[Archive]

Posted By: <b>Bill Panagopulos</b><p>John,<br /><br />Thanks for your input, which, believe it or not, is very much appreciated.<br /><br />Let me open by saying: I HATE BASEBALL! I mean not the sport, the damned autographs. Almost as much as I hate modern Hollywood. Why? Because the forgers of both now have reached an astounding level of competence. <br /><br />Anyone who has dealt with us in the past fifteen years will tell you that whenever there's been a question with a lot, we go to the best in the business, seek out their opinions, and if there's any question, we yank the item. Period. Also note that 99% of what we offer is non-baseball autographs, and in future sales we've decided to cut out essentially all baseball unless its provenance is ironclad. I mean, Babe Ruth's liver will have to accompany his signature...<br /><br />Yours is the first I've heard about those items. Whenever we offer something, I WANT to know if it's bad. Unlike so many other houses, we offer a lifetime guarantee of authenticity, so if a piece comes back ten years from now and my consignor is in Bolivia, I eat it - so, tell me now!<br /><br />Obviously, auction ethics will not permit me to disclose the consignor's name (nor do I ever disclose buyers' names), but I suspect these pieces came from the same guy. <br />If you or Richard or Steve K. know the identity of the forger and can give me good, solid info, I'll follow up with the Feds with whom I have worked before on many occasions, and issue refunds. Also send me your particulars (if you want) and eel free to vet my catalog once it's out. <br /><br />Let's not digress from the topic at hand, which is the wholesale issuance of certificates backing patently bad material worth millions. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br />