Dad learns Pokémon, part 3: how to spot fake cards
My son collects Pokémon. I have no idea what it’s all about. Like me, do you just shrug your shoulders at the mention of this topic? Then join me as I chat to the experts. This time, I’m going to learn how to spot counterfeit cards.
«I have twelve cards here, but only three of them are genuine. Can you tell which ones?» Patrick Landis, the Pokémon pro at TwoMoons, lays out the dubious collectibles on a table in front of us at the trading card and board game bar in Stettbach. Before I can even begin to take stock of them, my son has already picked out the genuine cards. «That was so quick!» say Patrick and Jonas Rudin, one of the founders of the TCG store, who’s also an expert in this field. Yet again, I can’t keep up. My head’s spinning from all the information that’s been coming at me nonstop for a while now.
I’ve started to understand what collecting’s all about and what makes the Pokémon Company so successful at catering to the market. I’ve also learned quite a bit about the sophisticated grading system for these collectibles and about the sometimes jaw-dropping sums of money the cards can be worth.
Now let’s talk about the downside – fake cards. They’re found all over the world, and anyone who falls for them will end up disappointed – and rightly so.
It can happen anywhere.
«The playground’s definitely a place where some younger kids get tricked by older ones,» says Jonas. It happens online too. And many tourists bring back dubious items from their travels.
«I often hear that parents buy counterfeit Pokémon packs while on holiday, which is how they end up in circulation here in Switzerland,» Patrick explains. Some people probably don’t realise that the supposed bargains from Spain, Turkey or Thailand are fake.
«I’ve also seen fake booster packs being sold for 1.50 euros in Greece,» my son chimes in. «Yeah, you’d realise right away,» Jonas smiles. Everyone would know what was going on – except me. So let’s go through the ways to spot counterfeit cards step by step.
I begin to understand why, at the start, it took my son no time at all to pick the three real cards from the fakes: «For newbies, the easiest thing to do is to look at the back first,» explains Patrick.
1. Colours that aren’t quite right
The Western cards have a dark blue border on the back. And this border seems to drive many counterfeiters to the brink of despair – they just can’t get the shade right. «That’s why you should always have some kind of reference card with you,» says Patrick. In fact, the colour of the counterfeits we have before us is noticeably different. They’re paler or have a purplish tint.
«This test isn’t 100 per cent foolproof, but if the saturation isn’t right, that’s a definite red flag.» In other words – all your alarm bells should be ringing. Some counterfeits do match the colour, but they’re rare. Even rarer are misprints – official cards with valuable printing errors.
2. The torch trick
Jonas pulls out his smartphone, turns on the torch and holds a card up to it. «With an English or German card, no light should shine through,» he explains. Then he picks up another card, one that looks normal to me: «This is what happens with a fake.»
The light passes through easily, and the outlines of the LED are visible on it. I’ve learned that if this happens with a German or English card – which is what we’re focusing on here – it’s a problem. This is because all Western cards are constructed like a sandwich – with a dark layer in the middle that’s opaque and robust.
That’s nice and straightforward. But it’s Pokémon we’re talking about after all, so it’s actually more complicated than that: «Go ahead and open the Japanese pack,» says Jonas. «The trick doesn’t work here.» I immediately see what he means. The light shines right through these intricately designed Japanese cards.
Huh? Does this mean the cards are produced more cheaply in Pokémon’s home country? «It’s a different manufacturer than in the rest of the world,» Jonas explains. Obviously, that one creates high-quality prints, but it uses a different process. Japanese cards are stiffer, have smoother surfaces, and – when fresh out of a booster pack – are much less likely to have annoying damage at the edges.
In addition to run-of-the-mill cards, there are additional hurdles when it comes to special, rare specimens – hurdles that generally make it (too) difficult for counterfeiters to produce perfect fakes.
3. Telltale ridges
Even without a torch, special cards provide enough clues to spot fakes. «This VMAX doesn’t shine as brightly, and fakes often have straight ridges instead of diagonal ones,» my son explains, while it finally dawns on me that I probably don’t need to worry about his knowledge of Pokémon. He spotted the details that needed to be checked.
For one thing, Special Illustration Rares and other rare Full Art cards have a unique texture that’s difficult to replicate. The micro-ridges are stamped into the card and don’t simply run straight but follow specific patterns. «We have real cards here, and we can see exactly what you’re talking about,» Jonas confirms to my son, and then, turning to me, he adds, «You can see the intricate ridges – they’re not that easy to counterfeit.»
Not only do counterfeits often fall short on this front, they also lack that distinctive sheen. The holographic effect provides the next clue.
4. Cheap foiling
Holos are more common and don’t necessarily have that ridged texture. Foiling creates the rainbow-like effect. The light refracts differently depending on the angle you view the cards from, unlike many fakes that simply reflect light like a colourful mirror. «Here we have a card where the foiling doesn’t have any specific sheen – if anything, just a straight one,» Jonas says, demonstrating the effect. I have to admit, it does look a little cheap. Instead of enhancing the card’s artwork, attempts to counterfeit it often have the opposite effect.
The sheen is missing or is too strong and causes excessive glare. The image looks matt, washed-out and low in contrast because the holographic film is simply on top of it instead of underneath it. It sometimes also covers the text and borders, whereas these areas are left blank on real cards. The pattern – whether the sheen runs straight or diagonally across the card – can also be a clue, if you know what to look for. «In earlier generations, it was sometimes done differently than it is today,» says Patrick.
I’d probably still be easily fooled by a reasonably well-made fake. That’s not the only reason Patrick advises always carrying out a comparison if you have even the slightest doubt.
5. Using the internet
An image search quickly provides reference images of the original version of any card. Patrick uses the counterfeit one from the picture above as an example. «When I type in ’Pikachu Zekrom SM168’ and click on Images, I’m immediately shown pictures of graded cards,» Patrick demonstrates. This valuable card is often counterfeited because the original is smooth and doesn’t have that ridged texture that would make it difficult to replicate. However, it has matt foiling – unlike the fake card Patrick uses to show me the difference: «The foiling is really overdone on that one.»
It’s also important to search using the collector number, which is in the bottom left corner. In the case of this promotional card, it’s SM168. For cards from regular sets, for example, the number is 033/181 – the first number refers to the card, and the second to the number of cards in the set. «Of course, you can also just take a picture and ask an AI program, ‘Hey, what kind of card is this?’» says Patrick. But it’s more fun to hear real stories from the TCG Store – because they amaze newbies like me.
Elaborate counterfeiting attempts
«We’ve been looking at some relatively poorly made fakes,» says Jonas. Even I’ve learned to tell the difference. «But we’ve also had cases of counterfeit slabs.» That’s the name of the sealed plastic cases in which cards are permanently encased after being professionally graded and which have the grade printed on them. Before that happens, the experts check not only the card’s condition but also, of course, whether it’s genuine. Collectors trust in this judgement. That’s a tempting prospect for scammers.
«Of course it’s not impossible to crack into slabs – you can open them somehow,» Jonas continues. So how can you spot counterfeits if you can’t immediately tell that they’ve been tampered with by looking at poorly glued seams? The best-known supplier of grading services is PSA. «With these graded cards, for example, I can see the PSA pattern at the top of the label under black light,» explains Jonas, and Patrick adds: «It’s basically like a banknote with various security features that you can check off one by one.» He has already been able to spot counterfeits based on minute differences in the font and barcode.
If you enter the certification number on the slab on PSA’s website or with the respective supplier, you’ll often see a high-resolution image of the original and can continue your investigation of the card. «That way, you can compare the condition of newer submissions on a one-to-one basis,» Patrick explains. The rating agencies began doing this a few years ago – for good reason.
Counterfeiters will go to any length to succeed in their deception. A genuine card with a fake top rating is just as possible as the opposite scenario: «In one instance, we had a fake card from 1997 encased in a genuine slab. We don’t know how it ended up there,» Jonas says. To at least make counterfeiting more difficult, you shouldn’t post pictures of valuable graded cards online that show the certification number and barcode.
Fatal gaps in knowledge
Whether online or in real life – those who know more always have the advantage. This can mean that entire collections change hands for a pittance. «Once, someone who’d bought a box of Magic cards for 20 Swiss francs at a flea market came into our store,» Jonas says. «It contained cards worth 40,000 Swiss francs.» Good for him, but too bad for the parent who, without a second thought, sold off valuable collectibles from their child’s room.
In the end, it’s always the clueless ones who get the short end of the stick. The chances of this happening to me in 20 years are decreasing. Either because my son won’t lose interest in his growing collection – or because I’m now at least wise enough not to sell it at a flea market for a few Swiss francs.
Simple writer and dad of two who likes to be on the move, wading through everyday family life. Juggling several balls, I'll occasionally drop one. It could be a ball, or a remark. Or both.
Interesting facts about products, behind-the-scenes looks at manufacturers and deep-dives on interesting people.
Show all
