Microscope Resource Thread - Update: Video 9 on Page 4

Articles
1

I have been contemplating the best way to do this but would like to start up a thread/group study using my stereomicroscope. Compare fakes, stamps, dot patterns or anything else we can think of.

Here is a little preview of what my set up can do:



Things to consider:
55x max magnification
Preview images were taken with my phone - higher quality if I use the microscope’s camera and software
I can add scalebars which would be interesting for centering, etc…
Most are obvious but I have some fake cards that we take a look at.

Big thanks to Gary for providing us with a couple interesting samples to kick things off.

Ideas are welcome and I look forward to discovering new things with all of you.

33 Likes
2

I’d love to see a 1st ed stamp, a STAFF stamp and one of those “albino” cards.

7 Likes
3

I have lots of 1st stamps we can look at but do not have any STAFF or albinos. Albinos as in the sun faded cards?

1 Like
4

Counterfeit/Authentic 1st Ed stamp comparison is on the way. That will be super interesting and hopefully conclusive.

3 Likes
5

I’ll start with that. Is there a best way to link to posts from the original post to keep everything organized?

3 Likes
6

I would be interested in seeing one where the card has been sunfaded and one where the owner claims to have one of the CMYK layers missing (I don’t know where I would get the latter from personally).

2 Likes
7

I’m glad I stumbled into this thread. I’ve got several Sun faded samples that I’m currently fading. I would be happy to donate those to the cause the best part is I faded them on a 50-50 scale meaning half the card is faded and half the card was protected from sunlight. So you can literally do a comparison right there on the same card.

8 Likes
8

That would be great. I’ll PM you.

1 Like
9

Fake Dragonair 1st edition Stamp Vs. Real Stamp

Cards we will be comparing for the next couple analyses:

(My apologies for the pidgey as I don’t own a 1st edition dragonair yet)

The dragonair being both 1st edition and shadowed is a dead give away for a fake but it is one of the best in quality that I have come across. (Thanks to Gary for lending this to me)

Real stamp on Pidgey(20X):

Fake stamp on fake dragonair(20X):

I need to work on getting the scale bars to show up better but the dimensions are way off on the fake.

Comments, suggestions and criticism are welcome.

Next we will be comparing traits on the real unlimited dragonair to the fake 1st shadowed dragonair.

20 Likes
10

Could you also compare it with a Thin stamp? The Pidgey is of course a Thick stamp, but that fake Dragonite stamp is Thin. It would be nice to see the dimension differences with another Thin stamp. (You can use a 1st edition card from any of the non-Base sets (i.e. Jungle, Fossil, Team Rocket, Neo …, etc.) if you don’t have any Thin stamp Base Set holos.)

And is only the 1st edition stamp fake on that Dragonite, or the entire card? I have a shadowed Pikachu with a similar stamp, so I know it’s fake because of that. But on closer inspection and also doing some light tests, the entire card turned out to be fake instead of just the 1st edition stamp. I guess this Dragonite is from the same ‘fake’ set?

Greetz,
Quuador

4 Likes
11

Real Magneton Thin Stamp(20X):

Height: 3.28 mm
Width: 4.38 mm

There is a very obvious difference in the ink. It would be neat to check out various fake stamps on real shadowless cards. I am not convinced that anyone can replicate a card or even something that seems at simple as a stamp.

5 Likes
12

55X Magnification:

Really gives you an idea of how hard it would be to make ink show up the same way it did from the original printers.

2 Likes
13

This thread might make it easier to make fakes.

1 Like
14

Definitely a fake card. When zoomed in you can really see an extra shadow effect which is likely caused by scanning the original and reprinting. There is a slight fuzziness on the fake/scan that you can see with the naked eye.

Let’s compare the two!

Real “Dra” text(20X):

Fake “Dra” text(20X):

Real “80 H” text(20X):

Fake “80 H” text(20X):

Real energy symbol(20X):

Fake energy symbol(20X):

Real line(20X):

Fake line(20X):

Real P from back of card(20X):

Fake P(20X):

3 Likes
15

I believe that this information in the hands of honest collectors far outweighs what it can do for counterfeiters. Someone buying extremely high end ungraded cards should have a jewelers loop and be checking these things. What is the alternative? Cross our fingers and hope that everyone can spot fakes? Pretend that they don’t and will never exist?

Also keep in mind that short of obtaining the original printing equipment that was used fakes will never be perfect. If someone has the means to make a decent counterfeit, this is not news to them. Cheap tools to see this same stuff are easy to obtain.

11 Likes
16

After knowing this, if I am having doubts if a card is fake or not, instead of asking for more picture we should ask for a x55 amplification of the card. jajajaj

5 Likes
17

Most of the pictures are only at 20X with the exception of the extreme close up stamp which is 55X. I can go back and add magnifications.

The fake is actually much easier to spot in person than my initial comparison photo.

Here’s a close up. The lines have an obvious fuzz/shadow to them that you can easily spot with the naked eye if you are looking for it.

Phone picture of fake dragonair:

18

@rattlebear, It scares me how easy I can be consfused by the fake Dragonite. At least know I know what to look for, and I thank you for that.

Still, as you’ve mentioned, it’s easier if you have the card in front of you.

1 Like
19

Isn’t WOTC known for they’re lack of QC during this time period? Until we have a larger sample size this is a bit inconclusive. The real 1st Edition stamp looks for similar to the fake text examples.

20

Lack of QC isn’t going to result in artifacts like the ones we see here. I am quite certain this is a counterfeit made with a scan of the original.

The 1st stamp was likely added to their scanned image of the unlimited card. It is the wrong size, texture and lacks the halftone(dots) that the original is composed of. These dots are likely only similar in the rest of the card because they were scanned from the original copy. A scanner is not perfect so created the shading/fuzzy effect around everything.

1 Like