Babe Ruth Baseball Cards | How to tell if a Babe Ruth Baseball Card is Counterfeit

How to tell if a Babe Ruth Baseball Card is Counterfeit

If you are in the market of buying a Babe Ruth Baseball Card you might want to know how to tell if a card is counterfeit. Babe Ruth Baseball Cards are some of the most valuable Baseball Cards in the card market so counterfeit cards have been popping up everywhere. We will go through some of the things you can look for when buying a Babe Ruth Baseball to help you from purchasing a fake.

Old Babe Ruth Baseball Cards are not Glossy

One of the best ways to tell if an old Babe Ruth Baseball Card is fake is by the paper stock. I had a guy come to me at a recent show with a box full of cards for sale. Some of the cards were from the mid 80’s and some were suppose to be old and vintage cards form the 30’s and 40’s. The cards from the 30’s and 40’s were in screw downs and the cards from the 1980’s were in top loaders. When I asked to look at the Babe Ruth 1933 Goudey card the customer got a little nervous and was hesitant. After a short pause he said go ahead. I opened the case carefully and as I opened the case the customer started talking to me about my cards that I had for sale in my display case. A very interesting way of trying to divert my attention. As I proceeded to look at the card the guy just wouldn’t shut up and kept on asking me questions about my cards. I finally told him that if he wanted to sell me the cards he would have to wait with his questions. As I held the Babe Ruth Baseball Cards in my hand I noticed the card was glossy. Cards in the early 30’s and 40’s were not glossy. As a matter of fact their were no glossy cards until 1989. So the first rule to watch out for is NO Gloss.

Babe Ruth Baseball Cards don’t smell like Coffee Grounds

When a card is printed it looks new coming off the press. Someone who is trying to sell you an old, vintage, counterfeit, Baseball card will have to try to mask this fresh new look to pull off the scam. One way to make a card look old an worn is by rubbing down the corners of the card, another way is to put the card in Coca Cola. That’s right Coca-Cola! Cards that card put in the Cola and than are put to the side to dry for a few days will look faded and used. Part of the reason is because the new cardboard soaks up the liquid which will make the card thicker and look much older. Some of the old Baseball Cards were printed on a thick yellowish paper stock so the Coca-Cola look will give it the same effect. Another cool trick to make a card look old and faded is by pitting the card in some coffee grounds. Coffee Grounds were used many times by the Mafia to make counterfeit bills look old and faded in the 60’s and 70’s. This works the same with baseball cards. If the card smells like coffee back away my friend back away.

I hope these tips will help you next time you go to a flea market or garage sale. I can’t tell you how many numerous customers I have had who believed they had a found gold mine from a box of Baseball cards they bought in the garage sale for $100.00 If you are looking to invest in an old or vintage Babe Ruth Baseball Cards pay attention to these bits of information, They might be the difference between a real score or a real ripoff.

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