Antiquities of California....

[Brendan]

Well, after receiving a tip from another member, I ventured down to this autograph store on Pier 39, in San Francisco. Supposedly this store sells fake autographs, which makes a decent amount of sense considering your average tourist is going to know nothing about autographs. While talking to the manager, he told me they were authenticated by three forensic examiners, including Drew Max. (AAU)

The images may not be of the highest quality, as they were taken with a cell phone, thanks to this sign. (which they had plastered all over the store)


Here we have a Lou Gehrig autograph on a 1927 Yankees signed bat


Here we have the Ruth


Jeter and Alex Rodriguez signed jersey


An Ichiro Suzuki signed jersey


Barack Obama signed photo


A John F. Kennedy (if my memory serves me correctly) signed baseball


George Washington. I would like to add that this was priced at $25,000 and was right next to the door. Everything was hung on the wall like a painting. There was absolutely no security. If someone tried to steal something from here they would have a very good chance of getting away.


A John Hancock autograph (also next to the door)


An Al Pacino signed photograph


Michael Jordan autographed shoe


Michael Jordan autographed baseball


Kobe Bryant signed jersey


Tiger Woods



I'm pretty sure this is enough of a sampling.

[sbfinley]

I'm in the wrong business.

[henson1855]

I believe it's the same owners who own Antiquities here in Vegas they sell fakes here as well ,this is what they offer for a mere 20K here in Vegas

[Scott Garner]

Wow, these are some horrible fakes!
Yikes!

[RichardSimon]

Why would they not want photos?

[Brendan]

Originally Posted by henson1855

I believe it's the same owners who own Antiquities here in Vegas they sell fakes here as well ,this is what they offer for a mere 20K here in Vegas

Same people. Forged and overpriced.

[novakjr]

Originally Posted by RichardSimon

Why would they not want photos?

They'll spin it however they want, but I believe the real reason to not want photos, is so that uneducated people aren't emailing photo's to those that are more knowledgeable to get an opinion. Or worse, posting them on a forum like this.. The only way they can get people to buy this shit, is to do so without having a clue what they're actually getting.

[RichardSimon]

David - my reply was meant to be caustic.

[novakjr]

Originally Posted by RichardSimon

David - my reply was meant to be caustic.

I know, so was mine. I get a kick out of going all "matter of fact" in situations like that...It's just part of my sense of humor. Honestly though, it doesn't quite come across as well on the internet..

[Brendan]

Their website is interesting. They sell their "autographs" on there too. Seems strange how they don't have any closeup photos...

Drives me nuts how these places keep on running while selling blatant forgeries.

[steve B]

The Washington may be ok but overpriced. It's a free frank letter, either the whole thing or just a wrapper. There's one on ebay that's not quite as nice and unframed for 11000.

The Hancock may also be ok but more likely secretarial. That sort of document was really common, and not always signed by the president himself.
Probably also overpriced.

At one time I knew a place that had a box full of those documents, all early 1800's. Not too expensive either. I checked with someone I knew who'd be able to help me sell them. I thought I'd found a big score as they only wanted around $20 each.(Early 80's, not cheap if the signatures weren't actual, but way low if they were) He told me anout the secretarial thing, and that I'd have to buy them and send them to experts at a cost.... And that they were almost certain to be secretarial. Even those are more than 20 bucks now, so I'd have done ok eventually. I still wonder if that box held any real ones.

Steve B

[btcarfagno]

Whomever did that John Hancock must have been drunk. I mean, to say that isn't even close is a masterpiece of understatement. Wow. Just wow.

Tom C

[sayhey24]

I agree with Tom -- even for someone like me who isn't an autograph expert, that John Hancock looks hilarious.

Greg

[RichardSimon]

Could this place be the West Coast branch of a famed auction house?

[steve B]

The only reason the Hancock has any credibility at all -and it's almost certainly not his but his secretaries- is that those documents were very common. They were used for land grants, appointments, proclamations.. Darn near any situation that the government wanted to give out a big showy document. The secretary probably signed hundreds a week, handwriting the details (Joe jones is a fine fellow having been master of the will bucket for 20 years)The actual government official would only sign ones that were truly important, Like promotions to General or cabinet positions or something of that nature.

The signature is in the right place, and the parchment or paper used is very hard to get ink out of. So finding an original and removing a signature of little importance is just too much work for a forger. There's enough old unwritten on paper around that a hand written reciept fragment would be much easier.
Of course, land grants are often under a hundred, and a governors proclamation or something of that sort probably less.

Steve B

[RichardSimon]

Where is Eliot Ness when you really need him??

[Vintagedegu]

-

[henson1855]

I happen to use the same frame shop that this place does,and from time to time I am able to go in the back and see some of the horrible pieces this place is getting framed and matted , then passing off as authentic.Stevie Ray Vaughn's last autograph comes to mind,supposedly signed and dated for a security guard as he was getting on the helicopter,I have seen guitars signed by Elvis,Jim Morrison,& Jimi Hendrix, lots of bad Ruth/Gehrig pieces,it's a joke.But they are all double certified! This is an email exchange I had with the owner Toby back in June on the Ruth/Gehrig ball I posted on page 1 of the thread. Notice there was no reply from her after I mentioned a couple names.
From: michael henson (mhenson77@hotmail.com)
Sent: Mon 6/27/11 10:59 PM
To: tlstoffa@antiquitieslv.com


As I said fake I will post it on Net 54 for the forum to chime in with thier opinions, who certified it Ted Taylor? Chris Morales? STAT? LOL its a fake and a poor one at that


> From: tlstoffa@antiquitieslv.com
> To: mhenson77@hotmail.com
> Date: Tue, 28 Jun 2011 01:52:34 -0400
> Subject: RE: Babe Ruth & Lou Gehrig
>
> wrong, double certified.
> ________________________________________
> From: michael henson [mhenson77@hotmail.com]
> Sent: Monday, June 27, 2011 10:12 PM
> To: Stoffa, Toby
> Subject: RE: Babe Ruth & Lou Gehrig
>
> fake
>
> ________________________________
> From: tlstoffa@antiquitieslv.com
> To: tlstoffa@antiquitieslv.com
> Subject: Babe Ruth & Lou Gehrig
> Date: Mon, 27 Jun 2011 19:02:58 -0700
>
> Hi from Antiquities at The Forum Shops. Here is an extraordinary baseball treasure of a piece which is now available.
>
> Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, two of the very greatest names in Baseball history, signed, dated and doubly certified. The ball is somewhat aged, and the red stitching dates it to the year it was signed. The signatures are 10s, and it is hand dated 1935. This is in a terrific shadowbox display that pays tribute to Baseball's most important icons, with biography on the right side and Yankees prop ticket. Retail is $19,995 and your price $16,000.

[thetruthisoutthere]

There are no words to describe what that store sells. Horrific, ugly, and putrid forgeries.

Look at those Michael Jordan forgeries.

Ms. Stoffa cannot possibly defend the pieces she sells to the public, although I would love to hear her try to.

[RichardSimon]

Wow,,, a female entering this world and selling this stuff, that is new,,,this world of slime balls, unconscionable greed, unmitigated gaul, with autographs that are being mocked by this board, pure thievery and with no remorse or second thoughts on her part.
Maybe it is time to make a phone call.

[RichardSimon]

Originally Posted by thetruthisoutthere

There are no words to describe what that store sells. Horrific, ugly, and putrid forgeries.

Look at those Michael Jordan forgeries.

Ms. Stoffa cannot possibly defend the pieces she sells to the public, although I would love to hear her try to.

She has two COA's, if she tried to defend herself that is what she would say.

[thetruthisoutthere]

All of that crap that originates from Coach's Corner, headed by Scott Malack & Lee Trythall, always find its way into stores across America and purchased by ignorant buyers.

Yes, time for a phone call.

[Vintagedegu]

-

[GrayGhost]

Awful garbage, like America's memories that used to be at Mohegan Sun

[packs]

There is nothing in this store that is real. Been there many times.

[bh3443]

Originally Posted by Vintagedegu

Digging through the rock signatures...


Not the worst I've seen, and I'm not as good with Wall-Cut era Floyd as with 84-up, but I wouldn't buy any of em. These nice complete sets in gold/silver ink on what may be(?) actual period LPs scare me to death.

I'm trying to be circumspect here, my preemptive apologies if anything is incorrect; just my thoughts as a reasonably seasoned Floyd collector.

It's always nice to see another Pink Floyd collector/fan. I saw them after Animals and The Wall. More recently just Roger Waters. Incredible shows!
Did you ever see a Syd Barrett auto?

[Vintagedegu]

-

[RichardSimon]

btw - Good undercover work Brendan to get the photos from this place.
A job well done to you.

[Brendan]

Originally Posted by RichardSimon

btw - Good undercover work Brendan to get the photos from this place.
A job well done to you.

Thanks...

[Leon]

Originally Posted by bh3443

It's always nice to see another Pink Floyd collector/fan. I saw them after Animals and The Wall. More recently just Roger Waters. Incredible shows!
Did you ever see a Syd Barrett auto?

My wife and I met at a Pink Floyd concert in Dallas.....

[GrayGhost]

Leon, when your eyes met, were you "comftorably numb" Bad I know, but Im sooo tired.

[RichardSimon]

Leon - did you ask her back to your place to see your baseball cards?

[bh3443]

Originally Posted by Leon

My wife and I met at a Pink Floyd concert in Dallas.....

Leon,
That's awesome! You are fortunate she likes them, too.
My spouse can't stand Pink Floyd! She's also claims my true love is Sade!

[Leon]

Originally Posted by RichardSimon

Leon - did you ask her back to your place to see your baseball cards?

Well, I didn't ask her back to look at baseball cards but I did ask her to get on her back....neither worked out too well.

And Bill- her favorite group is Pink Floyd. Her 1st cousin, who I had been selling computers to for years, had an extra ticket so invited me.....and it was a set up, as I learned later. My wife had gone to the concert the day before too (there were 2 of them, one after the other) and was still tired from it...but we met, traded numbers and the rest is history.

And back to the topic at hand....Nice detective work, Brendan. We need more of that in this hobby!!