1986 Star Michael Jordan Set: Spotting Type II Counterfeits

We’ve discussed Type II Counterfeits on the blog quite a bit, but if you need a refresher, you can read our ‘History Of Star Cards’ piece. Long story short, a former Star employee released factory rejects into the hobby. These were not authorized issues.

The good thing is that identifying the Type II Jordan cards is fairly easy–as the same characteristics apply to the Patrick Ewing rookie card and other cards from the 85-86 Series Two Star Issue.

The important thing that I will note about these cards and all of the other Type IIs is that the grading companies missed these cards early on. Thus, even when buying a graded copy, be sure to make sure it is not a Type II. Hopefully, this guide will help educate you on the differences.

The borders are the key to telling the difference between a Type II Michael Jordan counterfeit and a real card. On the Type II cards, the white border is spilled out (mainly) all around. The originals have some spillage on the borders, but not all around.

The key to identifying Type IIs is to compare the card in question to an original card. For a reference, please see our profile on the 1986 Star Michael Jordan set, which features a gallery of authentic cards you can use as a comparison.

Here is one example. The card on the left is a Type II — look at the left border and see how the white extends over the left of the black line on the outside. This isn’t the case on the actual card next to it.

Then, if you look at the right side of the border, you’ll see on the Type II that the white border extends on the inside, whereas on the real card, it only overlaps a bit on the outside.

star-jordan-roy — An authentic STAR Jordan ROY

Here’s another example– with the ‘Pro Stats’ card from the set. Take a look at how on the top white border surrounding the image, the white spills out over the top…and the same thing on the inner left and bottom borders…also surrounding the Bulls logo.

A Type II ‘Pro Stats’ Jordan Counterfeit

Now if we compare this to the real card, you can hopefully notice that the border is a lot cleaner. There is some white overlap, but not as much.

real-pro-stats-jordan — An authentic Star Pro Stats Jordan card

Here’s one more example. Check out the pure sloppiness of the white in that border—all over the place.

type-ii-jordan-checklist — A Type Two #1 1986 Star Jordan

And then compare it to the real card below. Again, note that the real cards tend to have some white border displacement. The common area on this card is that small white spot below the Bulls logo on the outside border.

Also, note that an authentic 1986 Star Jordan #1 Checklist card has a small black dot above the H on the bottom border. If this is missing, it is a fake or a Type II counterfeit.

star-1-check — A real 1986 Star Jordan #1 Checklist

Another critical area to examine is the back borders of the card. On an original card, red ink typically bleeds on the top and right side of the card, as shown in this authentic copy. The Type II counterfeits will not have this sort of ink bleed unless artificially added after the fact: