I’m a little light on updates right now — sorry about that. . . I’d love to do a review on Voltron, and a story about 5FINITY’s latest release — P’UPS, that sold out 1500 packs in 10 hours… Unfortunately some real life events are eating up all time time. For better or worse there hasn’t been a lot of news on the counterfeit front, but there are a few things I’d like to mention. . .
The Inkworks Watermark
As Michael points out in his comment on the Alyssa Milano post the Inkworks watermark appears on the back of his counterfeit Milano autograph. This confirms that the watermark is useless in determining authenticity.
For those who don’t know the Inkworks watermark is a series of Inkworks logos that appears running diagonally across the back of some autographs they’ve produced (as well as some counterfeits).
Star Pics Autographs. . .
All of the sudden there are a bunch of Star Pics Twin Peaks autographs hitting the market. Sadly a bunch of them are likely forgeries. More than any other card set out there you really need to do research and know what you are buying before picking up Star Pics autographs. Thankfully buyers out there seem to be able to tell the difference between the good and the bad. . .
How do you tell the difference? The only real way is to know the cards and know the signature — One day I’ll do a detailed report on Twin Peaks autographs, but for some quick tips, pay close attention to the seal of authenticity. . . if it doesn’t look perfect don’t buy the card. Make sure the signature matches known signatures of the actor, and make sure the pen is a perfect match for known good copies of the authentic autograph cards.
Tips for spotting counterfeits. . .
The question I get emailed the most is “What is the simple way to tell if a card is counterfeit,” as if there is a magic secret way to tell that applies to all cards and is being kept secret. We’ve seen counterfeits created in many ways so there is no one way to determine if a card is counterfeit. The only way to know for sure is to know the card.
A few good places to start when looking at a card is to first pull the card out of the toploader and compare the size, card stock, edge color and fine printing details to another card. That isn’t always possible, especially online. . .
For scans you can do a few things that will help, but again, these are just starting points — know the cards!
1. Use Mishu’s Signature tests:
a. Are there ‘dots’ at the ends of the pen strokes? If so the card is likely fake.
b. Does the thickness of the signature vary? Many fake signatures have the same line thickness for the entire signature. Some real signatures do as well.
2. Use Steve’s Inkworks Authentic Stamp test
If the Inkworks Authentic Stamp appears to be in a different place (typically further left and down) from where most of them are in a given series the card is likely fake.
3. Compare to other copies of the same card. Look for similarities and differences in the signature, also if you can find a card with an identical signature avoid those cards!
Good luck!
Jon
