99.9% of cards purporting to be 1994 Calbee Hokkaido
Ichiro cards are forgeries--even most slabbed cards!!! This one is authentic. 1994 Calbee Ichiro cards, #s C-37, C-38
and C-39, were last minute additions to the special Hokkaido set and were
released in minute quantities several weeks after the set's initial date of
issue. The three cards are Ichiro's
earliest Calbees and therefore are his Calbee rookie cards.
Beginning in late 1995, a person appeared, both in
Japan and in the U.S., selling large quantities of "scarce 1994 Calbee
Hokkaido Hideo Nomo, Hideki Matsui and Ichiro cards" to surprised
collectors. The cards were quickly judged to be counterfeit. This person made a
reappearance in 2001 with his previously unsold counterfeit Calbee Hokkaido
Ichiro cards, most notably at the 2001 All Star Fanfest in Seattle. During this
time, several thousand of the counterfeit cards were sold in the U.S. and
Japan. Unfortunately, quite a few of the cards made it into slabbed holders
before the various authenticating companies became aware of the fraud.
It's easy to spot a counterfeit 1994 Calbee Hokkaido
Ichiro card if you know what you are looking for, and you have an authentic
card for comparison. Please look at the side-by-side card reverse images
presented here. The card on the left is the authentic card offered in this
auction. The card on the right is counterfeit. Counterfeit cards had too much
purple color used in the printing process. Please note that the orange boxes
near the center of the authentic card are a much lighter color than the boxes
on the counterfeit card. Also, Ichiro's thumbnail photo has a much more purple
cast in the face and background of the counterfeit card.
If you ever purchased
all three Ichiro Calbee Hokkaido Rookies at once, you can be virtually assured
that they are counterfeit, because it was nearly impossible to find even one of
these cards in the original packs. It would have taken quite improbable luck
for the same person to open packs containing all three cards, or even to find a
person who could sell him the ones he or she was missing. We guarantee that
this card is absolutely 100% authentic and will provide a letter of
authenticity for the winning bidder should he or she request one.
Size: 2 1/4" X 3 3/8"
Condition:
PSA 10
Not Counterfeit