1953 Topps Mickey Mantle - Real or Fake?

[sci2007]

Recently I was e-mailed some pictures of a 1953 Topps Mickey Mantle card.
The person wants to know if it is real or fake.

What do you think? My gut says fake. What are some typical signs of a fake? Thanks.

[OhioLawyerF5]

Obviously it's hard to be definitive based on the pictures. But I will point out 2 things that jump out to me immediately. The wear around the edges is too "crisp" to be wear. It looks like someone used a blade and tried to artificially wear the edges. Which brings me to the second point. Where the edges were "worn", the paper looks very white. All this leads me to believe there is probably artificial aging/trimming going on here.

[towerymt]

Super fake. The white edges showing on the rear. There shouldn't be such a stark contrast between the "internal" paper showing as edge wear, and the surface of the back which is more gray.

Most of the rough looking cards sold as "selling my grandfather's cards, I don't know if they're real" are fake, and will show that bright white edge wear that doesn't match up to worn vintage cards if you compare them.

[K111]

Originally Posted by OhioLawyerF5

Obviously it's hard to be definitive based on the pictures. But I will point out 2 things that jump out to me immediately. The wear around the edges is too "crisp" to be wear. It looks like someone used a blade and tried to artificially wear the edges. Which brings me to the second point. Where the edges were "worn", the paper looks very white. All this leads me to believe there is probably artificial aging/trimming going on here.

this, those rounded corners seem to round, they are usually frayed a bit if they are vintage and have rounded corners

tell the person to do the light test, put their flashlight on their phone against one of the sides and if it comes through clear on the other side it is definitely a fake, though even if it doesn't go through it could still be a fake

[Retired hobbist]

Yes all good points the cards don't look naturally rounded they look like they were cut to look rounded.

Cards are getting so valuable now that counterfeiting 1 grade craptastic cards has a ton of value in it and generally the cards won't be examined like a piece of fine art like a high grade will.

It's very scary really...

[discodanman45]

Never buy a raw 52 or 53 Topps Mantle or 1933 Goudey Ruth or Gehrig. These cards are faked a lot. Throw in the 86 Fleer Jordan and 1979 OPC Gretzky, and that covers the majority of fakes in the hobby.

Very easy to tell these fakes with a picture outside of plastic. Whenever people ask about the 52/53 Mantles it is always in a top loader or card saver. They know it is fake, so they will never take a picture of it without the plastic. In hand you could tell immediately if you ever touched these cards.