Authenticity question

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by thetruthisoutthere

Please explain exactly what you mean.

When I'm trying to decide whether or not to buy something, I look at the item first. If it doesn't look right, all the LOA's or COA's in the world aren't going to get me to buy it. I'm not knocking people for taking the backward approach, but I think it's why there are so many forgeries on the market (autographs, game-used stuff, etc.). The forgers know what stock we put in COA's and LOA's - even if 'we' (not me) know an item is likely fake, we know we can sell it because of its associated documentation, so we'll pay for it.

As I've mentioned previously, I had a major auction house take a semi-pro cap of mine and sell it as an authentic Cleveland Indians hat, and I had another offer to sell an unauthenticated football helmet as an authentic Notre Dame one. Both items would have had the LOA's that you all covet so much. Same for trimmed and altered vintage cards with the coveted encapsulation of major grading companies. And we all know about Barry Halper's collection.

All I'm saying is - use your eyeballs first. This ball might be fine, but I wouldn't make that determination based on a LOA or COA.