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#51
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In the off case that i am collecting autographs...
And a few vintage baseballs... I have a few modern autos, but most were obtained in person or pack pulled from the major card companies. I would still think that most of those are legit... but who knows.
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Al Jurgela Looking for: 1910 Punch (Plank) 50 Hage's Dairy (Minoso) All Oscar Charleston Cards Rare Soccer cards Rare Boxing cards |
#52
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Autograph evolution happens, especially in this era where players/people are paid to sign 1000s of cards.
Sometimes it takes a step forward, sometimes it takes a step back. A lot of guys will have various signatures depending on the era they're signing. Derniche Valdez 2023 vs 2024 auto... https://www.ebay.com/itm/317080243218 https://www.ebay.com/itm/226761140850 ...and here's a reality check for why some people have those sloppy scribble autos. We're losing Andre Dawson and Mariano Rivera level autographs for scribbles because of things like this... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_j8F3_rKCU8 |
#53
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The use of Sharpies doesn't help matters. Way too wide so that the letters become indecipherable. Here is one of Harmon Killebrew, who had one of the most beautiful signatures I have ever seen (not mine):
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Now watch what you say, or they'll be calling you a radical, a liberal, oh, fanatical, criminal Won't you sign up your name? We'd like to feel you're acceptable, respectable, presentable, a vegetable If we are to have another contest in the near future of our national existence, I predict that the dividing line will not be Mason and Dixon's but between patriotism and intelligence on the one side, and superstition, ambition and ignorance on the other.- Ulysses S. Grant, 18th US President. |
#54
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This problem is only going to get worse. Theres too much money to be made with all these celebrities, "influencers", and kids entering the hobby. Last edited by Fandom0610; 07-17-2025 at 10:35 AM. Reason: add info |
#55
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Geez, what kind of drugs was that guy on?
I’m sure at least part of that is true and that is precisely why the only autos I’ve ever given a damn about are ones I get in person, or on the rare occasions in my hobby career where I decide to do TTM runs. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Postwar stars & HOF'ers. Currently working on 1956, '63 and '72 Topps complete sets. |
#56
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I never trusted this space of the hobby. Nor the game used area. Cards are bad enough but signed and game used requires more suspension of disbelief than I can muster up.
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( h @ $ e A n + l e y |
#57
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But don't people who buy things with certs/holos/etc then usually get them opinionated because the slab is a good way to keep the item protected? |
#58
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I still have a lot of practical questions about this confession.
If you make a fake LOA sticker and cert for a major retailer in the hobby, it is easy to search for it in the LOA database and see it's not there. I always check but I guess some people don't. Even people who are paying thousands of dollars for somebody like Brady, apparently. Autopen is not magic. It should be fairly easy to distinguish it from a real signature, even when looked at by someone who is not an "expert". It's not all that different from distinguishing between a xerox and a live document. It's hard to imagine so many LOAs being issued for what are said to be autopen signatures. Last edited by packs; 07-17-2025 at 12:48 PM. |
#59
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it is not reasonable to assume that forgers are now passing the most scrutinized and high value autographed cards by Keating/PSA and auction house experts. it is also important to note that most auctions that showcase a significant amount of signed cards are due to consigners who were graphers/TTMers in the 50s and 60s that are now ready to part with them, or have passed on and the collections have been consigned by descendants. i have been personally involved in 4 such cases. yes, i know what my signature says and the old tagline "no conflict, no interest". FWIW this ring has been primarily focused on modern stars (Judge, Gretzky, Brady, etc.) so they can sell high volume into high demand markets through ebay and online stores, not the best of the best in auctions.
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-------------------------------------------------------------- Signed Jackie Robinson Run: 4/8 (needs: 48L, 49B, 52T, 56T). Signed 1948 / 1949 Leaf Baseball Set: 56/98. (needs: 8,13,19,22,30,33,36,43,45,55,57,62,65,66,68,70,78, 79,81,93,95,104,108,113,121,123,129,131,137,142,14 3,144,146,153,159,160,161,163,165,168) https://www.flickr.com/photos/198641438@N03/albums/ --not always up to date |
#60
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#61
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#62
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I thought this was the OP’s confession that he sits in a small room smelling his 100yr old tobacco cards
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1916-20 UNC Big Heads Need: Ping Bodie |
#63
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Confirmation: Autograph dealer identified as man found dead in Indiana raid of fake memorabilia
https://www.cllct.com/sports-collect...ke-memorabilia |
#64
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I bet eBay will have ALOT of new listings in the next few weeks as people will be dumping their items on eBay to get rid of them! After all of this, Why would anyone want anything with a TPA authentication sticker on it? And let’s not get started on fake slabs! That’s another can of worms! Buckle up, this hobby is above to hit a shit storm in regards to fake items in our hobby! Time to get the popcorn ready!
Last edited by homerunhitter; 07-17-2025 at 04:52 PM. |
#65
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Would the authenticity guarantee process catch the fake slabs for anything sold over $250? Or do we think that the fake slabs are so well executed that they would slip right through?
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Trying to wrap up my master mays set, with just a few left: 1968 American Oil left side 1971 Bazooka numbered complete panel |
#66
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My opinion is I think they are so well executed that they would slip by. But I could be wrong. Makes me want to sell all of my PSA slabs right now because we Just don’t know anymore with the way the Fraud and scammers are hitting the hobby right now.
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#67
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It depends on if someone is trying to make the slabs in their garage with Plexi glass and a hammer and chisel or have access to real machinery. Nothing against anyone's job but printing cards and molding plastic are jobs that can easily be done by former or future McDonalds employees. I have friends that have worked in both fields and a couple of them are great people but dumb as a post. For example people make fake Rolex watches. The $200 models will fool anyone who doesn't really know watches. The $500 models will fool many Rolex owners and the $1200 models are so good you can actually swap out parts between a real and counterfeit ones. But yes molding plastic or printing simple pictures is near impossible to replicate. It amazes me every single day this hobby hasn't crashed and burned from all the corruption that openly runs rampant.
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#68
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I don't recall seeing anything in this that mentions slabbed autographs; it only talks about faked autographs and counterfeit holograms/stickers. It sounds to me that it involves non-slabbed items, where there's only a hologram/sticker on the item to "certify authenticity". Steve
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Successful BST deals with eliotdeutsch, gonzo, jimivintage, Leon, lharris3600, markf31, Mrc32, sb1, seablaster, shammus, veloce. Current Wantlist: 1909 Obak Howard (Los Angeles) (no frame on back) 1910 E90-2 Gibson |
#69
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Signed 1953 Topps set: 264/274 (96.35 %) |
#70
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Fanatics knew about it for 7+ years and now own the modern hobby. F—k those guys. The good news is, your vintage slabs should be safe (at least from this operation).
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__________________ • Collecting Indianapolis-related pre-war and rare regionals, along with other vintage thru '80s • Successful deals with Kingcobb, Harford20, darwinbulldog, iwantitiwinit, helfrich91, kaddyshack, Marckus99, D. Bergin, Commodus the Great, Moonlight Graham, orioles70, adoo1, Nilo, JollyElm, DJCollector1, angolajones, timn1, jh691626, NiceDocter Last edited by Brent G.; 07-18-2025 at 05:10 AM. |
#71
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The truth is likely somewhere in between what the dead guy said and this Fanatics statement. I’d probably lean more toward dead guy, who caused them to create a new sticker (silently, I assume) two years ago. i suppose no company would admit to 80% of merch bearing their seal being fake.
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__________________ • Collecting Indianapolis-related pre-war and rare regionals, along with other vintage thru '80s • Successful deals with Kingcobb, Harford20, darwinbulldog, iwantitiwinit, helfrich91, kaddyshack, Marckus99, D. Bergin, Commodus the Great, Moonlight Graham, orioles70, adoo1, Nilo, JollyElm, DJCollector1, angolajones, timn1, jh691626, NiceDocter Last edited by Brent G.; 07-18-2025 at 05:29 AM. |
#72
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I also think the fact modern autographs are often merely scribbles, or sloppy initials, made them much easier to fake convincingly, and quicker to make. It will be interesting to see how the "hobby" responds. Will it just be one collective shrug of the shoulders, or will people bail out of modern sigs and turn their attention to other sports collectibles, like memorabilia, game used, etc.? Everything can be faked, but autographs are by far the easiest, and Dead Guy has apparently thoroughly saturated that arena with fakes, at least modern. My guess is, Fanatics and other companies will come up with better authentication/verification methods, and business will continue as usual. Autographs were never my thing, and I collect absolutely nothing that is modern, yet I feel very bad for all the people who have been victimized or are worried they may have been. |
#73
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I wouldn’t be surprised to see the FBI agents on the case make that quick drive from Westfield to Rosemont in 12 days to shut down the people selling this crap.
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__________________ • Collecting Indianapolis-related pre-war and rare regionals, along with other vintage thru '80s • Successful deals with Kingcobb, Harford20, darwinbulldog, iwantitiwinit, helfrich91, kaddyshack, Marckus99, D. Bergin, Commodus the Great, Moonlight Graham, orioles70, adoo1, Nilo, JollyElm, DJCollector1, angolajones, timn1, jh691626, NiceDocter |
#74
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I would argue it's not diamond cut (which means, to me the corners aren't 90 degrees) but rather the image on the back is tilted.
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Check out https://www.thecollectorconnection.com Always looking for consignments 717.327.8915 We sell your less expensive pre-war cards individually instead of in bulk lots to make YOU the most money possible! and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecollectorconnectionauctions |
#75
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I think I agree, but shouldn't that still preclude it from grading 9?
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#76
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EDIT: I added a square cornered red line to the image to help. ![]() Last edited by bnorth; 07-18-2025 at 08:04 AM. |
#77
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diamond cut? or is the print off kilter? the card itself looks square?
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#78
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At the risk of invalidating your previous praise I'm not 100% sure. The card is not square in the slab, which makes the left and right sides look off, but the front image with the vertical lines doesn't look diamond cut, so I think it's a tilted print job on the back. Run through the press a little crooked somehow, but cut correctly. Obviously there's no benefit to me if the card is good or not so it's the unbiased opinion of one guy who hasn't held the card in his hand, your mileage may vary!
and yes I agree it still shouldn't be a 9, but sometimes they don't pay enough attention to backs
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Check out https://www.thecollectorconnection.com Always looking for consignments 717.327.8915 We sell your less expensive pre-war cards individually instead of in bulk lots to make YOU the most money possible! and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thecollectorconnectionauctions Last edited by Aquarian Sports Cards; 07-18-2025 at 07:47 AM. |
#79
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#80
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#81
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Probably not for a dad/mom who never collected and their kid wants a piece of their favorite player. Those are the top marks here — there are millions of them.
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__________________ • Collecting Indianapolis-related pre-war and rare regionals, along with other vintage thru '80s • Successful deals with Kingcobb, Harford20, darwinbulldog, iwantitiwinit, helfrich91, kaddyshack, Marckus99, D. Bergin, Commodus the Great, Moonlight Graham, orioles70, adoo1, Nilo, JollyElm, DJCollector1, angolajones, timn1, jh691626, NiceDocter Last edited by Brent G.; 07-18-2025 at 10:49 AM. |
#82
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Yes, and especially when the "autograph" is a couple barely distinguishable initials maybe followed by a squiggle or dash.
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#83
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I feel bad for kids who saved up to buy something signed by one of their heroes. If I owned Ruth, Gehrig, Mantle or Robinson signed cards I'd be shitting my pants now. If you can forge a signature on a football you can certainly do it on a card.
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#84
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Listen to old judge and sell me your signed Ruth’s and Robinsons please
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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-------------------------------------------------------------- Signed Jackie Robinson Run: 4/8 (needs: 48L, 49B, 52T, 56T). Signed 1948 / 1949 Leaf Baseball Set: 56/98. (needs: 8,13,19,22,30,33,36,43,45,55,57,62,65,66,68,70,78, 79,81,93,95,104,108,113,121,123,129,131,137,142,14 3,144,146,153,159,160,161,163,165,168) https://www.flickr.com/photos/198641438@N03/albums/ --not always up to date |
#85
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As long as the autographed cards are in slabs they won’t lose their value.
I wonder why no signed Ruth rookie has ever been found? I guess he just signed on the later, less valuable cards.
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/calvindog/sets |
#86
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That government governs best that governs least. |
#87
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That government governs best that governs least. |
#88
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I own two Ruth autos - both slabbed, great cards, and I know a few collectors that would never want it, and I know several collectors that would love for me to sell it. And I’ll be bidding for another one when the right one pops up. Thats the beauty of the this hobby; everyone is entitled to their own opinion! Sincerely, fake autograph collector
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Looking for: Sporting News/Collins McCarthy Jackson Low Grade Ruth rookie Signed Wilt Chamberlain rookie Cards: https://www.flickr.com/photos/189414509@N08/albums |
#89
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Why would anyone buy a PSA 8/9 prewar card that has arguably higher risk of being trimmed / altered? Theres risk in every high value card purchase, and this scheme mentions nothing of older guys.
To your question on Ruth, there is a headin home signed Ruth, and multiple exhibits from the 20s. The “rookies” have a tiny population compared to Goudeys and in most cases were not marketed to kids the way his later issues were, so again simple answer… higher supply in the hands of more kids led to higher chance of those cards being brought to Ruth for signing. Not to mention in his rookie era he was not swarmed for autograph requests the way he would be in the 1930s. The extrapolation of forged Aaron Judge and Kobe Bryant signatures on modern 8x10 photos and framed jerseys then meaning the most valuable, highly scrutinized, low pop signed vintage cards should be questioned is a leap in judgment I do not understand. The risk in this guys modern autographs were known about by industry autograph experts for years, if you are tracking what those closest to it are saying. And the marks for this ring were largely the unsuspecting mom or dad buying a gift or item for their son or mancave at a (suspicious to hobbyists) discount, that is how he drove high volume sales. Forging one autograph of Babe Ruth on a Goudey card and getting it past the entire industry is highly unlikely to be successful and simply not how we know criminal minds typically work. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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-------------------------------------------------------------- Signed Jackie Robinson Run: 4/8 (needs: 48L, 49B, 52T, 56T). Signed 1948 / 1949 Leaf Baseball Set: 56/98. (needs: 8,13,19,22,30,33,36,43,45,55,57,62,65,66,68,70,78, 79,81,93,95,104,108,113,121,123,129,131,137,142,14 3,144,146,153,159,160,161,163,165,168) https://www.flickr.com/photos/198641438@N03/albums/ --not always up to date |
#90
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#91
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The highlighted portions are the most important takeaways for all the alarmists. Last edited by BillyCoxDodgers3B; Yesterday at 11:08 AM. |
#92
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Are there a lot of modern fake autographs in the hobby on many different surfaces? YES! Are there signed & slabbed vintage fake autographs in the hobby? Yes, probably, but a very tiny fraction compared to all the modern signed jerseys, helmets, balls, photos, etc. If you've studied a signature and done your homework on vintage players' autographs for decades like some of us, it's pretty easy to pick out the bad ones or at least get an uneasy feeling where red flags will instantly come up. It sounds like the vast majority of the 'Expired Guy's' work was the modern signed sharpie or silver paint pen scribbled crap that I've never been interested in anyways. I'm personally not worried at all. |
#93
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Fact: Fraud exists in ALL aspects of collectibles (autos, cards, memorabilia), and not just limited to sports stuff.
Fact: Time and again frauds are exposed and nothing changes. Fact: While I don’t know for sure, logic says/chances are that some of my cards have been doctored, some of my autos forged, and/or some of my LOAs/slabs are wrong and/or have issues. Fact: I know all this, yet I continue to collect/invest and have no intention of stopping. Thems the facts as I see them (but doesn’t change the fact that this sucks balls). Good riddance to the forger. Last edited by Rhotchkiss; Yesterday at 12:51 PM. |
#94
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#95
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Keep in mind, there was an arrest a few years ago of a criminal who forged many signed T206s — not players like Cobb, Mathewson or Cy Young; instead relatively obscure players. Like everything else in the hobby, signed material is also filled with numerous fakes, whether it’s Sal Bando or Babe Ruth. It’s a risk no matter what your hobby interest is: graded cards, raw cards, memorabilia, game used, autographs. Where there’s money, there’s people out there trying to rob you of your money.
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http://www.flickr.com/photos/calvindog/sets |
#96
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youre right, no arguing with that. risk and fraud abound wherever there is money. and i recall learning about that one with SGC / JSA often being at the center of slabbing those T206s. way better to find era-specific / period autos or ones with some provenance wherever possible. despite the fraud risk, we try to stay educated, vigilant, and persist in the hunt for our cardboard in this silly + awesome hobby
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-------------------------------------------------------------- Signed Jackie Robinson Run: 4/8 (needs: 48L, 49B, 52T, 56T). Signed 1948 / 1949 Leaf Baseball Set: 56/98. (needs: 8,13,19,22,30,33,36,43,45,55,57,62,65,66,68,70,78, 79,81,93,95,104,108,113,121,123,129,131,137,142,14 3,144,146,153,159,160,161,163,165,168) https://www.flickr.com/photos/198641438@N03/albums/ --not always up to date |
#97
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It makes sense that a skilled forger would avoid producing thousands of fake prewar signed cards with an autopen, given the limited availability of the cards, the high risk, and the certainty of close examination. Identical Ruth or Cobb signatures would quickly raise red flags.
But what happens when AI is used to create a more human-like autopen that slightly varies each signature? |
#98
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The outcome this time was very different, Rhotch. ![]() |
#99
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Time will tell. I am not talking about the perp (who offed himself), I am talking about the “hobby”, Samosa. Scandal after scandal for many years and the hobby just moves forward, unfazed. This will be no different.
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#100
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Yep.
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