Inspecting a card - the basics

 Alteration Overview

 Card Soaking

 Detecting bleached cards

 Detecting trimmed cards

 Card sanding

 Detecting a rebacked card

 Aging and toning

 Detecting recolored cards

Detecting rebuilt corners

 Reglossed cards

 Errors and oddities

 Other alterations

As the collector begins to get more serious about sports cards, knowing how to recognize a card that has been tampered with, manipulated or altered becomes paramount. Making a significant financial investment only to have a card rejected by a third party authentication company happens quite frequently. Sadly, where there is money involved, there are shady characters to be found.

In the early days of the hobby, when value was virtually nonexistent, cards were sometimes intentionally altered for the sake of convenience rather than monetary gain. The early sports collector could have cut a card to fit in a photo album, colored it to add just a little more eye appeal or erased pencil marks. Considering professional 'card doctors' are now better than ever, it’s best to be able to recognize these modifications so that you are assured that you are buying a card that is authentic and unaltered. Here is a quick overview of some of the subjects that are explained in more detail.

Card Trimming:

This is an area of great importance to collectors and is more often than not the most common problem found with cards that have been doctored. Cutting the edges of a card can sharpen a corner or fix an edge quickly and with amazing results. Objective findings to look for; wavy edge, inward or outward cut at a corner, crimped edges, lack of edge tone, pinched corners, stray edge fibers, lack of border chipping and more.

Card Bleaching:

Card bleaching is an attempt to use chemical agents to brighten colors or whiten a card. Bleaching can hide or mask stains, remove the naturally harsh toning of a card or clean up an off-white border. Some things to look for; chemical odor, whiter than normal whites, residue in cracks, loss of any natural tone, faded colors, swirl marks, white spots on colors and faint stains.

Recolored:

When a card is recolored it is often done to hide scuffs, worn areas, to make an error card, or to hide damaged spots. More than likely it will be seen on one or more corner-tips. Improving just small spot of color lost on a corner can greatly increase the value of a card and improve the overall "quick-glance" look. It is often done in such a subtle way that only a small dot of color is added and may be very difficult to see. Paint, markers, colored pencils, ink, lead pencils or pens are frequently used. White and black cardboard seems to be the easiest color to match.

Stain/Mark Removal

The removal of tape, tape stains, gum or wax stains, pencil, pen or other marks is something that is often overlooked when making a card purchase. Chemical agents or erasers can be used on areas to remove these stains or marks. Some possible signs may include faded spots, chemical odor, indentations, light pencil or pen marks, disrupted fibers (from erasing) or paper loss.

Regloss

Gloss can be added to hide other alterations, correct damages or to make an old card with worn or missing surface gloss look better...almost brand new. Keep an eye out for uneven surface gloss, dull borders by the edge, glossed edges, odd odors or an abnormally shiny card to name a few.

Rebuilt corners / Added stock

Usually done by advanced card doctors. Used to cover damages, pinholes and to rebuild corners. A rounded corner can have raw stock added and then shaped into a sharp corner, making the card look surprisingly good. A professionally made corner can be difficult, at best, to detect even by the most skilled graders. Most collectors have heard of this alteration but very few have ever seen one. This subject is described in great detail with seldom seen examples. It's a treat for those who have always wanted to know what a rebuilt corner looked like.

Retoned:

Procedure used to artificially age a card. Is done to hide other alterations, hide stains, or make a new reprint look like an old card.