Resealed slabs and fake flips by Kevin Saucier

All of these posts about detecting alterations are reposted with permission from Kevin Saucier.


Just when we start to get some understanding about various card
alterations, we may soon be faced with a new worry...slabs and flips.
Those to can be doctored as well and has been something I have been
investigating for some time.


With very little work an SGC slab can be cracked, sometimes with
just a two sturdy fingernails. The frosting that is created when the
two halves are separated can be buffed out until very little frosting
exists. When rejoined it is hardly noticeable. If you look close enough
and long enough you will be able to see that it has been cracked.
Unfortunately this will be a difficult to do for online auction
purchases and quick glances when viewed live.


Resealing is a skill all to itself but IMO it won't be long until
we see more of this and with better results. The hold up for most seems
to be a quality flip. This is a doctoring skill that requires several
steps but when done correctly the results are simply mind blowing.


Not only do grading companies need to improve their skills in card
alteration detection, they also need to continuously improve their
product. I don't know if this is being done.


We may just be seeing the tip of the iceberg. I'm not saying the
hobby is crashing down just be prepared and know that it is very
possible.


It took some time but I dug up the pic I posted of a cleaned slab.
This one is a PSA slab that was cracked in two and had the tamper
reisistant frost polished off. It was very much frosted at the start.
It is time consuming, dirty and arduous work. As you can see it is
close enough to fool most IMO. SGC's slab is much easier in all
aspects.





Kevin Saucier