Judging the Authenticity of Early Baseball Cards

by David Rudd Cycleback

Chapter 5 : What Authenticity Is

(c) cycleback 2003, 2005 all rights reserved

In all areas of collecting, from teddy bears to oil paintings, something is authentic if its true identity is described accurately and sincerely. If you pay good money for an "original 1930 Greta Garbo photograph by the famous Hollywood photographer George Hurrell" you expect to receive an original 1930 Greta Garbo photo by George Hurrell. You don't expect a 1970 reprint or a photo by an unknown photographer. An item does not have to be rare or expensive or old to be authentic. It just has to be accurately and sincerely described. A 2 cent 2003 reprint can be authentic if described as a 2 cent 2003 reprint. Errors in the description of an item are considered significant when they significantly affect the financial value or reasonable non-financial expectations of the buyer. An example of the reasonable non-financial expectations would involve a collector who specializes in real photo post cards of her home state of Iowa and makes it clear to the seller that she only wants postcards depicting Iowa. Even if there is no financial issue, she would have reason to be disappointed if the purchased postcard turned out to show Oklahoma or Minnesota. Many errors in description are minor and have little to no material effect. If that 1930 Greta Garbo photo turns out to be from 1934, it may not effect the financial value or desirability to the purchaser. Common terms: Counterfeit: a reprint or reproduction that was intentionally made to fool others into believing it is original. Forgery: an item that was intentionally made to fool others into believing it is something it is not. This includes counterfeits, but also fantasy or made up items. An example of a fantasy would be a 1958 Bowman Mickey Mantle. Bowman did not make baseball cards after 1955, so a 1958 Bowman Mantle never existed. Fake: an item that is seriously misidentified. This includes forgeries and counterfeits. It also includes items that are innocently misidentified by collectors or sellers who are uninformed. When in doubt about seller or maker's intent, it's best to call a bad sale or auction item a fake instead of a forgery or counterfeit. All three words mean an item is not genuine, but forgery and counterfeit implies intentional illegality. It's about making judgments This guide isn't about becoming omniscient or gaining supernatural authentication powers. It's about forming sound opinions based on your knowledge, experience, tools, resources and common sense. With many cards you will be confident to certain they are genuine. With many cards you will be confident to certain they are fakes or otherwise have significant errors in description. A percentage of cards you won't be able to make a definitive opinion. Perhaps the card is outside your area of collecting. Perhaps the card has something strange about it, but not strange enough to prove it fake. Perhaps you strongly believe the unusual card is old, but aren't sure what it is or the exact year of issue as it isn't listed in the price guides. There's nothing wrong with being stumped every once in a while. Even the top experts at MastroNet and SGC will sometimes scratch their heads and seek outside opinions. Judging authenticity is rarely done in a vacuum For the collector, making judgments is usually done within a context. Usually the context is deciding whether or not to purchase and how much to pay. A knowledgeable collector might take a wild chance on a strange card if the price is $30, while she would pass if the price was $500. A collector might purchase an esoteric card if he knows the seller to be knowledgeable, but wouldn't give it a second glace if the seller had a reputation for selling fakes. You never have to buy a card or piece of memorabilia. If you are uncomfortable with the looks of a card, the price or the reliability of the seller, you can choose not to bid or buy. cycleback.com................cards main (c) david rudd cycleback, cyclback.com all rights reserved

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