How to tell aunthenticity of Beta/Alpha?

[jazzykat]

Hi all,

I am going to be picking up a small but very nice collection tomorrow and I was wondering if the community could give me some tips and link me to some good sights that have tips on detecting a fake.

The card I want to investigate will be a Alpha or Beta Tropical Island (I think it's Beta but I need to see it to figure it out).

I have a few Beta Islands, 1 Alpha Island, a Beta Pearl, and Alpha Sol Ring as well as a few Beta Sinkholes to give it a pseudo A/B test and I will bring a print out of the text on the card which I believe is the same. I will also be bringing along a magnifying glass to give it a closer inspection.

Any help will be appreciated.

[Lifeless]

Hi all,

I am going to be picking up a small but very nice collection tomorrow and I was wondering if the community could give me some tips and link me to some good sights that have tips on detecting a fake.

The card I want to investigate will be a Alpha or Beta Tropical Island (I think it's Beta but I need to see it to figure it out).

I have a few Beta Islands, 1 Alpha Island, a Beta Pearl, and Alpha Sol Ring as well as a few Beta Sinkholes to give it a pseudo A/B test and I will bring a print out of the text on the card which I believe is the same. I will also be bringing along a magnifying glass to give it a closer inspection.

Any help will be appreciated.

Bend test it. Not really, but you're the fucking man if you do. How about this:
http://www.wizards.com/Magic/Magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtgcom/feature/209

[yawg07]

No. Really bend test it. So what if it fucking creases?
If it DOES, it is fake, you don't want it anyhow.

There are also the water test, light test, UV test, and DPI tests.

[cdr]

If a card gets "bend tested" more than maybe half a dozen times, it will crease. I would use caution unless you already suspect a fake.

[Solaran_X]

I just picked up an EX+ UN Timetwister today (NM/M front, EX back) at the prerelease. Some people were suspicious of it, including a dealer, so after I had someone demonstrate the proper bend test...I pulled it from the sleeve and proceeded to bend test it at a table during a flight - in front of two judges and a lot of players.

It passed, and was definitely worth the $100 I paid for it. Hell...the reaction of the people who saw it was worth the $100 I paid for it even if it had been fake.

Overall, today was good to me. Here's what I got (and kept for decks):

1 EX+ UN Timetwister
1 Thoughtseize (my 6th) - Aggro-Loam
1 Rakdos Pit Dragon - Dragon Stompy (don't ask me why I only had 3...)
4 Tarmogoyfs (1 Japanese [3rd Japanese overall], my second playset) - Aggro-Loam
4 Countryside Crusher (2 FOIL, 2 normal) - Aggro-Loam
4 FOIL Empty the Warrens (2 Japanese, 2 English) - 2 Land Belcher Pimpin'
4 FOIL Simian Spirit Guides - 2 Land Belcher Pimpin'
2 FOIL Rite of Flame - 2 Land Belcher Pimpin'
3 FOIL Manamorphose - 2 Land Belcher Pimpin'
1 Bayou - Aggro-Loam
1 Swords to Plowshares (Japanese BB signed)
1 Force of Will (NM Pack Fresh French for $7/pack - second pack had it)
4 Burning Wish (1 Japanese, 3 English) - Aggro-Loam
1 Rolling Earthquake (NM Japanese - only $60!!!) - Dragon Stompy Sideboard

[jazzykat]

If a card gets "bend tested" more than maybe half a dozen times, it will crease. I would use caution unless you already suspect a fake.

I'm more than aware of this. Bending a card that looks minty fresh is probably worth it as hopefully not that many have bent it before. People have to remember that these cards are 15 years old, and they were played with before people knew they were worth an ass load.


-What is the DPI test?

[Durable Piss Investigation. It's kinda gross, but reliable. - Bardo]

[mercenarybdu]

The density of the cards and the cuts of the cards because they are cut differently and one of them is thicker than the other.

[goobafish]

I have done many tests on many cards as I just finished getting my beta power set. Here are the ones I do:

Light Test: Hold two cards (Preferable same card, but it is unlikely that you already have the card you are getting, so use a beta card) up to a fairly strong lamp, with the Magic The Gathering side looking at you, and make sure that the two cards have the same transparency. Real cards are slightly transparent, and you can see some text and picture through the back of the card.

Water Test: Take a q-tip with a dab of water on the end, and rub it (not too hard!) against the card. Real cards will not smudge.

Bend Test: I still tend to do this, even though many people say it is outdated. If a card is bent too many times it will have bend marks even if it is real. Bend the card diagonally, as most people bend side to side. If the card creases, it is fake or bent many times.

Corners: Always inspect the corners. Markered cards are suspect, because that is a way to cover up a re-back. Compare the thickness of the card to another card, and try to look for the blue center on the corner.

Thickness: Feel the card and another card in either hand, and see if they feel the same.

Loupe: Take a loupe and inspect the card's surface. You are looking for it to have the same ink pattern as other cards.

I do most of these tests, but the one that is most telling, is just feeling the surface of the card, once you have experience with betas. Glossiness is suspect, as is thickness. You can normally tell if a card is a re-back just by feeling it.

Hope that helps.

Edit: There is also a guide here http://apathyhouse.com/fake/index.php

[caiomarcos]

Halfway the "Buyer Beware" article by WotC I found this:

"Even photocopying them to use as a 'proxy' for personal use is illegal and violates our intellectual property rights."

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

[Skeggi]

Halfway the "Buyer Beware" article by WotC I found this:

"Even photocopying them to use as a 'proxy' for personal use is illegal and violates our intellectual property rights."

That's why the "Proxy this deck"/"Proxy this card" option was removed from essentialmagic. I was surprized to still find it on magiccards.com

[m03]

Halfway the "Buyer Beware" article by WotC I found this:

"Even photocopying them to use as a 'proxy' for personal use is illegal and violates our intellectual property rights."


I'd be interested to see how well that statement stands up in court.

[Anusien]

I'd be interested to see how well that statement stands up in court.
Probably pretty well; it's why the library puts the notice above its copiers about copying IP. Will they ever sue you for it? No, because it's not worth the money it would cost to do so (not enough in damages), but it's certainly an infringement.

[m03]

Probably pretty well; it's why the library puts the notice above its copiers about copying IP. Will they ever sue you for it? No, because it's not worth the money it would cost to do so (not enough in damages), but it's certainly an infringement.

Different case entirely. The difference here being that you don't own the library books.

As for copying already-owned material for private use, it depends on the fair-use laws in your given country.