I'm no expert on Exibit cards. Does this card look legit?

It measures 3 3/8 x 5 3/8. I bought it at least 20 years ago. A couple of others I bought at a show, at about the same time (Mays & Mantle), turned out to be counterfeit. I can't remember where I got this one, or if it came from the same source.

Bruce- what color is the back? There is an ebay seller a couple of counties south of us that has sold some bogus ones recently, and they certainly were reprinted.

...not sure if it will help much. The one of the left is a '63 statback. The other is a blank back. Notice the mispelling on that one (right) -- obviously a factory font sig. There's a correct sig card too, valued more, like yours. Both of mine are sepia tone.

Anthony, what is the story with the back color?

There is a way to date almost all 1939-66 cards.

The "Matthews" with 2 "t" above (on the right) is from 1954-56.

The other one is from 1963 (you said it had 63 stats on back).

The card at top of post is from 1957-61. Hard to tell from the scan ... If it is B&W it is from 1960, sepia it would be from 1957, 58, 59 or 61.

I made a page that breaks it down a bit if anyone is interested (most of the info was in 1980s-90s articles in SCD etc.)
http://centuryoldcards.com/1930/1939-66ExhibitInfo.html

As far as back color on the reprints I believe they have a gray back and the cards will have photos that are not as sharp (rescreened). The most often seen reprints (16 different) and Mathews is not one of the players. (The info on page 153 in the 2008 SCD says the reprints have a white back but I think this is wrong)

I bought a set for a fwew bucks to use as autograph items. Depending on the player you may have to look for as many as three different reprints types: white backed high quality stock, gray backed high quality stock, and gray back really crappy quality stock (it is rough and the fronts are badly printed; I was burned on a Mays once).

Also, there is a big run of reprints, labeled as such, currently popping up on Ebay from the earlier Exhibit sets. I suspect that these are being cranked out by the major graders in the hope that panicked collectors will have to slab their exhibits. Just Kidding. But there are a slew of these coming online lately.

Sic Gorgiamus Allos Subjectatos Nunc

The other one is from 1963 (you said it had 63 stats on back).

The last year of stats on the back of the card is 1962, hence I'm assuming it was issued in 63.

Frank -- Thanks for the link. I've been to your site several times but never made it to that page. Helps a lot, as I have many cards from that era.

BTW, are there others out there besides me who feel Mathews gets short shrift in general -- as a player -- if going by the value his cards (not just Exhibit) seem to bring?

The color of the paper on the back is the key to judge exhibits as reprints. They will be Dark Gray and you can also find White versions. The White reprints have the same players as the dark gray but also include the 56 Yankees and 56 Dodgers. I have copies of most and if I can find them I will post some pics.

Here's a fake one compared to a real one.

Here is the reverse of the Mathews card. The front is certainly sepia, rather than B&W. How does the back look to you guys?

Thanks for all of your resposnses.

Bruce, looks good to me. IMO, it has that rubbed-up-against-another-card-in-a-stack that happens over time, as some of my cards also exhibit.

Yours is real

Here are 2 examples of fake exhibits, one the dark gray version the other the white version. The white back were done with a lot more detail than the dark gray and can be hard to tell without seeing the back. The middle card is a real one but trimmed. I buy a lot of exhibits and the best question to ask anyone selling them is "What color are the backs? White or Cream/Tan or Dark Gray?" This works well because most people have no idea what the back color should be.

Thanks, everyone. It's great to have the clarification. I'm not an Exibit collector but I am a Mathews collector. I've started a Mathews page here:

http://imageevent.com/uffda51/eddiemathews

Cards, but also magazine covers, photos, etc. I'm just getting started.

I just noticed this thread literally minutes after winning three ebay auctions for 3 different exibit cards. These being the first 3 exibits I've ever purchased, I know very little about exibits in general. All the talk about the reprints and different backs has got me paranoid, to say the least. Can anyone tell from these pics whether or not these are reprints? Thanks. The seller didn't post scans of the backs.

?t=1203607725

?t=1203607771

?t=1203607819

Leslie, the fronts look fine to me. As I don't have to tell you, who's gonna mess with the fronts like that if it's a scam? I like the Reese even with the dogers (sic). I think the aged tape stain on the Mays would be hard to fake. LOL. Neat cards tho, really! I have quite a few of the Salutations (like your Pafko) with round corners and writing on the back.

After a little thought, I also decided the cards were probably genuine. I agree that it's unlikely that anyone would mark up fake cards like that. I have a pet interest in collecting "era-marked" cards. I think it adds a tremendous amount of character to an otherwise run-of-the-mill card when a kid obviously took notes on the player--on the card. I've got a '62 Topps Roger Maris that's completely marked up--the team name scratched out, and now says "the cards" in bold blue kid-handwritten ink. That's my current favorite, but this Willie Mays is quite an amusing one as well.

Bottom two are real, the only one that might not be real is the Reese, looks like it might be a white back. The reprints are limited to only about 15 cards or so. I'll look for a list unless someone else has one handly.

The Mays Portrait is one of my favorites, just never seen it with that kind of face, haha.

Leslie, I'm with you. Here's my Mize. Has the previous
owner's name at the top -- I think it's "Nisch, Nick."
He even changed the team when Mize was traded. Nick,
if you're out there baby, drop me an email!

By the way, what are some of the methods any of you use to store/protect raw Exhibits? I get a little too afraid of corner problems to keep them in plastic pages. Or is that fine?

Then into a two-pocket sheet (you have to trim the tab down) then into a clamshell binder made by Unikeep. If you are really worried about high grade, though, slab them with SGC. They look spectacular.

Sic Gorgiamus Allos Subjectatos Nunc

I store my raw exhibits in Card Saver 4's, they fit great in them.

Thanks guys -- I'll check them out.

I recently bought a collection of cards that included many pre-WWII cards. I am out of my element when it comes to this time period and when I listed some of the cards on ebay, I was quickly told that the cards might be re-prints. I have included this card for discussion as to whether it is legitimate or fake. Whatever help that I can get would be appreciated

Chuck Wilson

Hi Chuck,

Did not see a scan of the card posted. You can email me a copy of front and back and I will let you know what I think. scott@xeray.com

Scott

Speaking of reprint cards, on Ebay right now is a 1953 Canadian Exhibit set Series 2
They look too new, like they were printed last week &
he has a scan of the backs & I don't like that either
Anyone care to comment as to their authenticity if u are familiar with this issue
I emailed him recently on other cards
He is a terrible over grader , 3-4 points to high on some items
Also he wants $15 to ship the set
He does come up with some scarcer items but too many red flags
so I haven't bid on any items yet & probably won't
Any feedback on this item or dealer would be most appreciated

I picked up a group of very sharp Canadian Exhibits that looked untouched. I think there was a large find of them.

Was the guy you are talking about a Canadian dealer selling the cards in sets/series? If its the same guy the cards match others I have in low condition (size = smaller than a US Exhibit, card stock, print quality, etc.), so I believe they are all authentic.