1994 UD Mantle Griffey dual auto
 

I'm thinking of picking one of these up, but I'm pretty worried about ending up with a forged Mantle. Are there a lot of these out there with forged Mantles? I've been checking the raw ones on ebay and they seem to be pretty good to me. Aside from only buying graded, how can I avoid getting a bad one?

The cards don't exist unsigned. The were made to be signed. However, single signed cards have had the second signature forged. So there are a good number of examples with a good Griffey and a fake Mantle. I'd get a good opinion on the sigs and be careful.

This does however mean that any single signed card is authentic, griffey or mantle.

I'm guessing there aren't many good mantles with forged griffeys so the mantle is where I've been focusing. I don't trust my own opinion, but worry about creating competition by asking about specific examples in an open forum. Blah, the whole thing just makes me nervous :p

Yes, I believe the Mantle is the one to focus on. However, I'm sure Griffeys sig was in demand at the time.

But you know at least one of the sigs is genuine, which is a good start.

Supposedly the same number of cards were produced by UD (the 2 single signed plus the 1 dual signed). Yet notice the dual signed outnumber the single signed. Hmmm.

drc I really appreciate your help. I'm in no hurry to pick one of these up and I'm trying to be patient as I really want to make sure I don't get fooled. I did a sampling of what's on ebay right now. I'm hoping to get some opinions from any that are willing to share as to what they think about these. Hopefully this will help educate me and possibly others that are looking at this card or Mantle autos in general. What do you all think of these? If any look fishy, what makes them look not genuine?:

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/f...ndedduck/6.jpg
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/f...ndedduck/5.jpg
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/f...ndedduck/4.jpg
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/f...ndedduck/3.jpg
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/f...ndedduck/2.jpg
http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/f...ndedduck/1.jpg


Thanks for any further help.

Something about the 2 just before the PSA/DNA example looks off to me, whether it be the loops of the Ms or the end of the Y, maybe even the thickness of the marker used, but I don't know if I'm being overly critical and I don't have enough experience yet.

Don't know if it's what you'd want, but a safe way would be to get the two signatures as single signed cards.

I've definately considered it and it would probably be a bit cheaper. I've also thought about just picking up a different authenticated/slabbed Mantle (I know that's still no guarantee). I keep going back and forth. I was 14 when that card was released and it's always kind of been the holy grail to me. Part of me doesn't just want a Mantle auto or just the single Mantle auto, it wants that dual auto specifically because it's iconic to me and gives that nostalgic feeling everytime I see it.

Then there's the other part of me that thinks I could always get a T206 Cobb, bat off as well which is another card I've always covetted, but never thought I'd own.

I would think the quickest way would be to call UDA give them the holo number and see if it is doubled signed.

dear op,

i see that these dual signed go anywhere from 700-1k+...where a single mantle and griffey purchased separately can be had for about half. is the premium in the fact the card is dual-signed and that's where the appeal is?

just an honest question and not trying to judge. i just have a hard time justifying spending close to 1k for the sigs of these guys.

The cards were issued by UD as single signed or double signed, but the card itself doesn't say who signed the particular card. Obviously, UD erred in this respect.

From what I've read, UD can't tell you if it's double signed by the holo number. They can only say that it was an autographed pack inserted card.

I'm having that exact internal struggle. It would definately be cheaper to go other routes if all I wanted were the autos. The dual auto is kind of iconic for me. It's one of those cards that I never thought I'd even have the chance to own, so part of me really just wants that card in particular. I'm still not 100% sure what I'm going to do.

What do you guys think of the posted examples? Are any of those obvious forgeries or obviously good?