Gehrig

[Republicaninmass]

Originally Posted by w7imel

For what its worth Id hate to see you miss out on such a rare item at what I am sure is a good price based on condition of autograph, but if David A says the autograph is good (not pretty) you can take it to the bank its good!

Would you be willing to pay top dollar for one he authenticated, with no guarantee it would pass a TPG? I'm not knocking Dave here, but 9 times out of 10 I get the question if it would pass a TPG. Here's one that passed, and people are doubting it!

[w7imel]

Originally Posted by Republicaninmass

Would you be willing to pay top dollar for one he authenticated, with no guarantee it would pass a TPG? I'm not knocking Dave here, but 9 times out of 10 I get the question if it would pass a TPG. Here's one that passed, and people are doubting it!

From what I have seen over the years yes I would trust Dave over any TPG. I have asked him his opinion on things that PSA/JSA have said for a fee is "good" and he has pointed out what is wrong. But what the flip? Isnt he agreeing with PSA on this item? They have already said its "authentic" all Dave is doing is agree with them not sure what the issue is here..Have we forgot what we are talking about?

[Republicaninmass]

It's good to see there are still collectors who value independent opinions. For a while, I felt collectors could care less if an item was good or not, as long as a TPG would approve it. I've Also wanted items to be authentic so badly, I made excuses why the signature didn't look right. That never ended well, and I needed to take a step back for a while.

Many of the long time collectors I trade with do not have any cards authenticated. Their caveat is that the authenticators have never seen these players sign in person, so how can anyone be 100% sure. I guess this is why we must rely solely on opinions, as well as provenance.

I'm relatively new at collecting autographs, heck I haven't been alive as long as some have been collecting, but even I have the occasional head scratchers. More recently, it seems the TPGs have been overly cautious, failing items of common players who are still living, and actively signing ttm, only to ultimately pass them.

I'm pretty confident in an expensive card in a psa holder, however I do remember some 33 Ruth's that were sold that that good ole Peter Nash hurled some accusations at, and were sold right away. Usually if a card is raw, and I am not 100%, I will ask for a guarantee to pass a either psa or SGC. Other that that, I don't have the luxury, or want to bother, asking for an opinion from a friend as most of my trusted confidants now work at a TPG!