many vintage cards of Ruth, Mantle, Cobb, Koufax, etc. seem to be around. Where are these cards when the major auction houses have their auctions? Why aren't they in those auction catolgues? If you are a new collector you need to understand that these types of cards when you see them offered are probably counterfeits, if not graded by one of these reputable companies. (PSA, BGS/BVG, GAI, SGC) A little common sense goes a long way here. The real only question you need to ask yourself when looking at one of these bogus cards is, why is the seller offering a card worth in many cases tens of thousands of dollars for such a low price? Don't let the greed factor dull your senses, if it looks to good to be true 99.9% of the time it's because it's not.
With that said our weekly hunt of suspicious cardboard includes:

Seller: jimbom1234 A powerseller selling bogus cardboard? An old story but what makes this seller interesting is that he has purchased in the past, cards from tandaexpresscardshoppe one of the largest sellers of bogus vintage material we've seen in the past, who is now NARUed.
1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle item#5169851413
1968 Topps Nolan Ryan item#5206449628

Seller: valsdiscounts (1) A new seller with low feedback rating and three very large cards, and of course the usual authenticity disclaimer. "The card has not been graded by a grading company and will be sold as such. Please review the scans and judge for yourself and please bid accordingly."
Sandy Koufax Baseball Card item#5208155915
Mickey Mantle Baseball Card item#5208155892
Babe Ruth Baseball Card item#5208155869

Seller: keller 70 We have spoken of them before and in the last month they have sold over $2000 in vintage material with the same disclaimer. "The card has not been graded by any grading company and will be sold as such. Take a look at the scan and decide for yourself."
1933 Goudy Babe Ruth #181 item#5207852448
UPDATE ITEM REMOVED SELLER NARU ed
1952 Topps Mickey Mantle item#5209047407

Seller: menthol120ssmoker A card which he would not send to have graded becuase he was afraid not to get the same one back which his grandfather gave him. Yet with all that sentimental jargon he is willing to part with it.
UPDATE ITEM REMOVED
1952 TOPPS #311 MICKEY MANTLE item#5208252932
UPDATE ITEMS REMOVED
1952 TOPPS MICKEY MANTLE
1933 BABE RUTH GOUDEY CARD #181
UPDATE ITEMS REMOVED
1952 TOPPS MICKEY MANTLE ROOKIE item#5209761538
1933 BABE RUTH GOUDEY CARD #181 item#5209765614
This guy just doesn't want to go away and the high bidder on his latest Mantle is hedgedbet who has also gotten cards removed.

Seller: luvkittyhello Another Mantle more autheticity disclaimers but says "A must have for any true baseball card collector. The true holy grail of collecting. The Oklahoma Kid is one to be passed down generation to generation. Nowhere else will you finad an oppourtunity like this"
UPDATE ITEM REMOVED
1952 TOPPS Mickey Mantle item#5207541999

Seller: p-unit21 Well he bought this card becuase it looked old and it may have some value. I do believe that anyone with a pulse that has even heard of baseball has heard of Mickey Mantle. Our seller says "Today, you are bidding on a 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle #311 rookie card. I got this card from an old gentleman at a garage sale 5 years ago for good amount of money thinking of having some value because the card looked real old. "
UPDATE ITEM REMOVED
1952 52 TOPPS MICKEY MANTLE item#5207710452

Seller: franz2428 Bad scan no feedback no description, just go ahead and bid.
1953 Micky Mantle Bowman item#5208509182

A special thanks to nightcrawler729, greywickedboy, and timzcardz for helping us weed out some of the bad guys. Have a great weekend everyone and remember our motto!!

Before You Bid Arm Yourself With Knowledge !

Update Sellers To Be Concerned About

Things have been improving at the big E recently, it seems there has been more watch dogging being done by the eBay category managers. Kudos to them for starting to listen. I know it is an almost impossible job to try and keep track of all the bad sellers out there but at least some headway is being made. With that being said there are still scammers out there selling their junk, some familiar some new. Looks like there is a proliferation of low Feedback "new sellers" on the scene. Of course it could be the return of NARU ed users under different ID's

Seller: lsdtpt purchased 1951 Bowman Mantle item#5202751529 from jimf922 is now selling
1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle item#5206543849
1956 Topps #135 Mickey Mantle item#5207239686
UPDATE ITEM REMOVED
1952 Topps Mickey Mantle item#5207244247

Seller: blazer4220 more authenticity disclaimers
UPDATE ITEM REMOVED
Topps 1952 Mickey Mantle

Seller: bubasteel One day private auctions, funny how a seller with the collection this guy has only wants exposure to this junk for one day. Of course there is the handy authenticity disclaimer "This card has not been graded by any grading company and will be sold as such. Take a look at the scan and decide for yourself" Need I say more?
UPDATE ITEMS REMOVED SELLER NARU ed
1952 Topps Mickey Mantle item#5207115717
1952 Topps Eddie Mathews item#5207122845
1954 Topps HANK AARON item#520719768
1955 Topps Sandy Koufax item#5207203846
1953 Topps Mickey Mantle #82 item#5207257203
1961 Topps Mickey Mantle item#52072558889
1956 Topps Mickey Mantle item#52072606
1955 Topps Hank Aaron item#5207262819
1961 Topps Roger Maris item#5207262840
1955 Topps Jackie Robinson item#5207263218

Seller: tenholes as per the sellers discription "You are bidding on a 1933 GEORGE HERMAN (BABE) RUTH - Goudy #144 DP. This card has rounded corners and slight discoloration. It is encased in a protecive plastic cover. The sale of this card is FINAL. If you have any questions, I will be more than happy to answer them to the best of my ability. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own a a rare card that, sold mint, has a book value of $4,000.00."
BABE RUTH - 1933 Goudy #144 item#5206134179

Seller: skyewise FB score 1 nothing can be said here except, why isn't this card graded !!!.

Mickey Mantle 1953 Topps, #82 item# 5206427977

Seller: biggerbootie has pictures for all their other auctions but none for this?
1933 GOUDEY BABE RUTH item# 5204342902

Seller: greatcardshere Private auction with private FB run!!!! From the sellers description "This card was recently found with 4 other cards inside a Baseball fact and rule book dated from 1938 that was purchased from a garage sale! The card has great corners and centering, good color and some surface wear, see scans. THIS CARD MEASURES 2 3/8"W X 2 7/8"T AND IS PRINTED ON THICKER THAN NORMAL CARDBOARD STOCK. THIS CARD SEEMS TO BE AUTHENTIC BUT I'M NO EXPERT AT ALL ON THE 1933 SERIES!! YOU BE THE JUDGE! SEE SCANS BELOW!!"
UPDATE ALL ITEMS REMOVED

1933 GOUDEY BABE RUTH item#520156956
1949 LEAF BABE RUTH CARD item#5205172831

Seller: nicole_rc Private auction private FB of 83.3% and people still bidding!!!
UPDATE ALL ITEMS REMOVED SELLER NARUED
32 1932 U.S. Caramel Babe Ruth item#5206058979
1909 Sweet Caporal Ty Cobb item#5206853618

Seller: pjpeosta another FB of 1 and a 52 Mantle which is they claim to be the "real deal" . Says the card in the scan is VG-VG+. Funny looks NM /oc to me.
UPDATE SELLER NARUED

1952 TOPPS MICKEY MANTLE item#520399224

Seller: crowwwn This auction is over but worth viewing, because I know this joker will be back with more junk.
UPDATE SELLER NARUED
Construction Site Find Large Box Full of Old Cards Star item#5203141895

Seller: ruth4ever a new comer worth watching has sold $1500 in bogus cards in the last month.
Items Sold by ruth4ever (0)
Is currently selling
1909-11 TABACCO CARD,COBB item#5207089903
1909-11 TABACCO CARD,COBB item #5207090468
purchased these from junkmanbillyjoe
5 Tobacco Cards 4 Cobbs, 1 Plank item#5206425862
Ruth needs a spell checker....

Seller: hoss4321 Was NARU ed but now they are back and up to their old tricks.
UPDATE ALL ITEMS REMOVED
1956 topps mickey mantle #135 item#5205327186
1909-1910 TY COBB # 70 item#5205330449
1953 TOPPS WILLIE MAYS #244 item#5205322627
1952 EDDIE MATHEWS RC #407 item#5205320601

Seller: hedged_bet Back again with another 52' Mantle. What a surprise. since he sold one last month item#5194668906
UPDATE ITEM REMOVED
Mickey Mantle 1952 Topps item#52006859754

A special thanks to greywickedboy and nightcrawler729 for their help and support. To everyone else have a great weekend and

Before You Bid Arm Yourself With Knowledge !