Reminder to Those Returning to the Hobby
 

or those new to the hobby or anyone, is don't let your guard down.

I was just visited by the ghost of 1991. He wants his cards back. :D

I collected hard in the 90s but was always a hockey guy. I remember the fake Gretzky rookie cards and how to spot them. So I visited a local hobby store for their annual boxing day sale, when I spotted this beauty.

[ATTACH]474052[/ATTACH]

Flash forward two weeks when I decided to re-home the card in a new sleeve and toploader. The card didn't feel right, it felt light with a thinner stock.

A quick search reveals fakes were huge in the 90s since the card was selling in the $100 range.

I am not well versed in these and was hoping to gain some more insight before I approach the owner. I do not believe they purposely sold me a fake. Sports cards are a small part of their business and they are a stand up business. I would say we both got taken. But it serves as a reminder to never let your guard down, and if you are returning to the hobby remember the struggle!!

Wait until you find out about trimming cards and selling them for tens of thousands...

[QUOTE=Triple B;15440430]Wait until you find out about trimming cards and selling them for tens of thousands...[/QUOTE]

Unfortunately that's what brought me here.

Compare against a common ‘84 Donruss in your hand.

[QUOTE=MoreToppsPlease;15440433]Compare against a common ‘84 Donruss in your hand.[/QUOTE]

I am a hockey guy in Canada. I bought this single card and never owned a Donruss card until two weeks ago.

I would suggest having another '84 Donruss card in your hand to compare before returning to the store and accusing them of selling fakes. The fakes back in '84 were terrible and even the most untrained eye could usually tell the difference when taking a closer look. I may be wrong but I am pretty sure Mattingly rookies are not high on the list for modern fakes.

Donruss also did use some thinner card stock when compared to Topps which is another item to take into consideration.

Good luck.

[QUOTE=mchenrycards;15440793]I would suggest having another '84 Donruss card in your hand to compare before returning to the store and accusing them of selling fakes. The fakes back in '84 were terrible and even the most untrained eye could usually tell the difference when taking a closer look. I may be wrong but [B]I am pretty sure Mattingly rookies are not high on the list for modern fakes[/B].

Donruss also did use some thinner card stock when compared to Topps which is another item to take into consideration.

Good luck.[/QUOTE]


If They were fakes back then, then, they will still be fakes today...
Not saying they are making new fake Mattinglys today, but the old ones are still around.

[QUOTE=Americards;15440888]If They were fakes back then, then, they will still be fakes today...
Not saying they are making new fake Mattinglys today, but the old ones are still around.[/QUOTE]

Umm yeah. of course they still may be around but the likelihood that there are many of them left is reduced since they were such obvious fakes.

My point was...and maybe I should have made it more clear and not leave my comments to ambiguity......using the new technology we see now over what was used in the 80's and 90's, my feeling it is not likely that the new, modern age technology is producing many Mattingly fakes. There are bigger fish to fry but it certainly is possible.

I used to own this book. Good resource. Lemke had a host of other great books as well.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/vCO6sJ6.jpg[/img]

[QUOTE=Clark;15440439]I am a hockey guy in Canada. [B]I bought this single card and never owned a Donruss card until two weeks ago.[/B][/QUOTE]

Sounds like you still don't have any Donruss cards.

[QUOTE=Clark;15440431]Unfortunately that's what brought me here.[/QUOTE]I wouldn't call it unfortunate. As you can see from the main Baseball section, some more trimmers were outed in the past several weeks. It likely won't end and there will be more to come.

This place has a wealth of knowledge, use it to your advantage to make informed decisions. From this thread, it already looks like you're doing a good job at learning your way around cardboard again.

Wait until you hear about a very humble collector whom hit it rich with a $100,000 dollar Babe Ruth / Ty Cobb card.

Rumor has it that he's currently reviewing offers that exceed Mike Trouts BC.

[QUOTE=SleepyWill;15441968]Wait until you hear about a very humble collector whom hit it rich with a $100,000 dollar Babe Ruth / Ty Cobb card.

Rumor has it that he's currently reviewing offers that exceed Mike Trouts BC.[/QUOTE]

It's tear stained now.

Hi
I was a teenage collector at that time and remember Mr.Mint going heavy into investing in the 84 Donruss Mattingly which shot the price through the roof.
Counterfeits shortly materialized. I rmeember seeing a father about to buy one for his son when i mentioned to him that it was a fake. Deaer wasnt too happy.
One easy way to see the fakes is the the word "donruss" under the D logo is blurry. This is the biggest giveaway.
On te scan you have the donruss looks clear. Without seeing the actual card it
does look ok from the scan.
There were tons of thiis and Gretzky fakes as well as tons of back door Topps and Upper deck cards in the day.

OP do you happen to remember that decrepit old card shop on Adelaide St. in London? It was on a corner, always a mess, reeked of smoke, and the owner was a crook and a jerk (sold me a 71-72 OPC set with a lousy Topps Dryden RC substituted for the real thing).

Brought back memories...

If you have a glass or loupe, look at the Donruss "d" logo. It should be solid black, and, IIRC, fakes all have dot patterns. I actually don't own any 84 Donruss, but as I recall the first few years of Donruss were slightly thinner than Fleer or Topps of that era.

[QUOTE=hairysasquatch;15442173]OP do you happen to remember that decrepit old card shop on Adelaide St. in London? It was on a corner, always a mess, reeked of smoke, and the owner was a crook and a jerk (sold me a 71-72 OPC set with a lousy Topps Dryden RC substituted for the real thing).

Brought back memories...[/QUOTE]

Do you know the OP personally or do you think London is in Canada? :D

Edit* London, Ontario!? haha

[QUOTE=dizzydolse;15442545]Do you know the OP personally or do you think London is in Canada? :D

Edit* London, Ontario!? haha[/QUOTE]

I may know the OP - it appears we are roughly the same age and originated in the London, Ontario area. :coffee:

Edit: I looked at Google Earth and I believe the scummy old card shop was on the SE corner of Adelaide and Grey St., just south of Hamilton Rd.

yes bunch of canuckssss! :flex::flex:

Ok, so this thread and the trimming conversation makes me want to ask a question I have been wondering about. I wouldn't mind buying a 2011 BC Trout. Would you guys be comfortable with a BGS 9.5/PSA 10 that was graded in 2012 or so?

[QUOTE=rgc73;15443265]Ok, so this thread and the trimming conversation makes me want to ask a question I have been wondering about. I wouldn't mind buying a 2011 BC Trout. Would you guys be comfortable with a BGS 9.5/PSA 10 that was graded in 2012 or so?[/QUOTE]

does it measure up?

[QUOTE=ThoseBackPages;15443276]does it measure up?[/QUOTE]Wish I had it in hand. Graded in '12. Needs a new holder.

[IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200114/4c75994e230fd2a88e670473eb61f192.jpg[/IMG]

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[QUOTE=rgc73;15443314]Wish I had it in hand. Graded in '12. Needs a new holder.

[IMG]https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200114/4c75994e230fd2a88e670473eb61f192.jpg[/IMG]

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk[/QUOTE]

if it was graded in 2012, should be ok

[QUOTE=hairysasquatch;15442173]OP do you happen to remember that decrepit old card shop on Adelaide St. in London? It was on a corner, always a mess, reeked of smoke, and the owner was a crook and a jerk (sold me a 71-72 OPC set with a lousy Topps Dryden RC substituted for the real thing).

Brought back memories...[/QUOTE]

No I am from an hour down the road.

I was able to get my hands on some 84 Donruss and will post my findings later today.

[QUOTE=TarjetasBéisbol;15441924]Sounds like you still don't have any Donruss cards.[/QUOTE]



unfortunately this was funny as hell

I have compared the Mattingly with the known real commons and I believe it is authentic. My antenna went up when I pulled the card from the toploader and it felt off. I believe that was because of the lighter Donruss card stock compared to the vintage O-Pee-Chee that I am used to. Also, reading too many threads on hobby problems on Blowout probably didn't help.

I can recommend an app for Android called "Magnify + Light". It is available in the Play Store and allowed me to closely look at the printing pixels and determine the similarities between cards. It would have been nice to have an app like this back in 91.

[QUOTE=1989FF;15441918]I used to own this book. Good resource. Lemke had a host of other great books as well. [/QUOTE]

I have looked online and it is a bit more than I want to pay in Canada. I will check our local used book stores first. It would be nice to have for reference. Thanks!

[QUOTE=Clark;15449128]

I can recommend an app for Android called "Magnify + Light". It is available in the Play Store and allowed me to closely look at the printing pixels and determine the similarities between cards. It would have been nice to have an app like this back in 91.[/QUOTE]

Did you mean "Magnifier + Light?" There's about a billion results for "magnify light" so I want to make sure I'm getting the right one.

Arthur

Yes that is the actual name of the app