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Posted By: Jodi Birkholm

Look at the "tle" in Mantle. Notice how those letters are all on the same plain? Mantle had a tendency to trail progressively upward on the last three letters of his surname. Not all the time, mind you, but certainly a great deal of the time. This example/forgery has those three letters trailing upward from the "n", but all on the same plain. And I am referring to all the material he signed for the collectibles market from the late 1970's-1995. Also, notice, if you will, the way those three letters in the image all are "flat" at the bottom. Almost squared off, if you will. They are executed in a ridiculously slow fashion. This is a fairly early example of the work of that particular forger; he has become far better in the ensuing years. I will say this: there are perhaps five people in this hobby who are adept enough to spot this forger's recent work. And, no, I will not tell you who they all are. I would not wish to offend those who are not represented on the list!