'48/'49 Leaf...Need help with some tips on spotting reprints

First post here in the vintage forum, and I'm glad to be here.

I've decided to undertake the '48/'49 Leaf set as my first attempt at putting together a vintage set. For some reason, as basic as they are, I just love the looks of these cards. Plus, the set is not too big, and has some great rookies that I hope to someday own (hey, a man can dream, right? )

Anyways, being a complete noob to vintage, I have no idea how to spot reprints from originals with these cards. Are there any telltale signs to tell the difference? Or am I better off just buying cards that are already slabbed?

Any info you guys can give me would be greatly appreciated. Looking forward to posting here in the vintage forum more often.

The main card youll see is the Babe Ruth, but there are some of Paige and Williams too. There are doctored reprints and there are also home made fakes.

Best thing to do is to scan the card in question then compare it to a known authentic card (google images of graded cards)

Most time on the reprints you will see differences in the shades of the face and skin tone etc.
there is one design change on one type of reprint (see images below)

Leaf cards are not as easy as Goudeys, Cracker Jacks, T206, etc.

The home made fakes are basically authentic images printed out on an inkjet printer, then the front and back glued together and the card cut out and doctored with wear. They should be easy to spot in person, but on eBay etc, they are not too easy because they are basically a picture of an authentic card. best thing to look for is clarity of the image and the contrast, sometimes back of the card is easier.

Its always best to buy a couple lower grade commons before going for bigger $$ cards, hold them in your hand and really look at how they were printed and the card stock and wear.

Leaf fakes are not the easiest to spot.

PS All Leaf Baseball cards are from 1949...... not a single card was issued in 1948 even though some have 1948 copyrights on back. Its fairly new info, been known for about 5-7 years, but the grading companies and guides are slow to change.



There are more than 1 type of reprints, but this type here changed the design... notice at end of Ruths shoulders where they meet the edge the red strip was added on the reprint.
(If you Google Images "1949 Leaf Ruth" you will see that a good % of the images of raw cards are these red strip fakes)


reprint


authentic

fkw said:

The main card youll see is the Babe Ruth, but there are some of Paige and Williams too. There are doctored reprints and there are also home made fakes.

Best thing to do is to scan the card in question then compare it to a known authentic card (google images of graded cards)

Most time on the reprints you will see differences in the shades of the face and skin tone etc.
there is one design change on one type of reprint (see images below)

Leaf cards are not as easy as Goudeys, Cracker Jacks, T206, etc.

The home made fakes are basically authentic images printed out on an inkjet printer, then the front and back glued together and the card cut out and doctored with wear. They should be easy to spot in person, but on eBay etc, they are not too easy because they are basically a picture of an authentic card. best thing to look for is clarity of the image and the contrast, sometimes back of the card is easier.

Its always best to buy a couple lower grade commons before going for bigger $$ cards, hold them in your hand and really look at how they were printed and the card stock and wear.

Leaf fakes are not the easiest to spot.

PS All Leaf Baseball cards are from 1949...... not a single card was issued in 1948 even though some have 1948 copyrights on back. Its fairly new info, been known for about 5-7 years, but the grading companies and guides are slow to change.



There are more than 1 type of reprints, but this type here changed the design... notice at end of Ruths shoulders where they meet the edge the red strip was added on the reprint.
(If you Google Images "1949 Leaf Ruth" you will see that a good % of the images of raw cards are these red strip fakes)

reprint

authentic

Click to expand...

You might be the most knowledgable person on vintage cards that I've ever seen.

Thanks

Ive been a "type collector" for many years, close to 30 years now... so I know general info about 99.9% of every set
Type collector = is trying to obtain 1 example from each set, as opposed to a player collector or set collector.

Ive handled almost every type of Pre1960 card out there at one point or another. plus Ive been a part of a dozen message boards for last 12 years, and that knowledge is just as good as any book.

OK The info I posted above is NOW KNOWN to be not 100% accurate

I finally saw a graded example of a red line card and started a thread on Net54 today about if its a 100% reprint of just a very rare variation that the reprint happen to use as the example card when they made the reprints.

Looks like the red line card can be found as an authentic card (maybe 3%-5%). Ted Z is the expert and he also showed another example of this freak type of printing (the Hopp card).

Here is the post http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?p=877861#post877861

Sorry for the misinfo, but I learn new stuff too sometimes

PS. I would still look for the red lines and then go from there, because a high % of the fakes are based on that card.... but its not 100% fact that a red line card is a reprint.

Anyways, being a complete noob to vintage, I have no idea how to spot reprints from originals with these cards. Are there any telltale signs to tell the difference? Or am I better off just buying cards that are already slabbed?

Click to expand...

With the high dollar cards and major stars in most cases you are better off buying already graded. Be particulary careful buying raw star cards when the dealer has most of the cards for sale already graded.

fkw said:

The main card youll see is the Babe Ruth, but there are some of Paige and Williams too. There are doctored reprints and there are also home made fakes.

Best thing to do is to scan the card in question then compare it to a known authentic card (google images of graded cards)

Most time on the reprints you will see differences in the shades of the face and skin tone etc.
there is one design change on one type of reprint (see images below)

Leaf cards are not as easy as Goudeys, Cracker Jacks, T206, etc.

The home made fakes are basically authentic images printed out on an inkjet printer, then the front and back glued together and the card cut out and doctored with wear. They should be easy to spot in person, but on eBay etc, they are not too easy because they are basically a picture of an authentic card. best thing to look for is clarity of the image and the contrast, sometimes back of the card is easier.

Its always best to buy a couple lower grade commons before going for bigger $$ cards, hold them in your hand and really look at how they were printed and the card stock and wear.

Leaf fakes are not the easiest to spot.

PS All Leaf Baseball cards are from 1949...... not a single card was issued in 1948 even though some have 1948 copyrights on back. Its fairly new info, been known for about 5-7 years, but the grading companies and guides are slow to change.



There are more than 1 type of reprints, but this type here changed the design... notice at end of Ruths shoulders where they meet the edge the red strip was added on the reprint.
(If you Google Images "1949 Leaf Ruth" you will see that a good % of the images of raw cards are these red strip fakes)

reprint

authentic

Click to expand...

Does that make this a royal F-up by SGC?
http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem ... 0696789684

No, I think if you read FKW's last post you will see that his initial response was incorrect.

On a lot of cards the jersey color is the same as the border on originals (like the Cracker Jack sets) such as my Jackie Robinson rookie...

On some fakes, the jersey is a little darker than the border, such as this one that someone bid $250 on. http://www.ebay.com/itm/1948-Leaf-79-Ja ... 3cbca27077