Babe Ruth Endorsed Check

[Bpm0014]

Great information Jim thanks! Upon further review of the original check, you can clearly see where someone changed $5.00 into $500.00.

[rand1com]

So if Jim's premise that someone got a period check and filled it out to Ruth in order to forge his signature on the reverse to sell it as a forgery, what was the incentive to change the original amount from $5.00 to $500?

Why would the amount make any difference? Especially since obviously the one they would have been trying to replicate which according to Heritage is indeed authentic was for $5.00.

I agree upon a closer look that the two zeroes appear to have been added with a slightly different pen and perhaps as Jim surmised the red blotch covers an attempt to change the amount but again for what reason.

Is a $500 Ruth check worth more than a $5 one if both are perceived to be authentic as to Ruth's signature?

Also, comparing the clearing house stamps on both checks they indeed appear to be a match.

I am not trying to justify that the check is authentic as for close to 15 years I have assumed that it is not.

However, something does not add up in this case and I would just like a plausible answer.

The Ruth signature is clearly live ink. Even if replicated by a laser as Jim guesses, the change to the amount makes no sense to me.

[rand1com]

Here are the two checks one above the other for comparison purposes from a handwriting standpoint of the person who filled them out supposedly based on the dating a year apart. Is it clear they were filled out by two different people?

[rand1com]

Here is an enlargement of the Ruth signature on the check I have. Maybe someone can conclude that this is indeed a laser created signature. I admit I cannot make that conclusion as I do not know what to look for. It looks like a live signature to me.

[packs]

Checks aren't the thickest of materials. Are there pen indentations on the other side?

[rand1com]

You can see very light indentations on the front side from the reverse autograph.

[JimStinson]

Laser Prints WILL create indentations or what is known as "stress marks" , the amount the check is made out for means absolutely nothing ...the key is where the signature intersects. Normally a signature under magnification will have more ink where the lines cross. Sometimes under HIGH magnification, a laser print will exhibit a "matrix". There are several other consistent things happening like the circle on the front of the check, the red smudging on the front. Jamaica bank association etc. etc. It's obvious that someone or everyone wants the check to be authentic so am really sorry I chimed in. Won't do it again
____________________________
ALWAYS BUYING VINTAGE AUTOGRAPHS
jim@stinsonsports.com

[scmavl]

Originally Posted by rand1com

So if Jim's premise that someone got a period check and filled it out to Ruth in order to forge his signature on the reverse to sell it as a forgery, what was the incentive to change the original amount from $5.00 to $500?

I believe this has to do with the chemical washing of the check to remove the payees name. I think they botched up the "dollars" after "Five" with the washing, and needed to cover the extra space, so they chose to add the "hundred".

My .02

[rand1com]

That reasoning actually makes very good sense. Thanks