McKechnie, Huggins Opinions, please

[tha-rock]

A friend sent me pics of cuts of Huggins and McKechnie he has and was wondering if I thought they were good. He was considering sending them to PSA but I asked him to let me look at them first and if they were no good I could save him some money. Here are the pics he sent.

I told him I didn't like Huggins but felt better about the McKechnie, but wasn't totally convinced. I'm curious about what the experts on here think about these two. Thanks in advance.

[ronniehatesjazz]

Not an expert but agree with you on McKechnie, probably good but it looks a little irregular due to it being signed with pencil (at least it looks that way).

Huggins is a little trickier. His signature seemed to be all over the place... there's a somewhat controversial signed T206 that has been listed in BST here in the past, I think it was Ted Sherman's, that passed JSA but failed PSA/DNA (or something like that). I believe it to be real from what I remember but it was one of the TPAs, again I think PSA/DNA turned it down. Seemed like he wasn't consistent but I actually really like the "gg" in your friend's example and looking at some of his authentic autos on psa's website lead me to believe that it very well could be authentic... check out 5/7 in the link below. Not a perfect match but the "M" seems to match up. I'll go out on a limb and say it's worth submitting.

https://www.psacard.com/autographfac...er-huggins/319

[JimStinson]

I personally would not buy the Huggins (for any price), Does not mean it is good or bad just means I would not buy it. On the McKechnie he is NOT an expensive autograph and while this one "might" be OK why take the chance ? Pay a few extra dollars and get something substantial. Also my preference on Huggins are those stock documents that came out 30 plus years ago. They still turn up occasionally priced reasonably for someone who has been deceased over 100 years and are signed "Miller J. Huggins" instead of the more common M.J.
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[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Yeah, Huggins is Coach's Corner quality, while McKechnie appears to have been traced. You can see parts of the finer tip pencil underneath in certain spots where whoever traced it missed. There are more areas of note than those I circled, but this is enough to prove the point. The more you magnify the photo, the more apparent it becomes.

[Duluth Eskimo]

I agree with what’s said. Huggins is garbage and McKechnie looks traced.

PS: upon closer examination, McKechnie might be signed one time with a pencil with a bad tip. Still don’t like it

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Jason,

That crossed my mind, too. I'll tell you the steps in my thought process as they went through my head:

1. It looks genuine, but something isn't right. It's too heavy-handed, even for him.

2. Possible broken pencil.

3. Upon closer inspection, the enhancements made themselves known.

[tha-rock]

Thanks guys! I wish I had better pics for you to look at and I very much appreciate the comments. I could not decide if the McKechnie was in pencil or steel-tipped fountain pen and my friend did not supply that information. I have seen steel-tipped pens produce a double impression like that.

Do any others want to weigh in?

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

I'm looking at that McKechnie again...

Perhaps first signed by him, then gone over with a broken pencil? I'm seeing some areas where the "dual flow", for lack of a better term, does run parallel as would be expected from a broken pencil. There are other areas I'm seeing where this is not the case, most notably under the hump in the transition from the B to the M. Underneath it, you'll see a paler pencil hump, as if that's the formation of the original autograph, and whoever enhanced it decided to go a little higher.

All in all, these are really wasted words in light of Jim's succinct advice to just stay away no matter what and grab something nicer. Even without the issues, a similar cut (in ink, mind you) shouldn't run you more than $300--even less if you don't require TPA approval and can buy using your own knowledge.

Lamar: I'd just advise your friend to scrap these two and cut his losses.

[Klrdds]

I don't like either of them . I agree with Jim hold out for better signatures on both McKechnie and Huggins . You might have to wait a little while to get a Huggins but it will be worth it to get a better signature of him and the stock certificates are ideal for him . I had a Huggins stock certificate in my collection for 20+ years - before Jim sold it for me and it made for a great display as well. Plus this example is so far off it's not even close.
McKechnie is inexpensive and getting an item much better is not hard . Plus as everyone has said it's easily seen as a traced signature.

[tha-rock]

Thanks again, everyone. I agree, the first part of the McKechnie definitely looks traced over the more I look at it.

Kevin, I bought a Huggins stock certificate from Jim Stinson in 2022. Maybe that was once yours?

[Klrdds]

Originally Posted by tha-rock

Kevin, I bought a Huggins stock certificate from Jim Stinson in 2022. Maybe that was once yours?

It's possible but he sold mine in 2018 but I'd be happy if it stayed in the Net 54 family

[JimStinson]

Originally Posted by Klrdds

It's possible but he sold mine in 2018 but I'd be happy if it stayed in the Net 54 family

The funny thing is I am almost positive it is the same one. After it was originally sold it turned up in another collection 4 years later and had in between changed hands at least once.
____________________________
Always buying Vintage autographs
jim@stinsonsports.com