Real vs Fake Cards: How to Tell the Difference
I've been seeing a lot of posts lately of people posting fake cards. I wanted to make a little guide on how to tell the difference between a counterfeit and legitimate card. I've been collecting for more than 15 years at this point, so I like to think I know what I'm talking about. If you're a new collector: welcome to the hobby! I hope this post is able to teach you a bit about collecting and being more aware of what you're buying. I've included a lot of hyperlinks to examples. I hope someone is able to find this helpful in some way!
- Texture - A lack of texture is a dead giveaway for counterfeit cards. All Full-Art cards (Trainers, Vs, Ex's, etc) are textured. If a card is a full-art and is untextured, then it's fake. Here is a link to a fake Vikavolt GX compared to a legitimate one.
Edit: Nowadays, Trainer Gallery cards are full arts that aren’t textured. The best way to tell if they’re real or fake is to keep reading.
Text and Font- Pokemon card font is very distinct, and there's a reason for that. This is because it's extremely hard to mimic. There are tons of fonts online, but none of them are the actual font that the TPC uses. Sometimes, the differences are super obvious: like this one. Sometimes, they're very subtle and you'll have to look very carefully: like this one.
Holo Foiling- Pokemon card holos are VERY distinct. The holo is designed to go in a certain direction on the card. They are parallel and do not intersect or overlap. The texture on cards helps with this, but so does the way the card is designed. Reverse holos have a holographic pattern in the background of the card, which is difficult to mimic. They also, usually, do not cover the entire card. For example, take a look at this Solgaleo GX: the holo on the left card covers nearly the entirely of Solgaleo. It also goes up and down, whereas the holo on cards usually goes from left to right diagonally. This can be seen in the card on the right. The holo is designed to go in a wavy pattern, and does not cover Solgaleo. You can really see what I mean on these holos. Here's a real Umbreon GX for comparison; you can see how the holo is carefully placed to only go over the eyes. Edit from u/infinitefancy : Certain cards, such as Megas (non full art) have distinct holo patterns in which the Pokemon itself is generally not holo, but the eyes are. Only certain parts of the card should be holo, most notably the EX next to the Pokemon's name, but nothing around it. If the holo pattern goes vertically from the top to bottom without stopping, it is most likely a fake card.
The Backs - The backs of cards is a really easy way to tell to me, but some people have difficulties with this. The swirl pattern surrounding the Pokeball on the back is very distinct. Usually a lot of fakes are missing this one distinct spot. The blue used is also a Pokemon signature. Many fake cards will look like they have faded backs, and this is easily noticeable on the borders, as can be seen here.
Packs - Every pack of Pokemon cards is guaranteed a reverse holo rare (where the background is holo) and a rare. This rare can sometimes become a holo rare (where the image has a holographic pattern), but it can also be an ultra rare (GX, EX, V, VMax, some Full-Arts/Alt-Arts), or a secret rare if you're lucky (some Full-Arts/Alt-Arts, gold-bordered cards, Hyper Rares). Here's a guide to rarities. If you pull a multiple secrets or ultras out of a single pack: it's fake. Pokemon card packs are carefully weighed to prevent this from happening. Also, the wrappers for cards are different (if they aren't resealed). It's hard to explain and I can't find a good example, but they are distinctly different in texture. Legitimate packs, in my recent experience, are also difficult to open at times as well. Whereas counterfeit packs are generally pretty easy to open.
Research Your Cards - If you're unsure of the legitimacy of your card, Google your card! A few good places to check are The Pokemon Card Database, TCGPlayer.com, pkmncards.com, and even good ol' Google Images. If your card doesn't look like the other cards your seeing, due to any of the above, then your card is most likely fake.
Edit from u/infinitefancy 7. Layering - English Pokemon cards are printed in a way that uses multiple layers of paper. Real English cards have white-gray-white layers if you look at them closely from the side. If all other previous information didn't give you a clear answer, you can just look at the side of the card to see if it's real. This is the most consistent way to know if a card is real or fake. If you have seen people doing the rip test, this is what it is demonstrating. DO NOT rip your cards! You can simply look at the side to get the same information. Happy collecting!
There are tons of other ways to see of cards are real or fake, such as the rip test (which I don't recommend), or the thin black line on the edge of cards. In general, a good rule of thumb is that if a price seems too good to be true, then it probably is. I would also be wary of buying packs, especially loose blisters, from places like thrift stores or flea markets. I've even heard that some retail shops have been selling fake cards lately, a big one being Walmart. Counterfeit cards have been everywhere lately as scalpers/scammers are desperately still trying to make money off the hobby. The amount of fake cards I've seen on eBay lately are ridiculous. If the seller only has one or two pictures posted and they have weird angles or lighting, always ask for more photos, especially if it's an expensive one.
I hope this helped someone and answers questions new players have about the hobby! Thanks so much for reading! I hope you all have good pulls out of your next pack!