Got burned on a $300 fantasy map that was just a photoshop job

I bought a framed map off eBay last month that claimed to be an old explorers map of an uncharted island chain. Paid $300 for it because the seller had good reviews and the listing looked legit. When it arrived, I noticed the paper texture was off and the ink was bleeding weird. I took it to a local print shop and the guy there said it was printed on textured cardstock maybe 2 years ago tops. The seller ghosted me after I asked for a refund. Has anyone else dealt with fake antique maps that look too good to be true?

2 comments

2 Comments

kelly_coleman611mo agoOG Member

Wait, did you check if the seller had any other listings of similar maps? I got burned on a fake vintage poster last year, it was supposed to be a 1920s travel ad but the colors were way too bright and it smelled like new ink when I opened it. The guy told me it was a "restored original" which I later learned is code for "we printed it yesterday in a basement". I actually drove two hours to a map collector show after that and talked to a guy who showed me how to spot the fakes by looking at the paper edges under a blacklight. Now I only buy from people who post pictures of the back of the map too, that's where the real clues are.

ninasanchez1mo ago

@kelly_coleman61 you nailed it about the back of the map being the tell. I started asking sellers for a photo of the backside too after that print shop guy showed me how modern paper has a real uniform fuzz to it versus old rag paper thats rough and uneven. The blacklight trick is solid, it'll hit those brighteners they add to new paper. Even the ghosting thing you mentioned, I had a seller swear up and down a map was "archival restored" but the ink was all wrong when I bent the corner a little.