Seeking Autograph Grading Input

[JollyElm]

I'm thinking of sending some autographed cards in to get authenticated. Most of these cards were gotten through the mail a few decades ago, while others came from other people/collections over the years (Brooks Robinson and one or two others were gotten in person). (Issues with PSA aside) Which of these cards do you think I should send in?

Background info. I'm not looking to sell anything at the moment (unless I have doubles), but know somewhere down the road I will eventually do so. Personally, I don't care about grading either the cards (most of the time, I sent out weak cards to hedge my bets in case the addressees didn't send them back) or the autograph itself. I think just a tag of a 'authentic' would be wise. Is that the case? Cost is always a factor, of course. The Kalines and others are seemingly $20 apiece (before whatever fees are added on), while Carter and others are a little more. Ted Williams is pretty pricey at $75, considering you could seemingly pick things up on ebay pretty cheaply.

I definitely would like to get some or all of the rookie cards authenticated, and I know some will say the Mays is his wife or whatever, so I'll stay away from him, sadly. Assuming they are actually authentic, which of these cards would you feel personally are a MUST to get slabbed (for present or future value)??

All sorts of opinions welcome.

[JollyElm]

Continuation of scans...

[Mark70Z]

Darren,

Can you just give a little reasoning for the autograph authentication? May give you a better answer based upon your response. Some of these autographs listed you could purchase already slabbed and save some money.

In general if I were going to get them authenticated I would only do the ones with a well placed autograph, that are bold not light, and one’s that are not rushed. Also, I wouldn’t do any where the auto is on the back of the card.

I really like the Bench rookie, the Kaline stand out and I like several of the Murray autos. Of course there are many others, but just a quick glimpse those caught my eye.

[JollyElm]

Originally Posted by Mark70Z

Darren,

Can you just give a little reasoning for the autograph authentication? May give you a better answer based upon your response. Some of these autographs listed you could purchase already slabbed and save some money.

In general if I were going to get them authenticated I would only do the ones with a well placed autograph, that are bold not light, and one’s that are not rushed. Also, I wouldn’t do any where the auto is on the back of the card.

I really like the Bench rookie, the Kaline stand out and I like several of the Murray autos. Of course there are many others, but just a quick glimpse those caught my eye.

Thanks for your input, Mark. I guess the best way to answer your question is to say that a few years ago I never bought a graded card, but now virtually everything I buy is graded. The card-collecting world changed, so I started trying to keep up. When I start moving some of my signed cards (again, assuming they are legitimate), I want to make it an easier process and maximize value. Simple as that, really.

[Mark70Z]

There are several guys on here that do submit their autographed cards so they may shed some light. I’m a single player collector mainly so I know my guys autograph “fairly well” so it doesn’t matter to me if it’s raw or in a holder. I’m very likely in the minority on that point if purchasing. I’m sure with your reasoning above you may be able to maximize your profits on some or even many of those signed cards in holders.

My advice would be the same though, as I mentioned before, IF I were to submit something. Also, if the card is in nice shape may want to go for the grade as well.

[Bigdaddy]

I can tell you that the '72, '73 and '74 Mays are ghost signed by his wife. Pretty typical for cards signed through the mail from him back in the '70s and '80s. An easy giveaway is that the 'i's in Willie are dotted with a circle.

And like one of the posts above, I wouldn't bother with cards that are signed lightly in ball point or for guys like Fingers, John, Perry etc where you can still get those pretty cheap now, either directly from them or on the secondary market.

Bench used a stamp for a while and I think it was usually black. I definitely like the ones in blue, you'll need to look closely at the first couple in black and make sure they are not a stamp.

I'd look at the 'bay and see how things are selling - are most of the cards in a TPG holder or are they raw? Do they match the style of the ones you have. Sometimes players will always (majority of the time) sign the same card in the same place, sometimes not. Don Sutton will more likely than not sign right over his own face.

[swarmee]

I have used this bulk submitter for three years and had a great experience.
https://www.blowoutforums.com/showthread.php?t=1332729

Lowers the price per authentication. It's only for auto authentication, so the flip will say "TRADING CARD" and won't be able to be used for the auto set registries. It's the old "Blue Flip" version which was changed to Red Flip last year.