This game-used [or was it event worn] swatch from some player's jersey card isn't guaranteed to be from anything - I just grabbed it online to have a picture up.
I still like jersey cards but liking them isn't the same as valuing them considering what the swatches on the cards may or may not actually represent - from I read on the Blowout Cards forums, Panini's high-end football cards product [one that costs $1,349.95 for a pack of 10 cards] was exposed when suspicious looking swatches were inserted into memorabilia cards.
Panini deemed the apparent mistake a mislabeling issue but it's a joke when a company can't even get things right in their top of the line football card product - cards featuring game used swatches have fallen out of favor because collectors just don't know if they are holding something that is all made up, but there is still an allure to getting a sweet patch card, along with an autograph.
When there is big money involved, the fraud trickles down from the big time collector of actual memorabilia being duped to a card collector - animated with the cool things you can do with a trading card.
As is, a card company maybe oblivious when cards collectors want something that is too good to be true - a card company wants to sell product, maybe do a little 'razzle-dazzle' in the process, but maybe the logistics in trying to secure the real deal, means settling for something less than true, like reality TV.
I used to laugh when bloggers would occasionally rant about the COA / fine print on memorabilia inserts cards - but with the Authentic Sports Investments / Bradley Wells game-used scam was
exposed in 2012, the
New York Giants memorabilia lawsuit and now this, it showed just hard it is to secure a game worn jersey / uniform from any number of professional athletes, chop them up and get assorted swatches on cards.
If game used memorabilia cards have to be created, make it where it's easy to get things right - get items direct from teams [with good provenance, not just a blanket 'it's good' seal of approval] from specific events / games / workouts.
Even being right most of the time doesn't mean it isn't flawed or the process is clean - so more care should be taken to label things clearly so there is no confusion.
In the end, maybe the focus should be on manufactured memorabilia cards - so no one has to worry about where a particular swatch came from.
