Telling the difference from GI & GW

[ruhoos]

I'm really starting to dive into the hobby of game worn jerseys and getting away from sports cards.

For reference, what's the best way of telling (or is there any way) if a jersey is game issued or game worn without any COA? I'm especially curious about NBA jerseys.

Thanks everyone in advance for the help!

I'm a "newby" here in terms of posting and have already acquired some great jerseys from some of the long-time members here.

[warrick131]

I am pretty much in the exact same situation as you (switching from cards & collecting NBA). I think the best way to tell if a jersey is worn as opposed to issued is photomatching it. That way you know for a fact that it was worn and when it was worn.

[stlbats]

Sometimes there is not much way to tell at all if a jersey doesn't show much use. Use meaning piling, snags, tears, wash wear, heavy wear/wash wear on the tagging and numbers. Of course the team issued and used jerseys have different inside tag numbers than retail jerseys. This is important to look at. Also make sure the inside tagging looks factory and hasn't been sewn differently as several fake jerseys have surfaced where people have altered the inside wash tag. Also a game issued jersey should sell for less than a game used one. Most reputable sellers will price this accordingly.

As you probably already know, dont put much stock into a COA. Unfortunately, unless I buy it personally straight from the team, I pretty much consider everything fake until I can prove it differently.

Not sure if this really answered your questions or not, but maybe it helped.

Thanks
Jason
stlbats@bellsouth.net

[sox83cubs84]

Even a LOA doesn't always identify items correctly in this regard. Major League Baseball's policy is for a jersey to be deemed "game-issued", regardless of evident wear, unless the MLB authenticator is given the item immediately after usage/wearing by the player.

Dave Miedema