How To Spot Fake 1989 Score Football Cards

Five cards come to mind when I think about 1989 Score Football – Barry Sanders #257, Troy Aikman #270, Derrick Thomas #258, Deion Sanders #246, and Thurman Thomas #211.  Do you know what each of them have in common?  All are rookie cards, and each one has been counterfeited over the years.  Specifically, Barry Sanders and Troy Aikman.

There are four key areas on these cards that can assist you in identifying a counterfeit:

• Score logo on front
• Red star on front
• Black lines around the helmet on front
• NFLPA logo on back

On counterfeit examples, fuzzy dots make up each of these parts.  You should be able to clearly read each word in the NFLPA logo.  Authentic examples have clear, crisp pictures, and the colors are solid.  Fuzzy printing has always been a common sign when it comes to counterfeit cards.  The printing methods just aren’t as superior as the manufacturers.  CLEAR = GOOD.  FUZZY = BAD.  Using a common base card from the 1989 Score Football set which isn’t worth a dime can be used as a comparison.  Special treatment wasn’t given to those five cards.  They were all printed the same way.

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How To Spot A Fake Brett Favre 1991 Score #611 Rookie Card

When you think about Brett Favre rookie cards, his #611 card from the 1991 Score Football set certainly isn’t the first one that pops in your head.  Most collectors immediately think about his 1991 Topps Stadium Club #94 RC.  Although his Stadium Club card is his most notable rookie, Upper Deck, Classic, Pro Set, and Score each issued less-popular versions of their own.

Why in the world would someone want to counterfeit a Score card from the junk-wax era?  Perhaps that’s exactly what these counterfeiters were thinking when they were printing these fakes up.  I like to believe they were hoping to catch collectors off guard.

For under $5 this card can easily be added to your collection.  But please be careful.  In 2007, counterfeit examples began to arrive.

Its extremely easy to spot a counterfeit.  Keep these thoughts in mind:

• No card number.  That’s right!  These genius counterfeiters completely forgot to place the “611” on the back.
• Locate the NFLPA logo on the back.  On counterfeits this logo is very smudged.  Not crisp and clear like an authentic example.
• The gold border on the back is not the correct color.  Counterfeit copies tend to have a brighter gold border.

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