Piedmont Cards / ACE Authenticated Babe Ruth Signed Silver Certificates

[Leon]

Originally Posted by old13man

Wonder where his stuff will pop up next?

The natural progression would be Craig's List.

[Mr. Zipper]

This is quite stunning.

Sure puts Frank's carping about TPAs in a different light.

[David Atkatz]

I'm still here--and on eBay--and I don't like TPAs either.

[Mr. Zipper]

Originally Posted by David Atkatz

I'm still here--and on eBay--and I don't like TPAs either.

Well, we all know that!

Although, apparently your motive for not liking TPAs is quite different.

[Rickyy]

Originally Posted by Big Dave

Frank,

There was also a check on your website made out to Babe Ruth and endorsed on the back by him. This check was drawn on the Bank of Manhattan Company. The check was from a Louise B......

Do not waste your money sending that check to JSA either. Spence did certify one of those last year as genuine and the seller put it on eBay with the JSA letter. Apparently, someone contacted Spence after the auction was listed. Spence then contacted the seller and stated he was decertifying the check and invalidating the Letter of Authenticity he had given. For some reason he now stated the Babe Ruth signature on the back of the check was not authentic. This is from information the seller added to the auction after a quite a few people bid on it.

Now keep in mind, the check was reviewed in person by JSA, so they did examine it thoroughly and certified it as a genuine Babe Ruth signature, in their opinion. But later on, JSA stated the signature was not authentic and invalidated the original Letter of Authenticity that they issued.

Maybe it is authentic one day, and maybe it isn't the next. We really don't know.

I have seen a number of these checks over the years, and to my knowledge these are authentic. I have seen these checks in Heritage Auctions, and other places. Spence thought these checks were authentic too. Why that changed, I have no idea.

I wonder they then issued a letter of inauthencity.... heh.

Ricky Y

[Exhibitman]

Scary stuff, that's for sure.

I was nearly burned on a Marciano wife-signed piece; I recognized the handwriting instantly when I saw the exemplars posted here. It was a PC postmarked in 1956, so he was having her sign stuff even then. JSA caught and rejected it at the National.

[thetruthisoutthere]

I was checking out some of the putrid crap on the Sept. 2011 Coach's Corner auctions and counted 134 autograph auctions that are certed by ACE (Justin Priddy). Much more than Chris Morales or Ted Taylor.

No surprise here.

I wanted to add that of the 134 auctions that are certed by ACE (Justin Priddy) 124 do not contain photos. How convenient for Justin and Coach's Corner.

[RichardSimon]

Guess Justin is the new favored authenticator for the Roaches.
Way to go Justin!!
Wonder how Mssrs. Taylor and Morales feel about that.
It is a shot at their pocketbook, so I am sure they are not happy.

[slidekellyslide]

I invited Justin to come over and participate in these threads, but haven't heard back...I wonder why?

[mr2686]

Guess Justin is the new favored authenticator for the Roaches.
Way to go Justin!!
Wonder how Mssrs. Taylor and Morales feel about that.
It is a shot at their pocketbook, so I am sure they are not happy.

Actually, this is probably a way to get some of the heat off of Morales and Taylor buy adding another "experienced" authenticator that agrees with their, um, expert opinions.

[thetruthisoutthere]

Originally Posted by slidekellyslide

I invited Justin to come over and participate in these threads, but haven't heard back...I wonder why?

Dan, there is nothing that Justin can say to defend his authenticating those cut sigs and, of course, his failure to ask the question "How did you (Frank) come to acquire these 13 Christy Mathewson and 42 Babe Ruth cut signatures?"

If Justin didn't raise an eyebrow to being asked to cert all of those cut sigs then he is totally clueless.

[GrayGhost]

And of course, as Chris and others have said, what MORON customer would not be curious as to how a dealer gets SO MANY similar "cuts" and such of difficult and/or popular signatures. Blind faith can get get you ripped off.

[travrosty]

there is a wife signed marciano on ebay right now, i am trying to get it removed., maybe it is the same postcard, or a similar one, but definitely no good.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/ROCKY-MARCIA...item19c8038e0e


but ebay is slow to respond, most of the time i report something with proof, not just specualation, it just remains up, very frustrating. (sigh!)


there is also a marciano preprint on ebay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rocky-Marcia...item2566beb959

------------------------


http://joeheavyweight.com/rockymarciano.aspx

both of these examples are on my marciano page, near the bottom.

[David Atkatz]

Originally Posted by thetruthisoutthere

If Justin didn't raise an eyebrow to being asked to cert all of those cut sigs then he is totally clueless.

He's not clueless at all. Just dishonest.

[mighty bombjack]

Originally Posted by GrayGhost

And of course, as Chris and others have said, what MORON customer would not be curious as to how a dealer gets SO MANY similar "cuts" and such of difficult and/or popular signatures. Blind faith can get get you ripped off.

This was what raised my curiosity. I saw that Piedmont Sports had listed a Christy Mathewson signed "Won in the Ninth" presentation copy on ebay. I saw that it had an ACE cert, and had not only never heard of that company, but had heard (on this very MB among other places) that some of the presentation copies of that particular book were secretarily signed. Why would this book, of all treasured items, have a lower-tier cert attached to it?

The book vanished from ebay after a couple of days (no doubt due to the cert), so I went to Piedmont Cards' website and my jaw dropped when I saw the sheer number of Mathewson, Ruth, and Gehrig autos for sale with ACE and AMA (?) certs. I've never seen such an inventory (but then again, no one else has, either).

That was more than enough for me to write off the legitimacy of ACE and AMA. Sadly, it makes me want to write off Piedmont Sports as well. To his credit, Frank has taken the stuff off of his website. To his detriment, he listed it in the first place. At best he is a rube who got taken, and at worst he is a party to the growing number of pre-war autograph forgeries that are turning up.

I'd still like to see that Matty book and get some of the other members' opinions of it. Not that I could afford a legit copy right now.

Wayne Walker

[Leon]

Something to consider is the advertising that F.Prisco did on almost (if not all) of his listings on ebay. It went something like this...to paraphrase-

"I have been in the business for over 25 years and have seen it all"


Ok, so since that is what he promoted about himself, how many on this board think he was duped with that many Matty signatures?
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[mr2686]

His main problem was that he thought the rest of us hadn't seen it all!

[thetruthisoutthere]

Originally Posted by Leon

Something to consider is the advertising that F.Prisco did on almost (if not all) of his listings on ebay. It went something like this...to paraphrase-

"I have been in the business for over 25 years and have seen it all"


Ok, so since that is what he promoted about himself, how many on this board think he was duped with that many Matty signatures?
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You get duped when you buy one; you ARE NOT duped when you purchase seventeen (I'm including the four he claimed he already sold on top of the thirteen discussed here).

You get duped when you buy one Babe Ruth cut; you ARE NOT duped when you purchase 42 Babe Ruth cut signatures.

[David Atkatz]

Originally Posted by mighty bombjack

To his credit, Frank has taken the stuff off of his website.

To his credit!? It's called hiding the evidence. He's runnin' scared.

[barrysloate]

Frank wasn't duped, nor was Priddy. Each knows exactly what he is doing.

[gnaz01]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

frank wasn't duped, nor was priddy. Each knows exactly what he is doing.

amen!! :d

Didn't know his entire website was shut down!! Did he skip town??

[slidekellyslide]

Originally Posted by gnaz01

amen!! :d

Didn't know his entire website was shut down!! Did he skip town??

Call him up and ask him...he listed his phone number in his contact info on this forum.

888-811-6580

[mighty bombjack]

Originally Posted by gnaz01

amen!! :d

Didn't know his entire website was shut down!! Did he skip town??

His site wasn't shut down, but his eBay account was. He still has plenty of autos for sale on his site, but anything with ace/AMA certs has been removed.

[gnaz01]

Originally Posted by mighty bombjack

His site wasn't shut down, but his eBay account was. He still has plenty of autos for sale on his site, but anything with ace/AMA certs has been removed.

When you go to his site, http://www.piedmontsport.com/, and you go to his "store" all it says is:

"Piedmont Sport's webpage is currently under construction please check back in with us shortly for quality autographs.
Buying and Selling Vintage Cards & Memorabilia for over 25 years !

Including signed vintage and modern photographs, letters and equipment.
Baseball, Football, Boxing and other sports!

We are one of the largest dealers in the business, offering buying, selling and trading. Purchasing single and multiple cards, in addition to autographs and other memorabilia. Contact us today!"

[mighty bombjack]

Originally Posted by gnaz01

When you go to his site, http://www.piedmontsport.com/, and you go to his "store" all it says is:

"Piedmont Sport's webpage is currently under construction please check back in with us shortly for quality autographs.
Buying and Selling Vintage Cards & Memorabilia for over 25 years !

Including signed vintage and modern photographs, letters and equipment.
Baseball, Football, Boxing and other sports!

We are one of the largest dealers in the business, offering buying, selling and trading. Purchasing single and multiple cards, in addition to autographs and other memorabilia. Contact us today!"

Yet if you click on "Store" and then "Autographs" you can see that he still has a lot for sale, most with JSA certs.

[travrosty]

Piedmont Sport is listed on ACE's website as an authorized dealer, whatever that means. It would be hard to claim ignorance when a business alliance has been established. Don't people normally check out businesses when they go into an agreement with them to be an authorized dealer?

[GrayGhost]

Well, since he took down the ones w ACE certs, one would argue that maybe he is genuinely upset/surprised. Of course, one could also argue that he palmed those off some place else.

Its not a good situation, and another black mark on the greatest hobby in the world. Really sad.

[RichardSimon]

Ghost there are so many black marks now that you cannot enjoy this the same way that you used to.
I realize that even the art world has its major problems but it does seem that collecting sports items has attracted more vermin than all the other hobbies combined.

[Mr. Zipper]

Originally Posted by RichardSimon

Ghost there are so many black marks now that you cannot enjoy this the same way that you used to.
I realize that even the art world has its major problems but it does seem that this collecting sports items has attracted more vermin than all the others combined.

Big bucks + people desperate to get what they "need" = perfect environment for con men.

[travrosty]

If he is embarrassed, why hasn't he called up ACE and asked to be taken down off of their list of authorized ACE dealers then? I don't get it.

[David Atkatz]

What's not to get? He and Priddy are in cahoots, and they're both thieves.

[travrosty]

piedmont sport is acting like he had no idea that priddy was so bad at authenticating autographs, when obviously they had a previous long lasting professional relationship. how could you not know? he seems to be feigning surprise, in the meantime he has numerous mathewson and ruth's, more than any serious collector with unlimited funds could probably ever put together in one collection.

[slidekellyslide]

I heard a rumor that the Matty and Ruth autos were for sale at the East Coast National.

[thetruthisoutthere]

Originally Posted by slidekellyslide

I heard a rumor that the Matty and Ruth autos were for sale at the East Coast National.

If that's true, it sure wouldn't surprise me.

[Scott Garner]

Originally Posted by slidekellyslide

I heard a rumor that the Matty and Ruth autos were for sale at the East Coast National.

If that rumor is true, we have a skank.
Very sad!!

[RichardSimon]

I am shocked, shocked to find forgeries being sold at a baseball card show.
Of all the card shows in all the towns in all the world, he walks into this one.
Justin, I think this could have been the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Round up the usual suspects.
Here's looking at you, Justin.

[travrosty]

of all the gin joints in the world, he walks into mine.

i think ace does a great job, proving quality, accurate authentications at an economical price providing great value to the consumer.

did we all throw up in our mouth a little bit reading that?

a lot of his michael jackson signatures are horrendous, and there is so many of them.

also a lot of his mike tyson. just horrendous in my not so humble opinion.

[Big Six]

It looked like Piedmont closed up shop early today in white plains...didn't hear any reason why...around 2:00ish...

[mr2686]

He probably heard that the postal police were coming!

[RichardSimon]

When shows were actually good, Gloria Rothstein ran the White Plains show and dealers were not allowed to leave early, upon penalty of losing your table.
When shows started to lose their appeal and luster, dealers would start packing it in early on Sunday with no fear of her threats. The room would be mostly empty by 2pm on Sunday.

[Big Dave]

Justin is still listed as the Moderator on the Autograph Forum site, even though he hasn't post anything there in three years.

Don't know why he was ever offered that position to begin with.

[travrosty]

I hate it when dealers pack up early and clear out after noon on sunday.

It's not fair to the collectors browsing on Sunday afternoon. It should be if you pack up early, don't bother coming back. Or have a credit card on file that gets charged if you leave early, or something.

[travrosty]

Piedmont Sport is NO LONGER listed on ACE's website as an authorized dealer. Someone is reading this blog, doing damage control.

[Leon]

Thanks to Frank Prisco....I needed a good laugh today!!!

l
l
l



Mr. Leon Luckey
eonl@flash.net
via electronic communication, only

Re: Mr. Frank Prisco/Piedmont Sports

Dear Mr. Lucky:

Please be advised that I represent Mr. Frank Prisco. It has come to my attention that there is an Internet “thread/forum” that disparages my client and/or his business, Piedmont Sports. We demand that you immediately cease and desist having, holding and/or engaging in any Internet, telephonic, written and/or electronic discussions regarding my client. We further demand that you remove all of the “thread” that discusses my client and/.or his business.
This correspondence will serve as your legal notice under the provisions of Pennsylvania and Federal law to cease all communication with any parties in regard to my client. If you fail to heed this notice, I will file a formal Complaint against you.
Your egregious conduct is considered Trade Libel and is actionable and compensable. The publication of a disparaging statement concerning the business of another is actionable where: (1) the statement is false; (2) the publisher either intends the publication to cause pecuniary loss or reasonably should recognize that publication will result in pecuniary loss; (3) pecuniary loss does in fact result; and (4) the publisher either knows that the statement is false or acts in reckless disregard of its truth or falsity. As your counsel would advise, an action for trade libel is calculated to protect against derogatory statements that affect the marketability of a party's goods or services. Surely, these careless, false, slanderous postings have done exactly that.



Page -2-
August 25, 2011


I trust that these actions will cease. If you should have any questions and/or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me. Give this very important matter the attention it deserves.

Very Truly Yours




______________________________
Stephanie J. Brown, Esquire

SJB/sb
cc: Mr. Frank J. Prisco

[barrysloate]

Egad.

[calvindog]

Pitiful. As if some ten cent lawyer letter will somehow prevent the discovery of rampant fraud in his operation. Frank, address the problem instead of trying to bully it away. You're losing any credibility you have; actually, that lawyer's letter probably just eliminated whatever remained.

[sago]

Leon,
Does posting that e-mail count in being told to no longer post about Piedmont?

[GrayGhost]

What a mess. Leon, you may need to drop everything. You dont' need legal issues, plus he could sue each of us and I don't have the money to defend myself

[calvindog]

Originally Posted by GrayGhost

What a mess. Leon, you may need to drop everything. You dont' need legal issues, plus he could sue each of us and I don't have the money to defend myself

I do.

[RichardSimon]

Leon,
You must have been really nervous when you got that letter .
Glad to see Jeff stepping up, way to go Jeff,, my money is on you.