With all the counterfeit 1986-1987 Fleer Michael Jordon Rookie cards out there it's hard to find an authentic card . If you're shopping on EBay hoping to find one of these gems you have to be careful . I've seen people spending as much as $3,000 - $4,000 on a fake . It's nothing to see people bidding a couple hundred dollars on counterfeit Michael Jordon Rookie .

The 1986-1987 Fleer Michael Jordon Rookie card is one of the most sought after cards out there . It's The Holy Grail of basketball cards . I'd like to show you how to spot a counterfeit 1986-1987 Fleer Michael Jordon Rookie card .

The card above is an authentic 1986-1987 Fleer Michael Jordon Rookie  . While the card below is a high grade counterfeit meant to fool the inexperienced collector . Notice the white line below Bulls * Guard-Forward , it's an obvious fake  . The back of the card looks authentic with the white clearly visible in the bulls eyes , but it's not. Don't judge the card to be authentic just because you can see the white clearly in the bulls eyes .


                                                                         

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 A quick glance at the images above shows how it can be confusing to decide whether a Michael Jordan rookie card is real or fake. While there are differences, even to the naked eye, only a very experienced collector could easily determine the authenticity of a Michael Jordan rookie card from a quick glance, especially if they are not able to inspect the card personally.

 

Clarity

When looking at the front of the card, the first thing to pay attention to is the overall clarity. The clarity of the image, the clarity of the text, and the clarity of the colors. Sometimes, that is all it takes to immediately spot a fake. The text box at the bottom should feature cleanly printed text with a clear transition from the white text to the blue background, even under magnification.
Also, under magnification, the thin black line that parallels the yellow border should be solid across the entire card and not pixelated at all. Another thing to note is that the red, white and blue background colors should not overlap at all. The "Chicago" text on Jordan's jersey should be crisp and every letter should be legible.


                                                                   Fake

  

Color

The red, white and blue border on the real rookie card features distinct colors. Convincing fakes will be normally be a tad brighter or darker, and poor fakes will exhibit colors that are much different.

Another color element to look for is the arrow in the Fleer logo crown. The real version features a darker yellow/gold and is clearly a different color than the yellow text box. Many fakes will include the same color yellow in both the arrow and text box. The color difference is abundantly clear in an authentic version.

  Clarity

The first thing to check on the back of the card is the Chicago Bulls logo. With the real Bulls logo, you are able to see the white around the eye, under magnification. On the fake, the ink around the eye bleeds together.

There are several other things that can signify a fake card. One is the clarity of decimals in the stats, specifically the one in "27.2" average points. The decimal will be clear to the naked eye on the real version and nearly nonexistent on many of the fakes. Also, the decimals listed in field goal percentage are generally very faint on the fakes. Next, the © symbol on the bottom left, in front of "1986 FLEER CORP," should be clearly legible. Likewise, the ® symbol in the top left near the Fleer logo should be easily read.
Not to mention, the NBA Player logo in the bottom right should show a clear "NBA PLAYERS" in the middle of the ball, and "NATIONAL BASKETBALL PLAYERS ASSOCIATION," around the ball. Also, the logo itself is a basketball. With the real Michael Jordan rookie card, you should be able to see the faint lines that are indicative of a basketball. The fake version will normally have just a filled circle.

                                                                 Fake

Color

Again, color plays an important role on the back of the card, but since the color can vary from fake to fake, and it's mostly just various shades of pink and red, it is not something you can specifically point to as a rule. However, the back of the Michael Jordan rookie card that directly applies to color is the pink and red color blocks that take up the majority of the back. The real version appears more textured, while the fake looks more like a fully filled-in color.
Also, the white background has more of an off-white appearance on the real version, while many of the fakes exhibit a brighter white color.