How many fake autographs out there?

Republicaninmass · #1 04-02-2023, 09:10 AM

100% of coaches corner autos are forgeries.

So there's that

I guess I'm not looking in the right place.

Hankphenom · #2 04-02-2023, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Republicaninmass

100% of coaches corner autos are forgeries.
So there's that. I guess I'm not looking in the right place.

Roaches Corner would be Exhibit A in any tutorial about smart collecting under rule #1: "If it seems too good to be true, it probably is."

gonefishin · #3 04-02-2023, 12:14 PM

Seems like there are still some pretty strong believers out there, one way or the other.

I think we can all agree that no one - no one - knows the number of times anyone has ever signed there name to something. No one - no one - even knows how many times they have signed there own name, much less anyone else. So the percentage will always be unknown.

I have several thousand autographs on various types of media; balls, photos, cards, etc. I only have a few that I obtained in person, such as Randy Jones when I was visiting with him at a Padres game. Randy owned a bar-b-que venue at the stadium (Jack Murphy at that time) and he was there all the time - visiting with people, signing autographs and just representing the Padres. Good man.

Through the years I have submitted several to PSA or JSA for authentication. They have ranged from Walter Johnson on a type 1 photo to Louis Armstrong on a type 1. I would say that maybe 1 in 20 submissions are returned as questionable or "not able to determine - such as a Henry Ford auto". The majority of "club house" versions seems to always be on baseballs.

The general thought out there is that every autograph is either stamped, forged, of secretarial. It is so bad that I wanted to share this photo of an auction lot that I recently won. It was from the estate of Lefty Gomez. It contains an autographed photo, autographed HoF cards, and a letter from Bill Dickey's wife to Lefty Gomez. Look closely at the bottom of the letter, she says "Lefty, the autographs aren't stamped!"

homerunhitter · #4 04-02-2023, 06:21 PM

The problem about getting self education on autographs is when you go to sell them unless it has a TPA saying it’s authentic, potential buyers can give a rats ass about the sellers “self education!” Or expertise! For example is I’m looking to buy an autograph on eBay, If it’s unauthenticated, I could give a rats ass if big boy bubba says that his self education says it’s real!

Hankphenom · #5 04-02-2023, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by homerunhitter

The problem about getting self education on autographs is when you go to sell them unless it has a TPA saying it�s authentic, potential buyers can give a rats ass about the sellers �self education!� Or expertise! For example is I�m looking to buy an autograph on eBay, If it�s unauthenticated, I could give a rats ass if big boy bubba says that his self education says it�s real!

Yes, and to me, that's the marketplace pretty much deciding that the major TPAs know what they're doing. That sounds like a big generality, but I can't think of a better example of "money talks, and bulls**t walks."

homerunhitter · #6 04-02-2023, 08:28 PM

Totally agree with you! However potential customers don�t care what you, me or the man on the moon says about our �Self education� of autographs is. Abs thats a fact Jack! But I totally get it because as a buyer is much rather go with a PSA or jsa authenticated autograph vs the word on Jim Bob that�s been collecting for 40 years! Because I don�t know Jim Bob! And jim bobs opinion is like buttholes, everyone has one!

Hankphenom · #7 04-03-2023, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by homerunhitter

Totally agree with you! However potential customers don�t care what you, me or the man on the moon says about our �Self education� of autographs is. Abs thats a fact Jack! But I totally get it because as a buyer is much rather go with a PSA or jsa authenticated autograph vs the word on Jim Bob that�s been collecting for 40 years! Because I don�t know Jim Bob! And jim bobs opinion is like buttholes, everyone has one!

Again, true, but if you're going to be spending real money on autographs you at least need to educate yourself on the TPAs. I'm sure Roaches Corner and its ilk all come with some sort of LOA, but they're worthless, whereas the big four or five authenticators offer a reasonable assurance of legitimacy. Your advice basically is to never buy raw, and that's not an unreasonable position to take and in line with today's marketplace. But for those who have made themselves experts in what they collect, like some of the posters here, such restraints needn't apply and they likewise aren't totally dependent on the TPAs.

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