What Are Fake Pokemon Cards?
Collectors are affected as well.
A single fake card in a collection casts doubt on the authenticity of the entire collection.
Proxies Vs. Counterfeits
Players testing new decks oftenuse proxies to represent cards prior to purchasing them.
Oftenplayers will use translated copies of unreleased cards to playtest themprior to a set being released outside of Japan.
Like counterfeits,proxies are not legalfor tournament play.
Here are a few tips to avoid accidentally adding any more fake cards to your collection.
Read The Card
The lowest-quality counterfeitsoften have telltale mistakes in their spelling or grammar.
If you gently run your fingernail over the grooves you should be able to feel it clicking through them.
The highest qualitycounterfeits started to apply a convincing texture around 2021, which makes this test less reliable.
The most obvious tell is thatthe card has the wrong back.
This includes having a Japanese back on any non-Japanese printings.
All English Pokemon cards havethe same back except promotional itemslike the Ancient Mew and the World Championship decks.
Color is another good indicator.
Meanwhile, GX Pokemon have a wavy, diagonal foil pattern, but only behind the Pokemon.
Touch And Feel
The feel of genuine Pokemon cards is difficult to replicate.
Don’t bend cards that you don’t ownto test them, as this could damage legitimate cards.
It alsorequires you to have enough experience with Pokemon cardsto be able to feel the difference.
Research
There are plenty of sites that host card databases, includingpokemon.com.
If you look very closely at the side of a real card you might make out these layers.
Eventually, you’ll start to recognize fakes before you consciously realize how you know they aren’t authentic.
If something feels off about the cards or the seller, walk away.
Logan Paul hit a Roadblock instead of a Charizard.
