tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35321488516865539562024-03-18T20:11:02.994-07:00Signature Arts, Inc.Signature Arts, Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/01728887998814154702noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3532148851686553956.post-16151085680417967132011-12-30T14:32:00.000-08:002011-12-30T14:36:25.320-08:00Autograph Authentication Scams, Compliants, The Law<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuqqYsyEB45ua63kfGXX1EKXZY_XHRVTLjNa7S37fSThUEW3YcUpU9lb8t3LXI_oBPCRSVI3ODLm7NaM32lN-B4ja87nnK_1qTnpde9HquZYDySJtaokyYigqUcMzDuTjPLz6wr4f4tU8/s1600/FBI-logo-794A6BE4DD-seeklogo_com.gif"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuqqYsyEB45ua63kfGXX1EKXZY_XHRVTLjNa7S37fSThUEW3YcUpU9lb8t3LXI_oBPCRSVI3ODLm7NaM32lN-B4ja87nnK_1qTnpde9HquZYDySJtaokyYigqUcMzDuTjPLz6wr4f4tU8/s320/FBI-logo-794A6BE4DD-seeklogo_com.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5692053732610150882" /></a><br />For years this website has been receiving complaints from collectors and sellers of autographs regarding some horrific experiences they have had with some of the high profile companies who "claim" they can authenticate autographs.<br /><br />We find that on our own investigation on some of these companies we cannot find a single person on paid staff who is basically qualified to professionally authenticate an autograph.<br /><br />In some cases you cannot find out who the actual individual is that authenticated the autograph you have submitted. COMPANIES DON'T AUTHENTICATE AUTOGRAPHS, PEOPLE DO!" In the event that you obtained a celebrity autograph in person and decided to spend your hard earned money to have someone authenticate it and it comes back as "not authentic" you will simply be told you have only paid for their opinion. Anyone including your neighbor can offer an opinion for free and that opinion has a 50/50 chance of being accurate.<br /><br />To look at the backgrounds of some of the persons hired to authenticate autographs at some of these companies is nothing less than frightening. We will not go into detail here but ask why would you send your autograph and a check or money order to someone who only "claims" they can authenticate autographs. You don't even know who you are sending your item to and if you found out, you may be shocked.<br /><br />These companies regularly authenticate rubber stamped, printed, secretarial signed and forged signatures as genuine. Just as bad in many cases they state that genuine signatures are not real. Very recently, one of the most public embarrassing situations ever was seen on national television in front of six million viewers. One person who claims to be an authenticator for at least two high profile companies appeared on a segment of Pawn Stars. This individual examined a movie script that actually was inscribed and signed by Al Ruddy, the films producer. The so called "expert" authenticated Al Ruddy's writing and signature as Al Pacino. This is just one of many examples of total incompetence exhibited by staff of these authenticating companies. More on this story can be found on this site (see August 25, 2011).<br /><br />Signature Arts is overwhelmed with emails complaining about personal experiences with high profile companies who simply claim they can authenticate autographs. These emails always ask what can they do, what are their options because they feel they have been scammed. <br /><br />Big brother is now watching!<br /><br />If you have a complaint and want a file of your experience, email us your story and copy the Attorney General in the State where the authenticating company has an office. It is imperative you also copy in the F.B.I. with your complaint.<br /><br />Your complaint can be one that you experienced either recently or a few years ago. It's important to have your complaint documented.Signature Arts, Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/01728887998814154702noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3532148851686553956.post-73635530657624249432011-10-31T08:57:00.000-07:002011-10-31T09:00:18.488-07:00PAWN STARS Watch John Reznikoff Bomb<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd15QFxQgiHv7yyzxZw7IfMH3NqRzcFhf6gapAs9OI4vvTuN2bH9XFVF1k7zKnDbuej0E1ezw6TXQ3JosEWe4Uos34l4nhB0yYF4MWZesZP0aCgxsXp0T1VZCXWcn4bUEKF6Non280qaY/s1600/pawn-stars-logo-large-1.png"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 210px; height: 95px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd15QFxQgiHv7yyzxZw7IfMH3NqRzcFhf6gapAs9OI4vvTuN2bH9XFVF1k7zKnDbuej0E1ezw6TXQ3JosEWe4Uos34l4nhB0yYF4MWZesZP0aCgxsXp0T1VZCXWcn4bUEKF6Non280qaY/s320/pawn-stars-logo-large-1.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669686694540297394" /></a><br />It’s pretty unique to witness someone trying to impress 6 million viewers on television and watch that same person who was thought by the program to be an expert on autographs prove to the whole world watching that he had no clue and no business authenticating an autograph.<br /> <br />This happens often to John Reznikoff but this time he does so on national television. There is no way Reznikoff can spin what he did in front of millions.<br /> <br />Those who watched Pawn Stars saw Reznikoff entertain us with what many feel is the most embarrassing show of incompetence in the last decade of the autograph hobby.<br /> <br />Reznikoff sent many on his mailing list an email that he was to be called in as an autograph “expert/authenticator” on the hit show Pawn Stars. He strutted into the show dressed in dark clothes like Darth Vader or Dracula. Interestingly, Reznikoff post stories on different internet blogs and uses what appears to be a high school graduation photo of himself. Yet, what showed up on Pawn Stars was a scrubby old looking, unshaven fellow basically unrecognizable to those who have not seen him in the last ten years.<br /> <br />Immediately there seemed to be some sort of a problem as the person representing Pawn Stars only identified Reznikoff as “John”. Not as John Reznikoff or John Reznikoff of University Archives as would be expected. Some feel this happened as Pawn Stars may have googled Reznikoff’s name after a contract was signed.<br /> <br />The fellow at Pawn Stars shows Reznikoff a script for the movie “The Godfather” which was bound. Reznikoff was to examine a full page inscription signed “Al”. Reznikoff makes it appear that this is the first time he is seeing the inscription and signature.<br /> <br />The woman who is offering this script did not know for sure but was hoping the inscription and signature was by the hand of Al Pacino.<br /> <br />Reznikoff pulls out his trusty magnifying glass, like Sherlock Holmes, basically ignoring the fifteen word inscription and focuses on a signature simply signed “Al”. Reznikoff tells the viewers how there are no breaks and stoppages in the signature which tells him its not a forgery. Adding a few more standard comments he continues to give the appearance he has skills and knowledge authenticating autographs. Reznikoff makes the determination that the script is signed by Al Pacino. He continues by saying that it’s his opinion the script has a value of about $2,000.<br /> <br />Based on Reznikoff’s “expert” opinion it appears everyone is happy. The person who owns the script and now the people at Pawn Stars who hopes to purchase it. Yet, not everyone watching the program was just as happy especially serious collectors of entertainment autographs and those truly familiar with authenticating autographs.<br /> <br />Todd Mueller, a well respected autograph dealer by the legitimate autograph hobby saw the Pawn Stars program. It took Todd only a few seconds to know for sure that the fifteen word inscription and signature was not by the hand of Al Pacino. According to Todd, anyone with the slightest knowledge of Al Pacino’s handwriting would come to the same conclusion!<br /> <br />Todd checked his exemplar files and discovered the inscription and signature was without a doubt written by Al Ruddy. Al Ruddy was the producer of the film. He won the Academy Award for Best Picture for “the Godfather” in 1973.<br /> <br />This is not the first time Mueller has had to set Reznikoff straight. Many may remember when Reznikoff was running around telling any reporter who would listen that he had purchased Neil Armstrong’s hair. Mueller came forward and proved Reznikoff was not telling the truth. Mueller produced his cancelled check, made out to Armstrong’s barber. During a phone call with Armstrong’s barber he confirmed he did not know of any person named John Reznikoff.<br /> <br />Back to Pawn Stars, we must keep in mind that Reznikoff was not seeing the inscription and signature on the script for the first time when on television. You can bet that he had a copy well in advance of his appearance on the show. He had ample time to research this item, study the handwriting and signature with known exemplars of Al Pacino’s handwriting. Worse, if he didn’t know what to do he had all the opportunity in the world to show the writing to his associates for whom he is an authenticator before appearing on national television. Whatever exemplars he may have used and who ever he talked to in advance, they all got it wrong!<br /> <br />John Reznikoff is well known in the hobby for mis authenticating autographs. This is the same Reznikoff who took part in selling several million dollars worth of fake John F. Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe autographs. That ordeal still holds the hobby’s record for the most sold fake/forged autographs. His name is also involved in the selling of those forged Elvis Presley lyrics that came from Germany. Reznikoff’s name is associated with numerous mistakes in authenticating many presidential signatures including the famous handwritten Oath of Office by President Reagan that was a forgery. As with the case of Al Pacino/Al Ruddy, Reznikoff has authenticated the wrong person in the past. A few examples are his authenticating as genuine a signature of Maggie Mitchell the civil war actress as Margaret Mitchell of “Gone With The Wind” fame. Another Reznikoff blunder was authenticating Samuel Sewall, Jr as his father the noted judge at the witchcraft trials in Salem, Ma. For a Dallas based auction house.<br /> <br />John Reznikoff is one of the authenticators for RR Auction, PSA and James Spence (JSA). PSA and JSA are authenticators for eBay.<br /> <br />Shortly after the Pawn Stars show aired, the usual handful of suspects came out of the autograph hobby’s litter box. They were on a site run by Steve “anti-Semite” Cyrkin who has been given multiple opportunities to apologize to the Jewish person he made the statemen to. Www.autographalert.com and an autograph organization have called on Cyrkin to apologize but he refuses obviously standing by his hateful statement. This is the same Cyrkin, called an “autograph terrorist” by some in this hobby who is noted for his autograph business failing while he admitted he was pulling all the forgeries out of his inventory. For years, Cyrkin was in denial or simply outright lying, telling all, that his company website was down because he had no time to bring it up to date. Yes, the same Cyrkin who took a well respected hobby magazine and run it into the ground publishing stories like the one of dozens of autographs on a guitar that later proved all to be forgeries.<br /> <br />A handful of bloggers on his site, many who hide and go under fictitious names and others using multiple names praised Reznikoff for his appearance on Pawn Stars. Obviously, every one of them knew as much about authenticating autographs as Reznikoff did.<br /> <br />On another blog site one collector wrote: “I’d be afraid to send Reznikoff my Abraham Lincoln signed item to be authenticated. It may come back as being a genuine Art Linkletter.”<br /> <br />John Reznikoff’s recent blunder in front of the world is the talk of the International autograph community. The story and its horrors was recently picked up by a Las Vegas newspaper.Signature Arts, Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/01728887998814154702noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3532148851686553956.post-6070699022628670622011-05-14T05:27:00.000-07:002011-05-14T05:36:16.931-07:00Another James Spence Mistake!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzdb8x087DzP8V_FKHazi9aUEYcyoHHr2EdA3mDW9SQsGA8Uy3k9olXGVpLBEv_BOPODGMZBaiHsFQ9VmgGOBUzGnau2aOVZpKkN-X12gpJS8TawJ4zeRNddqnDgDIpaS3gCjFy83LzBg/s1600/jjohn_leaf2.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 272px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzdb8x087DzP8V_FKHazi9aUEYcyoHHr2EdA3mDW9SQsGA8Uy3k9olXGVpLBEv_BOPODGMZBaiHsFQ9VmgGOBUzGnau2aOVZpKkN-X12gpJS8TawJ4zeRNddqnDgDIpaS3gCjFy83LzBg/s320/jjohn_leaf2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606548762946802194" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbcfSzM1N_GhJoQfuKnmM_gQH_ScnAzjF0ktlX1ehm8hPu1kieM_o5zYxfcisSNc353JF7rfEhwDKkQm5PR5oK9zvizneU59SDMwQn8OI6XNyAdSAfuUbMfVKBbcWjB93D2ap8gNcpODw/s1600/jjohn_leaf1.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 262px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbcfSzM1N_GhJoQfuKnmM_gQH_ScnAzjF0ktlX1ehm8hPu1kieM_o5zYxfcisSNc353JF7rfEhwDKkQm5PR5oK9zvizneU59SDMwQn8OI6XNyAdSAfuUbMfVKBbcWjB93D2ap8gNcpODw/s320/jjohn_leaf1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606548676661906178" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />1948 Leaf Card of Jack Johnson Authenticated by James Spence</span><br /><br />Has anyone seen the latest item for sale in American Memorabilia’s Auction? This outfit who has a long history of selling items mis-authenticated by 3rd party authenticators has what they describe as a “1948 Leaf - Jack Johnson Signed card #17”. Opening bid $200.00.<br /><br />A genuine signature of Jack Johnson is quite uncommon. According to several genuine autograph experts, the signature on this card is a very poor quality forgery and no respected authenticator would ever attach their name to it. Yet, this poor quality forgery passes muster by James Spence. This item has been authenticated as genuine by James Spence at JSA Authentication.<br /><br />Once again, how could this happen? How in the world was any research done on this signature by James Spence to pass this horrible forgery as genuine? Again, we ask James Spence to come forward and tell us what he did to determine this signature of Jack Johnson is genuine? What did he do time wise for the money he was paid to authenticate this item? Where in the world did he find even one exemplar to make such a horrible guess? What credentials does James Spence have to be an autograph authenticator?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">No matter what James Spence has to say to even attempt to justify his latest blunder, may we also state that Jack Johnson died on June 10, 1946, two years before this card was produced!</span><br /><br />The following is an email we received recently. It is like so many others we have received.<br />5/11/2011 1:44:23 Eastern Daylight Time<br />“I also want to mention to support your story on JSA. I was given a ball hand signed by Albert Pujols, he actually put the ball in my hand. JSA (James Spence) was having an event in Feb with Steiner Sports. I decided to take the ball over to them JUST to see what they would say. Of course, they asked “where I got the ball” prior to actually looking at it. I responded, “what difference does it make where I got it“? They failed the ball, at which point I then told them where I got the ball. And of course they did not believe me and said it was a fake. Worst of all they still charged me the 430. Thanks much, John W.”Signature Arts, Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/01728887998814154702noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3532148851686553956.post-46954303199176925152011-02-21T13:44:00.000-08:002011-02-21T15:06:14.851-08:00James Spence Authentication: Authenticating Memorabilia or Pushing An Agenda? JSA Fails Pieces They Already Certified As Authentic!We have heard people in the autograph and memorabilia collecting community say that James Spence Authentication (JSA) will fail anything that has previously been certified by any other forensic examiner.<br /> <br />We decided to put this assertion to the test, with an unusual twist. We had several pieces certified by JSA. We then had them certified by Christopher L. Morales, Forensic Document Examiner (Chris Morales). What would JSA do with the pieces that already had JSA certifications after they also had certifications from Chris Morales? Would JSA really fail pieces it had already certified?<br /> <br />Look at the results and you can decide for yourself what a JSA examination really amounts to.<br /> <br />The first item is a pair of boxing trunks signed by Joe Frazier (detail below).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguwHGg-jb0bmBKOjh_z-zfFYo-sajmpVSThRhD0rnXw4IMu4OQt1IANsI5kAss4OJPgLBjtfc-WszvCvlflOCRRkU747UTL_m8Dus9TgNUMwkK29hOoftvcIyQiED7HAQ7NK_ii3ha3hk/s1600/joefrazier1.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguwHGg-jb0bmBKOjh_z-zfFYo-sajmpVSThRhD0rnXw4IMu4OQt1IANsI5kAss4OJPgLBjtfc-WszvCvlflOCRRkU747UTL_m8Dus9TgNUMwkK29hOoftvcIyQiED7HAQ7NK_ii3ha3hk/s320/joefrazier1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576262732111997282" /></a> <br /><br />The piece comes with a JSA sticker affixed to it, W54017. It states that Joe Frazier signed the piece in front of a JSA staff member. It is part of their "Witnessed Protection Program," the highest guarantee JSA can give (below is the certification).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu44R_YhtACPDX7u_Pd0KmsZp3KC3ULJOGjctiUcHZuVu_JlUG04wpTcerNA-L765yIImcmf2c0aXhZefHsCFUQZEpEToBatx76ljaBIzh0OugzeAPwtX25U9SazilDv5Uovp0Nvc5VWY/s1600/joefrazier2.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 194px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu44R_YhtACPDX7u_Pd0KmsZp3KC3ULJOGjctiUcHZuVu_JlUG04wpTcerNA-L765yIImcmf2c0aXhZefHsCFUQZEpEToBatx76ljaBIzh0OugzeAPwtX25U9SazilDv5Uovp0Nvc5VWY/s320/joefrazier2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576263231570716802" /></a><br /><br />We showed the same piece to JSA again after it had been certified by Chris Morales. The only difference is now it has a hologram and certificate from Chris Morales (see below).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk436HNPSsrx-pf8c6TBZ8CXTD9GHA-BzXc76O6_CsMMtsxBjD_if3fY6cxxrKlr8k4_fzbcDBQI7wCQQaFJHD4vL2s_s5WrK6Jj9IX0BHG7Qjz2nxb6_oHtYMIUgTyurTex-BhmSmAqQ/s1600/joefrazier3.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 227px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk436HNPSsrx-pf8c6TBZ8CXTD9GHA-BzXc76O6_CsMMtsxBjD_if3fY6cxxrKlr8k4_fzbcDBQI7wCQQaFJHD4vL2s_s5WrK6Jj9IX0BHG7Qjz2nxb6_oHtYMIUgTyurTex-BhmSmAqQ/s320/joefrazier3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576263554317838002" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5p3t1BgQdWmbZH9FAH5rXQt-PbsB4-gKkohiHyF8SZ9QuRUdIEnCHbwOC_OPjPy4rn1ncu1bDfvVCCjLGtAyu2Ed3uXJcj25bm8ZEQA6W9762Ljwyt_-tNYrENX-UAXNaPqBsf849E5k/s1600/jsa4.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 248px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5p3t1BgQdWmbZH9FAH5rXQt-PbsB4-gKkohiHyF8SZ9QuRUdIEnCHbwOC_OPjPy4rn1ncu1bDfvVCCjLGtAyu2Ed3uXJcj25bm8ZEQA6W9762Ljwyt_-tNYrENX-UAXNaPqBsf849E5k/s320/jsa4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576263882249170194" /></a><br /><br />As seen, it is the same pair of boxing trunks. It has the same signature. What did JSA do with the piece?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIrjox9YcrM3ixAKfJQeiDEHuMl8XvnUIiG1ar6r9S85oAdvWbiQH06G8EOk094X1djAasusiKHKT9qu5VrirskfEFn0BLG7xI8F2MpDy_Gr0jsIeSJG8ksIv5CoE7U8_L-klbMM4dWKc/s1600/joefrazier4.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 248px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIrjox9YcrM3ixAKfJQeiDEHuMl8XvnUIiG1ar6r9S85oAdvWbiQH06G8EOk094X1djAasusiKHKT9qu5VrirskfEFn0BLG7xI8F2MpDy_Gr0jsIeSJG8ksIv5CoE7U8_L-klbMM4dWKc/s320/joefrazier4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576264249022958194" /></a><br /><br />That's right, they failed it. JSA gave eight reasons to explain the flaws in the JSA "Witnessed Protection Program" piece of memorabilia. Apparently, the mere presence of Chris Morales' certification has caused the JSA "Witnessed Protection Program" to grow atypical letter slant, angle and/or pitch. Did this problem occur when the JSA staff member witnessed the piece or afterwards?<br /> <br />Not only did JSA fail the piece, but Larry Studebaker, James Spence's main authenticator, laughed out loud and said the piece was "f-ing horrible." Really? A piece from JSA's "Witnessed Protection Program"?<br /> <br />According to Larry Studebaker, James Spence himself personally checks all of the items before he issued a JSA certificate. James Spence did not overrule Larry Studebaker. According to JSA, their previously witnessed piece is now a forgery.<br /><br />Did the irregular letter shape and/or formation occur when Joe Frazier signed the piece in front of the JSA staff member? Did it occur after JSA put its identifying sticker on the boxing trunks? Did it occur after Chris Morales certified it?<br /><br />Just what does the "guaranteed to be authentic" on the original JSA certificate mean if JSA fails its own witnessed piece? How could this happen? Would it happen again?<br /> <br />The next piece is a Mickey Mantle jersey (below). Accompanied by a full JSA Letter of Authentication, it has JSA sticker number B35319.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9wFMtnp1gRHIzbq8rUaq_DGu-yv_Ci-e7uX9uyUfDi-OUkXPbvdmPlxwOMZXYPIw2-fhWlDCcLFQpY-shd-gLwsmDWuCZbIfCQEv6sLW9CnqMrJkSim19MwTeK3Dmouh52oYLFWeb96g/s1600/mantlejsa.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9wFMtnp1gRHIzbq8rUaq_DGu-yv_Ci-e7uX9uyUfDi-OUkXPbvdmPlxwOMZXYPIw2-fhWlDCcLFQpY-shd-gLwsmDWuCZbIfCQEv6sLW9CnqMrJkSim19MwTeK3Dmouh52oYLFWeb96g/s320/mantlejsa.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576264674492029266" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2vTzzZUgdkwvn2uVcIVieT6GCW4TzsICZCF2-81y1ugo5ZP4O2gj2O42OLC10traIQs4xRliyT-ToE4vNqKbTHYwFZqZ45seGByHnxH9fXqqJL3_wnR18VwbmpkcT9BJo__BTjT6gBAc/s1600/mantlejsa2.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 310px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2vTzzZUgdkwvn2uVcIVieT6GCW4TzsICZCF2-81y1ugo5ZP4O2gj2O42OLC10traIQs4xRliyT-ToE4vNqKbTHYwFZqZ45seGByHnxH9fXqqJL3_wnR18VwbmpkcT9BJo__BTjT6gBAc/s320/mantlejsa2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576264880893676866" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUHNMTKIAl462cbtJyhSx_RN2DjjU-C6vOxhuuqXR8DwKBtTJ0qlyHoYWclR3XrQzJTlb66-sWeT6_vEQXZYrNBMr0EgPfx_kyxPWmdtfZUo_QbB_bsQ7jYDZVHqfPzh0AUw6jfmLLG2Y/s1600/mantlejsa3.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUHNMTKIAl462cbtJyhSx_RN2DjjU-C6vOxhuuqXR8DwKBtTJ0qlyHoYWclR3XrQzJTlb66-sWeT6_vEQXZYrNBMr0EgPfx_kyxPWmdtfZUo_QbB_bsQ7jYDZVHqfPzh0AUw6jfmLLG2Y/s320/mantlejsa3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576265192336932770" /></a><br /><br />Same test. Would we get the same results? Would JSA fail an item JSA had previously passed if Chris Morales passed it?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV9gCKMHcVJpYFQgjC6tBJq6JwgoSJO6otvJkHxZRuKc0UKhkQOaIor2WOMAJX6WIMJQT6y-efSbV4kXmgT0nGcZMOGdsHhQl7MHFpqdHl_PNUvORM_R30dMkm9s8o2dGw0HVdFhHMI1g/s1600/jsa9.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV9gCKMHcVJpYFQgjC6tBJq6JwgoSJO6otvJkHxZRuKc0UKhkQOaIor2WOMAJX6WIMJQT6y-efSbV4kXmgT0nGcZMOGdsHhQl7MHFpqdHl_PNUvORM_R30dMkm9s8o2dGw0HVdFhHMI1g/s320/jsa9.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576265480941835314" /></a><br /><br />The answer is yes!!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbtGvV1VcJJuc9VvNbvEPxzKV_7AVoBazB33UQTPDMOm_Wo_Mz_XqjOWGgaPSe6iaH0MB_rGniJuQPFXoXtma6PZbe2-1rVW0vmh49TB9aHUIwWerIu8W8K5-5lo74_lrFOANNZV5Gqc4/s1600/mantlejsa4.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbtGvV1VcJJuc9VvNbvEPxzKV_7AVoBazB33UQTPDMOm_Wo_Mz_XqjOWGgaPSe6iaH0MB_rGniJuQPFXoXtma6PZbe2-1rVW0vmh49TB9aHUIwWerIu8W8K5-5lo74_lrFOANNZV5Gqc4/s320/mantlejsa4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576266978497852098" /></a><br /><br /><br />This time, JSA found twelve reasons to fail the Mickey Mantle baseball jersey that had already been certified by JSA. Apparently, now the signature suffered from such problems as "Drawn slowly, Labored & contrived," "Hesitation, tremors, patching, and/or pen lifts" and "Unusually positioned on item."<br /> <br />When did these problems, and the other problems, creep into the signature? Before or after JSA issued its first certificate? After Chris Morales certified it? How did that change the signature?<br /> <br />It certainly seems that JSA was examining Chris Morales' certificate more than the Mickey Mantle jersey the second time JSA looked at the same piece JSA had already certified as genuine. How is that a legitimate business act? Shouldn't JSA actually be judging the signature instead of any other certificates? Is this fair to their customers? <br /> <br />Apparently, now that Chris Morales had certified the jersey, Larry Studebaker feels the signature "isn't even close."<br /> <br />Once again, when James Spence personally checked the item before he issued a certificate, he did not overrule Larry Studebaker. According to JSA, their previously certified piece is now a forgery.<br /> <br />Surely, JSA would not do it again, right? Surely JSA would base its reports on the merits of the memorabilia.<br /> <br />Wrong.<br /> <br />The next piece is a Paul McCartney World Tour booklet. Signed boldly by McCartney on the cover, it is accompanied by the full JSA Letter of Authentication, and has JSA sticker number B34513. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2mYTivn4c2f_qBuykeKVoKLg9inSdxxD75lWoki8yCfDmSZRt7N0V6oH37P1akAr74HAebIakZzU59o910HJ2E3FhjUNc_6rPpehAg7eOvS77GjkZjK95GPbA_lC5f8IFa3Hu8zrVrdc/s1600/mccartneyjsa.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 246px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2mYTivn4c2f_qBuykeKVoKLg9inSdxxD75lWoki8yCfDmSZRt7N0V6oH37P1akAr74HAebIakZzU59o910HJ2E3FhjUNc_6rPpehAg7eOvS77GjkZjK95GPbA_lC5f8IFa3Hu8zrVrdc/s320/mccartneyjsa.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576266288220171730" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8uYOfU_wvvAP6-M0SV4QJLDj-Sl5POuMvkmKRZbxuoi4uqJokOlP0-TkOnAFiwDeq788TtTFwDG-wFXkpkDueEaeM5I5LJaZSrBWTIM3KeSvctTuVt85sEeuGVB8sfUj-DEgzBxHtWoo/s1600/mccartneyjsa2.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8uYOfU_wvvAP6-M0SV4QJLDj-Sl5POuMvkmKRZbxuoi4uqJokOlP0-TkOnAFiwDeq788TtTFwDG-wFXkpkDueEaeM5I5LJaZSrBWTIM3KeSvctTuVt85sEeuGVB8sfUj-DEgzBxHtWoo/s320/mccartneyjsa2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576266531678282802" /></a><br /><br />Once again, Chris Morales examined it, concurred with the initial JSA findings, and issued a certificate of authenticity.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGvHYFisuxOZtBMNqsyPiRqBslXJYHBxQ4-Cw8JqfC3nT0YwfASGE-ig3VIMttOU5-qk91qp7cJZ_0RRXrXpRLpAW41imHS3BVNLi7DjXfbsFf2YtUC5Lpx3DxQJKF968FrfAGhn82FDs/s1600/jsa13.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGvHYFisuxOZtBMNqsyPiRqBslXJYHBxQ4-Cw8JqfC3nT0YwfASGE-ig3VIMttOU5-qk91qp7cJZ_0RRXrXpRLpAW41imHS3BVNLi7DjXfbsFf2YtUC5Lpx3DxQJKF968FrfAGhn82FDs/s320/jsa13.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576268077387485794" /></a><br /><br />Would that solitary piece of paper be enough to make sure JSA would no longer have faith in the piece, even though nothing has been done to the signature? The answer again, is yes.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq5FOK4tnV0bDRlEg76Z6FYW3QfcYtmtUpjforjoq8inFa5aEI2eIv2Q4xoMB9691o-D2nZgAooTcB0S-G4VvwKfJu5I-OLRLqnICZiAGgTvor9pr84EbZqn6ZTj6pKuqp9tQYq1Jw3iU/s1600/mccartneyjsa3.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq5FOK4tnV0bDRlEg76Z6FYW3QfcYtmtUpjforjoq8inFa5aEI2eIv2Q4xoMB9691o-D2nZgAooTcB0S-G4VvwKfJu5I-OLRLqnICZiAGgTvor9pr84EbZqn6ZTj6pKuqp9tQYq1Jw3iU/s320/mccartneyjsa3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576268701304756754" /></a><br /><br />Apparently, failing items certified by Chris Morales is more important than the validity of memorabilia, even if the same piece has previously been certified by JSA.<br /> <br />This time, there were twelve problems with the piece. Apparently, at some time between the first JSA certificate and Chris Morales' certificate, the booklet developed, among other things, "Irregular letter slant, angle and/or pitch," "Excessive pen pressure and/or improper shading," "Sizing of letters Disproportionate/Exaggerated/Undersized," and "Irregular letter shape and/or formation".<br /> <br />According to the JSA examiner, he had personally obtained several signatures of Paul McCartney, and the signature on the booklet was "nothing like Paul McCartney's signature. Chris Morales will pass anything."<br /><br />Didn't the twelve issues that JSA observed after Chris Morales certified the booklet bother JSA when it originally certified the piece as genuine?<br /> <br />Once again, when James Spence personally checked the item before he issued a certificate, he stated that their previously certified piece is now a forgery.<br /> <br />In JSA's original certificate reported that the signature on the booklet was consistent with JSA's "extensive database of known exemplars." Ironically, the JSA certificate passing the very item before Chris Morales certified it stated "The signature is consistent considering a wide range of specific qualities, including slant, flow, pen pressure, letter size and formation, and other characteristics typical of our extensive database of known exemplars we have examined throughout our hobby and professional careers".<br /> <br />Four of the very reasons JSA used to praise the booklet when JSA originally passed it became reasons 1, 4, 6 and 12 when Chris Morales' certificate seems to have caused JSA to fail the same piece.<br /> <br />Apparently, the problem is not limited to JSA's "Witnessed Protection Program" and their full letters of authenticity, but their "Basic Cert" authentications, as well.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxfqNKPsV0rRs_JtSlYcrOEY-IShMPDObcb1RHpv4577f_w8oD1Q8w86g7pGGt_ZVBTOq7ZYqtgCHtJYh2X2tLgtoa5VU2TkVfCV_WK2uIMeVAb_fFAT7ALow-fMwmVtyHUzGLyhprDSM/s1600/jsa15.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 277px; height: 289px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxfqNKPsV0rRs_JtSlYcrOEY-IShMPDObcb1RHpv4577f_w8oD1Q8w86g7pGGt_ZVBTOq7ZYqtgCHtJYh2X2tLgtoa5VU2TkVfCV_WK2uIMeVAb_fFAT7ALow-fMwmVtyHUzGLyhprDSM/s320/jsa15.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576269027495234818" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheGsMMABuf1hPI14-4IxsKEKKpjAbHEPK8Kx7igJEWhlvpwKZCMhOQfKSvLRaJnEwpHbIAW9B8QZTLR20pIN6H3c9aelVhOcvT7gelnRL07D3jl7cX6gW0d2FVWcHSFZ4AGAx9Vaw10JE/s1600/jsa16.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 277px; height: 289px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheGsMMABuf1hPI14-4IxsKEKKpjAbHEPK8Kx7igJEWhlvpwKZCMhOQfKSvLRaJnEwpHbIAW9B8QZTLR20pIN6H3c9aelVhOcvT7gelnRL07D3jl7cX6gW0d2FVWcHSFZ4AGAx9Vaw10JE/s320/jsa16.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576269170285756514" /></a> <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWlU4nDNlD_sPskmUaJyqEa74Datb65B8vcJQdiorRfn85xze-8DxUUVTapkChMKhD1iZRpZw2iABB6PFP-ka_dihil279QMWRoV4Rh-VfIyAlkAZz-D_7C2kaUEoucYGzEW4-5LYB60o/s1600/jsa17.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 179px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWlU4nDNlD_sPskmUaJyqEa74Datb65B8vcJQdiorRfn85xze-8DxUUVTapkChMKhD1iZRpZw2iABB6PFP-ka_dihil279QMWRoV4Rh-VfIyAlkAZz-D_7C2kaUEoucYGzEW4-5LYB60o/s320/jsa17.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576269426251963906" /></a><br /><br />According to the JSA website, the only difference between the full certificate and the Basic Cert is the price. "Popular among dealers and collectors alike, the Basic Cert employs the same valued authentication process to verify lesser valued autographed items. Included with the Basic Cert program is a 3" x 5" James Spence Authentication registration card printed with a unique certification number corresponding to the alpha-numeric tamper evident label. Of course, similar to the Premium Letter of Authenticity each certification number is uploaded into our exclusive database for 24-hour customer verification access. All Basic Cert cards are fully transferable without resubmission."<br /> <br />Unfortunately, if Chris Morales sees the piece, the "fully transferable" concept goes right out the window.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwDwVUaKSBQon-FdZ_rMW7XglsezGVyzwRWjpFCxyyuma-EBT0C_V_rn6-nUs53jCyuNvOlqSwAt3gJSE-4CzZ-StcCGwqkqTSUoPO_fYyVUVG41P4nvHow0_sf1aEzDuKtIJ3h8ix-C8/s1600/jsa18.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwDwVUaKSBQon-FdZ_rMW7XglsezGVyzwRWjpFCxyyuma-EBT0C_V_rn6-nUs53jCyuNvOlqSwAt3gJSE-4CzZ-StcCGwqkqTSUoPO_fYyVUVG41P4nvHow0_sf1aEzDuKtIJ3h8ix-C8/s320/jsa18.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576269696481886594" /></a><br /><br />It certainly seems that JSA is likely to fail any piece that is attached to Chris Morales' certificate.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyV72v9pt3Z4UV5QCNhUOfBtvgqN9XUVgJ-SjfB1_ocBo0bDUgl2F0QyytNDeffWxMDJr4wGXQEkGVt3A56YJ2Go-nF_b6A7MKAig6UQ_ZZcLhmoZ9n1MouOL5aOSG6lTS_8uc-8x-Xos/s1600/jsa19.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyV72v9pt3Z4UV5QCNhUOfBtvgqN9XUVgJ-SjfB1_ocBo0bDUgl2F0QyytNDeffWxMDJr4wGXQEkGVt3A56YJ2Go-nF_b6A7MKAig6UQ_ZZcLhmoZ9n1MouOL5aOSG6lTS_8uc-8x-Xos/s320/jsa19.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576270033332490610" /></a><br /><br />The same seemed to be true of witnessed pieces.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFW6YYWV3kLIuLPXgpZJ649S0VjTQZt2zZjLdpPw7JsdmpO_-wRWyfNWw-_HC18xdKc_3l6DVnNka2UShc6Ucd1flU1xq4IjWbX_M7PxGRXMysTEgY5UUaYRe3w92MDmcj9YgE8qHKaYY/s1600/woodsjsa.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 228px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFW6YYWV3kLIuLPXgpZJ649S0VjTQZt2zZjLdpPw7JsdmpO_-wRWyfNWw-_HC18xdKc_3l6DVnNka2UShc6Ucd1flU1xq4IjWbX_M7PxGRXMysTEgY5UUaYRe3w92MDmcj9YgE8qHKaYY/s320/woodsjsa.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576270293173383138" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyfkfID9unpT_JEcQbYjKP8n6sTeIiahkhlapfh5TpBXhNWddeCV59sMDMt3bWFPwR_xgpvvb6MCFYG_mZyNy8ojpsfOd70kw6RDTwUIJSeIHRkShw-mFR0tZ7U2puPDdP8LUVs8rgRXM/s1600/woodsjsa2.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 126px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyfkfID9unpT_JEcQbYjKP8n6sTeIiahkhlapfh5TpBXhNWddeCV59sMDMt3bWFPwR_xgpvvb6MCFYG_mZyNy8ojpsfOd70kw6RDTwUIJSeIHRkShw-mFR0tZ7U2puPDdP8LUVs8rgRXM/s320/woodsjsa2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576270564547842178" /></a><br /><br />Chris Morales certified this Upper Deck certified, witnessed piece. Tiger Woods signed the piece in front of Upper Deck's certified witness program.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghAruiLNZ5W5XGQqs_2itMAr0Zvb3wproVH1hOEBn7UM0WkRVSgDuWlI1T1nXhhkyZMStIKOLHusVgwuka6Be9NtyvKhkgNTEupHNIW32FZDafiWlnf1p6YXuBDFxiaicEbEck9Akl72E/s1600/jsa22.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghAruiLNZ5W5XGQqs_2itMAr0Zvb3wproVH1hOEBn7UM0WkRVSgDuWlI1T1nXhhkyZMStIKOLHusVgwuka6Be9NtyvKhkgNTEupHNIW32FZDafiWlnf1p6YXuBDFxiaicEbEck9Akl72E/s320/jsa22.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576270989949356210" /></a><br /><br />Unfortunately, if JSA gets the chance to turn down the Chris Morales certified piece, which is a clean, textbook example of Tiger Woods' signature, JSA makes the most of the opportunity.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDnQ7sUn1rutZYcAvKrrXYUlXDrUQRoa7e4NOTg1csUQqP8xFooyan4Rht8QCV4vwmEuFhobJoC48r_p_Dnm1Wqk-Z9wB8FePorBgKPfW9H6JXEfCZG_u34ermr6sLsI3c6cCf6u3S8eU/s1600/woodsjsa3.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDnQ7sUn1rutZYcAvKrrXYUlXDrUQRoa7e4NOTg1csUQqP8xFooyan4Rht8QCV4vwmEuFhobJoC48r_p_Dnm1Wqk-Z9wB8FePorBgKPfW9H6JXEfCZG_u34ermr6sLsI3c6cCf6u3S8eU/s320/woodsjsa3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576271245223476482" /></a><br /><br />JSA even went so far as to list "C. Morales 7-18-08" as the type in the descriptor box.<br /> <br />JSA listed twelve reasons for failing the Upper Deck witnessed piece. In fact, when the piece was examined, the JSA representative picked up Chris Morales' certificate and stated "it's amazing what this guy gets away with."<br /> <br />Even worse, on JSA's own website, it lists "Valued auction houses and dealers employing our services include"…you guessed it: Upper Deck. JSA failed his own client's piece when it showed up with a Chris Morales certificate.<br /> <br />JSA proved consistent with another Upper Deck witnessed pieces. JSA's client's witnessed pieces.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXVUZOLylR5wgDdButYE4Abvr_TM8zraOo514Pe_eoxbxmEO5L89nK3wgKWp1Gb0pk0NVcyY4eL-K07zYm_2Y67T432fk4r16gMqjomGc5qtq6RNQOAoMd5WaZtkkh9KFlAKOYobQtbzw/s1600/bryantjsa.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXVUZOLylR5wgDdButYE4Abvr_TM8zraOo514Pe_eoxbxmEO5L89nK3wgKWp1Gb0pk0NVcyY4eL-K07zYm_2Y67T432fk4r16gMqjomGc5qtq6RNQOAoMd5WaZtkkh9KFlAKOYobQtbzw/s320/bryantjsa.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576271494334297842" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig1UTk3bIb0hK4Vorgl-lcMO0gMBVbqOKKxsHg8ZVQGXa2XeMp0UmrpTxQvKIOjC-F-3d54uK2Po-SDixShdbglWjJolr3bcymFBP8GyCzFiR7AmYXJb_bw3xeZugbjlDKoV3v81krXjI/s1600/bryantjsa2.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 126px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig1UTk3bIb0hK4Vorgl-lcMO0gMBVbqOKKxsHg8ZVQGXa2XeMp0UmrpTxQvKIOjC-F-3d54uK2Po-SDixShdbglWjJolr3bcymFBP8GyCzFiR7AmYXJb_bw3xeZugbjlDKoV3v81krXjI/s320/bryantjsa2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576271606494251314" /></a><br /><br />Chris Morales certified the piece (below).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtAx768Z2BCf7OxDCamVrXSi_KAZsSLsR0Mu0anIjjsUg-0c6qZ_sJNJsKjSArXWakNqDv5H8MK4zcH045Dyf7KiDmmnWqa47w72zsb-mM1v77-SHiEOaBpmhWweOnHJiXNNZZPWdGq7E/s1600/jsa26.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtAx768Z2BCf7OxDCamVrXSi_KAZsSLsR0Mu0anIjjsUg-0c6qZ_sJNJsKjSArXWakNqDv5H8MK4zcH045Dyf7KiDmmnWqa47w72zsb-mM1v77-SHiEOaBpmhWweOnHJiXNNZZPWdGq7E/s320/jsa26.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576271849954670482" /></a><br /><br />Despite Upper Deck's guaranteed "5-step patented hologram process," a Chris Morales certificate seems to doom practically anything JSA sees.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimBK_dHPb5m_XhSUBuww3O-jD0DO9927dlpPSqPbNg6KNxGko-6kKXNgt52e9nlEQs47hBU2h3CV2mFPTXBY4xKCHAmlg2RFli1RfvPuMr7YCd7ATbTee4S3qozYN1B4mOpQu43A-EdKo/s1600/bryantjsa3.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimBK_dHPb5m_XhSUBuww3O-jD0DO9927dlpPSqPbNg6KNxGko-6kKXNgt52e9nlEQs47hBU2h3CV2mFPTXBY4xKCHAmlg2RFli1RfvPuMr7YCd7ATbTee4S3qozYN1B4mOpQu43A-EdKo/s320/bryantjsa3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576272082403000546" /></a><br /><br />Other witnessed pieces did not fare any better, like the below Bret Michaels signed guitar.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikYhmOPJ4-rgvH9IqQnTYgLHWFE6vqJW2Sni40sNTxT2sSYAeGDFTceQoSRoIXV5kIYtkVlDCh35KWvXgdVApvd8XFh-XRO-i4U0vHnSybgLSsg_xM8boepRsI2zE07hFcep6MRctU2r8/s1600/jsa28.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 242px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikYhmOPJ4-rgvH9IqQnTYgLHWFE6vqJW2Sni40sNTxT2sSYAeGDFTceQoSRoIXV5kIYtkVlDCh35KWvXgdVApvd8XFh-XRO-i4U0vHnSybgLSsg_xM8boepRsI2zE07hFcep6MRctU2r8/s320/jsa28.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576272636154315810" /></a><br /><br />Chris Morales certified the piece as authentic.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8KBZQ38abmhOPeSbXiE7o6eelfeT7e_ugcK_wf_OJDKkyxLU3r95rlJw_2O491y6aDyoxXEm5w0NP6WG61e2eV5u7_yg0Q9lai02EQvLyFHF4sberACqnl8ow1lDXHo6fCwO8e0K98Ms/s1600/jsa29.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8KBZQ38abmhOPeSbXiE7o6eelfeT7e_ugcK_wf_OJDKkyxLU3r95rlJw_2O491y6aDyoxXEm5w0NP6WG61e2eV5u7_yg0Q9lai02EQvLyFHF4sberACqnl8ow1lDXHo6fCwO8e0K98Ms/s320/jsa29.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576272901632385186" /></a><br /><br />One of our associates made an appointment with JSA in a hotel conference room after one of their trade shows. There were several clients there, all getting individualized attention from JSA.<br /> <br />An individual who Larry Studebaker told our associate was a "regular client" also had a Bret Michaels signed piece. Studebaker told our associate he was not comfortable with the guitar. Larry Studebaker pointed out that the "regular client's" piece looked "completely different" than our associate's, so obviously his was a forgery and the regular client had a genuine piece, which JSA certified as genuine.<br /> <br />The problem?<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf-q_-AZyjE3rGnFA8Ycdb2FtkPtVzGIP_cdh6DJElP51P2BT6xyiRtHb_SGIGoOMjEgov2CIh3X2JhcaaITo7ufnvb_dWS8wnOmfgsba0peYqk1tcbITf48bhE1cWCjdR0gllYNvdxWQ/s1600/michaelsjsa.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 249px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf-q_-AZyjE3rGnFA8Ycdb2FtkPtVzGIP_cdh6DJElP51P2BT6xyiRtHb_SGIGoOMjEgov2CIh3X2JhcaaITo7ufnvb_dWS8wnOmfgsba0peYqk1tcbITf48bhE1cWCjdR0gllYNvdxWQ/s320/michaelsjsa.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576273158194240386" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw4xwo7RPLhZgs5y-ppfAz3tt11CgoyhtXw-wpY0YwsQQbsGNRbUpJQvpQLha2n8_nR74PeymkPM10UBaElDTrJ3hdF-coyn4aLGBMkB2NB_z0o7w4tz05a1humE7SSApCz-O1TvjHwhg/s1600/michaelsjsa2.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 296px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw4xwo7RPLhZgs5y-ppfAz3tt11CgoyhtXw-wpY0YwsQQbsGNRbUpJQvpQLha2n8_nR74PeymkPM10UBaElDTrJ3hdF-coyn4aLGBMkB2NB_z0o7w4tz05a1humE7SSApCz-O1TvjHwhg/s320/michaelsjsa2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576273274198390242" /></a><br /><br />We know Bret Michaels of the group Poison signed and personalized our associate's guitar. You can even see the inscription in the photo. If the "regular client" had a piece that looked completely different from our associate's, and we have pictures of Bret Michaels signing and posing with ours, shouldn't the piece that looks completely different from the guitar be the one JSA failed?<br /> <br />Apparently, JSA did not think so. As a matter of fact, when you look at the following JSA report, in the descriptive box, JSA even referred to Chris Morales’ report in the text describing the type of guitar. What was JSA examining, the signature or Chris Morales’ certificate?<br /> <br />Incidentally, JSA also criticized, among the other issues, the fact that the “Ink doesn’t have characteristics normally found with naturally aged ink”. This is quite a perplexing criticism, when one considers the fact that Bret Michaels is still alive and, theoretically, could have signed the guitar the very day that JSA looked at it. How is ink currently on the market used by living people – possibly really recently - supposed to age? <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH9S9t34eIwozS_bZD9lr8u9FOB5uVWCzK9ffchzHfODvtokUGKJQfMrxCrovynCnTJexh3oNFdwT8weuOCbif2K_deilARXx1mq8Ffrrm4AlHfW_TvRVzhIRpQuoZJpj7adgzJOze2vQ/s1600/michaelsjsa3.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH9S9t34eIwozS_bZD9lr8u9FOB5uVWCzK9ffchzHfODvtokUGKJQfMrxCrovynCnTJexh3oNFdwT8weuOCbif2K_deilARXx1mq8Ffrrm4AlHfW_TvRVzhIRpQuoZJpj7adgzJOze2vQ/s320/michaelsjsa3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576273618828664594" /></a><br /><br />Interestingly enough, our associate witnessed some disturbing behavior during his visit with JSA. Another of the "regular" clients came with a stack of 40-50 photos. Larry Studebaker had the photos in a pile on his table. They were upside down. The photo side with the signature was on the bottom. While Larry Studebaker chatted with the regular client, he placed a JSA on the back of each photo - without even turning them over - and passed them on to his associate to process. He did not even look at any of the photos, but they were all certified by JSA.<br /> <br />Apparently, being a "regular customer" of JSA has its perks.<br /> <br />One afternoon, James Spence had the opportunity to show whether or not his practices detailed throughout the story above were an anomaly or standard JSA operating procedures.<br /> <br />James Spence sat down with a collector and briefly looked through a collection of baseballs. Prior to his examination, he was informed that all of the baseballs had been certified by Chris Morales.<br /> <br />You guess right. Everything failed.<br /> <br />Were the baseballs bad?<br /> <br />One of the three photos below is of JSA certified baseball B91695. One of the baseballs below is of JSA certified baseball B81823. The other baseball was one of the baseballs that James Spence said was a forgery, after he had been informed that Chris Morales had certified it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJT8exV1z936yIzt5JWkbBOLFyXBdNXTr_3WEaLWS-5kCukuOmbJOfGXbcom5EtKnyMPjWeRYOhLxVot7PMATVuo3NY4dT5mMO-xcFIdlW3A_jYLw1Mj_rQYCQ2smTapB8SaTuYRJnJ8s/s1600/jsa35.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 217px; height: 229px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJT8exV1z936yIzt5JWkbBOLFyXBdNXTr_3WEaLWS-5kCukuOmbJOfGXbcom5EtKnyMPjWeRYOhLxVot7PMATVuo3NY4dT5mMO-xcFIdlW3A_jYLw1Mj_rQYCQ2smTapB8SaTuYRJnJ8s/s320/jsa35.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576274013858932002" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifGnMym_WPdxovGoBAdfubEbR6Qy7yn6m0RxaomnitivjYN8-hqXI6uyY9OXro2BthQCnJpaxR2sqzzGnCVeoHkLZqPYSIhCWO2EW_B7zTa17VifbIKGBIOw6pn27Ez6SaoUdvOXyklFc/s1600/jsa34.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 232px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifGnMym_WPdxovGoBAdfubEbR6Qy7yn6m0RxaomnitivjYN8-hqXI6uyY9OXro2BthQCnJpaxR2sqzzGnCVeoHkLZqPYSIhCWO2EW_B7zTa17VifbIKGBIOw6pn27Ez6SaoUdvOXyklFc/s320/jsa34.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576273956155734658" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiahiwCbfXXrid4JY7eBfNmWs8C-cV4QNRUMPzrrNbc0CbheiQA35-PtrLsh3rW6VwoWWWW4ADNACEOwXvgdFWfrcatvkrwPWC7TVMNYiuMPjxL9nrZxX5duiD4gx9jKFAIhaZfZVDMjyg/s1600/jsa33.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 215px; height: 231px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiahiwCbfXXrid4JY7eBfNmWs8C-cV4QNRUMPzrrNbc0CbheiQA35-PtrLsh3rW6VwoWWWW4ADNACEOwXvgdFWfrcatvkrwPWC7TVMNYiuMPjxL9nrZxX5duiD4gx9jKFAIhaZfZVDMjyg/s320/jsa33.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576273895899570594" /></a><br /><br />They are in no particular order. We defy you to figure out which one is the "forged" baseball. To make this more like a pop quiz, we have removed the photo of the "forged" baseball from JSA's report. Can you tell which one is the failed ball? Can anyone justify that one of these was written by anyone other than the signer of the other two? <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMkgMk7oQnYgUYVSEqhqHTjdfU6V04N11M2rek0W73JSuOobgHSw8cpoh9O_HTzcYIGycS-DV-k2KIbGOJmzvUSLocQH1uR6F_WGz0Bfu1Gpn2BajF_bixn1tYVNRZjiKU7QD72tIRCq0/s1600/jsa36.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 246px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMkgMk7oQnYgUYVSEqhqHTjdfU6V04N11M2rek0W73JSuOobgHSw8cpoh9O_HTzcYIGycS-DV-k2KIbGOJmzvUSLocQH1uR6F_WGz0Bfu1Gpn2BajF_bixn1tYVNRZjiKU7QD72tIRCq0/s320/jsa36.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5576274319387600002" /></a><br /><br />James Spence told the collector that everything he had were "fakes and frauds." He further told him that he should get his money back ASAP.<br /> <br />At the very least, the preceding test cases question the company's ability to carry out the service of authentication. In each of the above test cases it was found JSA failed the same pieces that they had already certified as authentic. It certainly lends credence to the assertion the company will fail anything that has previously been certified by any other forensic examiner. This includes a piece, the Joe Frazier trunks, that was signed in front of them.<br /> <br />What then is a JSA certification worth if their own authentication standards are disingenuous, capricious, and arbitrary?<br /> <br />Considering the work that James Spence and his staffers do, and their apparent combined bias and indifference to the genuineness of the memorabilia they are charging customers to examine, there is a problem with "fakes and frauds." If James Spence and his staffers want to determine where the source of such "fakes and frauds" are, they might want to start by looking in a mirror. In closing I am not a real big Chris Morales fan but the customer has the right to have the signature examined. When JSA tells a customer or client that an autograph is not authentic, they trust that it has been examined. As you can see that's not the case, in fact it's just plain dishonest.Signature Arts, Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/01728887998814154702noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3532148851686553956.post-65579086457902407092011-01-31T05:01:00.000-08:002011-01-31T05:07:32.122-08:00Beware of the questionable selling tactics on ebay!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXKxmgGWcGeHbjlJd2FhOVhDvPd9ofbds67I8KLSbNocSH3ttRhjyrBwgybyDlD81zFxX-SqkBrstvcnXhz-Sx2AQ52n8pzPpCaBfSkP19eJJymRPc3020YkO8hc8ZAXJ38lxWhi43v5o/s1600/Ebay_Logo.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 176px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXKxmgGWcGeHbjlJd2FhOVhDvPd9ofbds67I8KLSbNocSH3ttRhjyrBwgybyDlD81zFxX-SqkBrstvcnXhz-Sx2AQ52n8pzPpCaBfSkP19eJJymRPc3020YkO8hc8ZAXJ38lxWhi43v5o/s320/Ebay_Logo.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568335811926923762" /></a><br /><br />I just found the following words on an ebay autograph auction:<br />"This item is sold "AS IS" AND NO RETURNS WILL BE ACCEPTED."<br />What ????<br /><br />Only ebay sellers advertise autographs this way. Who would possibly buy something from an autograph seller when he says that in his ad. I don't call them autograph dealers, they are just autograph sellers. A dealer is someone who has some knowledge of autographs, a seller is someone who is not a dealer. I have never seen a real autograph dealer trying to sell in this way. Why do you think this seller won't accept returns? The answer is painfully obvious, basically this is what they are saying: "I am not sure if this is authentic but if you buy it you are stuck with it."<br />The legitimate autograph community would never operate in this way. There are a number of autograph sellers on ebay who do not accept returns. Be very hesitant about buying from them.<br /><br />I have also found another ebay autograph seller who has his auctions set up in a way that allows him to not answer questions from other ebay members. What does that tell you about his autographs?Signature Arts, Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/01728887998814154702noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3532148851686553956.post-27568363461513141082010-12-06T05:19:00.000-08:002010-12-06T05:41:19.483-08:00More PSA/DNA Mistakes! When will it end?The First Item is a Correctly assessed in Travis' opinion while the 2nd one is an incorrectly "stickerd" Chavez that ought to be Chuvalo.<br /><br />Both items have stickers that are only 87 items apart, the good Chuvalo is K67412 and the Chuvalo they called a Julio Chavez is k67499.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbA9XWjNqaFbL7FzGlsKnm8RY-3Qa4AtGF2EOFkDzJf9xBlaTmNgDBk5oMIPgqMF0svo08PXgAUBnb37jM5x22l67zSo7KNS4oUX9ch81v9hh-He5VfYzurj_L4QKAZnrJW9z60Axi6Vw/s1600/chuvaloOk.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 241px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbA9XWjNqaFbL7FzGlsKnm8RY-3Qa4AtGF2EOFkDzJf9xBlaTmNgDBk5oMIPgqMF0svo08PXgAUBnb37jM5x22l67zSo7KNS4oUX9ch81v9hh-He5VfYzurj_L4QKAZnrJW9z60Axi6Vw/s320/chuvaloOk.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547558896353533666" /></a><br /><br />Below is the following incorrectly PSA/DNA certified signature of Julio Chavez, when it is a George Chuvalo as provided by Mark Ogren, in his opinion; "PSA" thinks heavyweight contender George Chuvalo is Julio Cesar Chavez (K67499). Was this even a close miss? I guess I can see a "J", "C" and "Z" in there somewhere?"<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbbdxkBtkp_Km7OQz3M8W_-sJ0iG2WupEiOR1X8dfjXca-c0BzLj74QiU_70qrKXYdchYqEjbg5hGqi92CVlGXm2CZOdCKSiGJQa8cbytza5qEwqcCL9qK5yByaaWEJ5LssJTU9mLQCdA/s1600/ChavezNotOk.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 280px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbbdxkBtkp_Km7OQz3M8W_-sJ0iG2WupEiOR1X8dfjXca-c0BzLj74QiU_70qrKXYdchYqEjbg5hGqi92CVlGXm2CZOdCKSiGJQa8cbytza5qEwqcCL9qK5yByaaWEJ5LssJTU9mLQCdA/s320/ChavezNotOk.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547559194377274434" /></a><br /><br />So if you own the 1st one you are ok, but if you own the 2nd one and/or are about to buy it - u could have an issue.<br /><br />The verification information from PSA/DNA reads as follows;<br />Item: Cut<br />Primary Subject: JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ<br />Authentication Date: 09/28/2010<br />Result/Grade: Authentic<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFWbWLatxV3FOyR9pFVwD4hO2Dj2F0PeY3SCyOwVh1Hhho7EIBis7ZuMHGxoURlhV12x0RXRNCoXoSG9urAKt-wWvqc6N6Dhrp0_CpmIg5ujt3TIKn06o4_j7bIJOAZaJm4xlDTdNOPSY/s1600/aliboxingglove.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 206px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFWbWLatxV3FOyR9pFVwD4hO2Dj2F0PeY3SCyOwVh1Hhho7EIBis7ZuMHGxoURlhV12x0RXRNCoXoSG9urAKt-wWvqc6N6Dhrp0_CpmIg5ujt3TIKn06o4_j7bIJOAZaJm4xlDTdNOPSY/s320/aliboxingglove.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547560140380259842" /></a><br /><br />Here is an Ali signed boxing glove authenticated by Bob Eaton and Bill White at RR Auction, and James Bruce at Signature Arts. We then sent the scan along to PSA for an unbiased opinion. What do you think? Well there opinion was that is was not genuine. It's obvious that the mistakes that PSA/DNA are making are becoming more and more frequent. Are they getting to big and to busy to actually evaluate items thoroughly? Every day we are getting emails and phone calls about PSA/DNA mistakes. <br />When will it end?Signature Arts, Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/01728887998814154702noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3532148851686553956.post-42411116444181989532010-11-18T09:31:00.000-08:002010-11-18T09:35:18.770-08:00“The Father of Baseball”<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpRLuqp5NN6J8uw1Mh2CD9vrUvLSlllI2nB0nH3cHz7X23-G5X1bDCV3fWa4uK-4TAHFn-AgQNv742Wx22hc_BkV8UMBKfYk95GWyFSzIoX52zLgbIfkC0i53Lqpn9OUS4M2J5L5EnMsA/s1600/selig.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 242px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpRLuqp5NN6J8uw1Mh2CD9vrUvLSlllI2nB0nH3cHz7X23-G5X1bDCV3fWa4uK-4TAHFn-AgQNv742Wx22hc_BkV8UMBKfYk95GWyFSzIoX52zLgbIfkC0i53Lqpn9OUS4M2J5L5EnMsA/s320/selig.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540944496242070434" /></a><br /><br />Who is “The Father of Baseball”? The answer is very controversial!<br /><br />In 1895 upon the death of Harry Wright, Henry Chadwick commented that Wright was virtually the founder of professional base ball.<br /><br />In 1904, Theodore Roosevelt presented the title of “Father of Baseball” to British born Henry Chadwick who is the only sportswriter enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame.<br /><br />In 1905 the Mills Commission was formed by Albert Spalding. It consisted of many major base ball executives including:<br /><br />Abraham Mills, National League President<br />Morgan Buckeley, National League’s First President<br />Arthur Gorman, ex-president of Washington Base Ball Club<br />Nicholas Young, Fifth President of the National League<br />A.J. Reach, former Philadelphia Athletics player<br />George Wright, former player 1869 Cincinnati Red Jackets<br />James Sullivan, President of the Amateur Athletic Union.<br /><br />These men issued their final report on December 30, 1907 and declared that their final decision was Abner Doubleday “invented” baseball.<br /><br />Alexander J. Cartwright was inducted into the Base Ball Hall of Fame in 1938 and enshrined in 1939. His Base Ball Hall of Fame plaque reads that he is “The Father of Modern Baseball.”<br /><br />Harry Wright comes back into the picture when Christopher Devine’s 2002 book is published with the title Harry Wright The Father of Professional Baseball.<br /><br />Ron Keurajian who is accepted by most as the leading autograph expert on Baseball Hall of Fame autographs. One expert in the field recently stated that if you put all the so called self-proclaimed autograph authenticating experts who are on the staff of authenticating companies they wouldn’t add up to a pimple on Keurajian’s derriere.<br /><br />Keurajian is working on the finishing touches of his massive book on Baseball Hall of Famers. He recently wrote a letter to Bud Selig who is the ninth Commissioner of Baseball and he has held that position since 1998. Keurajian asked Selig who he thought was the “Father of Baseball.” Selig’s response stated he believed that Abner Doubleday is “the Father of Baseball.”<br /><br />Enter into the picture someone by the name of Keith Olberman. Many we have spoken to were unaware of who Keith Olbermann is. A quick check on Google states that he is an American News Anchor, sportwriter and political commentator. One article states he was fired by MSNBC another states he has been suspended by NBC.<br /><br />On Olbermann’s blog he now becomes an autograph authenticator. He states: “There is a chance that’s not actually a letter from him (Selig)……so who knows, maybe this is a faked Selig letter.”<br /><br />Signature Arts, Inc. and James Bruce was asked to comment on Olbermann’s statement and we had our genuine well documented autograph experts examine the Keurajian, Bud Selig letter. Every one has stated, without a doubt, the letter from Bud Selig is genuine and has been hand signed by the Commissioner.Signature Arts, Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/01728887998814154702noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3532148851686553956.post-73531425625191356752010-11-04T08:15:00.000-07:002010-11-04T08:21:16.662-07:00It seems the Auction House formerly called Mastro is in trouble again!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIIh9PNMb6zQde1-Q8NwEB-fPX3uMddGaEa-bscjYWwXf8_lqOUqjLtllEfUL4Nh0FXfkZEble2P7XZjWpcdPd3HymdaU232QIGPxC0pXLMgeerdXqCnR1QA1rFnQBAzJ8AqNMVvKMDb4/s1600/NY-Daily-News-Sports-Memorabilia-FBI-Fraud-Investigation-x400.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 223px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIIh9PNMb6zQde1-Q8NwEB-fPX3uMddGaEa-bscjYWwXf8_lqOUqjLtllEfUL4Nh0FXfkZEble2P7XZjWpcdPd3HymdaU232QIGPxC0pXLMgeerdXqCnR1QA1rFnQBAzJ8AqNMVvKMDb4/s320/NY-Daily-News-Sports-Memorabilia-FBI-Fraud-Investigation-x400.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535714829365344322" /></a><br />Here is an interesting story from the New York Daily News detailing the latest problems for the former Mastro Auctions. Written by Michael O' Keeffe. Will this kind of stuff ever end?<br /><br />"Bombshell court documents filed by the president of a New Jersey card-grading firm say the company formerly known as Mastro Auctions knowingly sold him an altered baseball card and placed fake bids on items to artificially jack up prices. The counterclaim and third-party complaint filed late Wednesday in Illinois state court by Dave Forman of SportsCard Guaranty also says that former Mastro president Doug Allen sold a Joe Jackson T210 card for Forman in September 2009 to New York collector Corey Shanus for $300,000. But Allen told Forman that the card only sold for $250,000 - and then pocketed $50,000, the documents say. Allen's spokeswoman, Julie Stoklosa, disputed the allegation, saying that Forman told Mastro Auctions that he would sell the card for $250,000. Mastro officials kept the additional $50,000 as their fee for finding a buyer. "This is just another example of their fraud," countered Jeffrey Lichtman, one of Forman's attorneys. "It was flat-out thievery." Forman's filing offers a glimpse into the Justice Department's three-year investigation into Mastro Auctions and its founder, Bill Mastro, which has focused on allegations of shill bidding, card doctoring and other fraud. One of the former Mastro employees cited in the complaint, Pete Calderon, testified before the grand jury that has been reviewing evidence gathered during the government's third major sports memorabilia probe in 15 years, according to a source familiar with the investigation. Other witnesses who have appeared before the grand jury have testified about allegations included in the documents, the source said. Forman says Allen told him in 2007 that he wasn't worried about the investigation because Mastro officials had destroyed all bidding records prior to 2007 "that would expose its fraud." Shill bidding was an open secret at Mastro Auctions, according to the complaint. "In May 2006, Forman overheard Mastro on the telephone with a collector named Chris Larson. Forman overheard Mastro discuss that Larson wanted to buy a L-1 leather Ty Cobb item and was willing to pay up to $41,000 for it," the counterclaim says. "Forman had been keeping an eye on that item during the auction, which was bidding for $17,000.00 at the time of Mastro's conversation with Larson. However, several minutes later, the item was bidding at $41,000 and Forman believes that this was a result of the entry of fake bids by Ketap employees." The court documents, and a motion for protective order that was also filed on Wednesday, say Mastro Auctions controller Walter Tomala violated Illinois and federal laws by making 34 harassing phone calls in 46 minutes to Forman's home between 1:58 a.m. and 2:44 a.m. on Sept. 10. "I'm going to bring you down - one way or another, I'm gonna bring you down, because you are a piece of --- and your brother's a retard, so I will bring you down," Tomala, who first identified himself as "Bill Mastro," allegedly said in a message left on Forman's home voicemail. Tomala sent an email to one of Forman's attorneys to apologize for the phone calls shortly after the incident. "I had a bad day yesterday and I unfortunately took it out on Mr. Forman," Tomala's email said. Attorneys representing Mastro and Allen did not return calls for comment. Mastro Auctions was once sports memorabilia's biggest and most important auction house, reporting $45 million in revenue in 2006 and 2007. The company specialized in rare and expensive collectibles, catering to wealthy collectors who don't blink at the prospect of spending $100,000 or more for a baseball card. Bill Mastro was sports memorabilia's undisputed king, hailed in the media as the nation's top memorabilia dealer. But the Chicago-area auction house, now known as Ketap Company, shut its doors in March 2009, several months after the Daily News first reported that Mastro Auctions and its executives were at the center of an FBI investigation into shill bidding, card doctoring and other allegations of fraud. Allen and other former Mastro executives purchased Mastro Auction's assets and launched a new company called Legendary Auctions. Allen and his partners vowed that all Mastro Auctions business will be "seamlessly facilitated, processed and completed through Legendary Auctions," but many consigners complained they had been stiffed by the company. Allen told The News last year that Mastro Auctions was struggling with cash-flow problems because some bidders had not paid their bills. The company filed a lawsuit in June 2009 alleging that Forman owes Mastro more than $400,000 for items purchased n 2007 and 2008 auctions. Forman's counterclaim says Mastro Auctions failed to credit almost $22,000 to his account from the sale of baseball cards and comic books the auction house sold on his behalf in 2008 and 2009; the company also owes almost $157,000 for vintage baseball cards Forman consigned for auction but were never sold or returned. The counterclaim also says Forman purchased a 1913 T200 card in 2008 for $13,200. Forman later learned that when Mastro had sold the card in 2004 for almost $3,900, the catalogue noted that it had been altered - a fact that had been omitted from the 2008 catalogue. Doctored cards are generally worth much less than cards that have not been altered. "Mastro instructed Pete Calderon, a Ketap employee, to change the description for the Joe Jackson Fatima by omitting the material fact that it had been rebacked prior to the May 1, 2008 auction," the complaint says. "The rebacking of the Joe Jackson Fatima significantly devalued the card." According to the documents, Mastro officials also used the names of several associates - including Andrew Filipowski, the entrepreneur whose private investment firm purchased the auction house in 2005 - to create accounts for shill bids to artificially escalate prices and auction house commissions."<br /><br />For the sake of accuracy it should be stated by me that Mr Forman's attorney is an acquaintance of mine. He is a vital member of Net54 the leading website forum on the internet to discuss collecting.Signature Arts, Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/01728887998814154702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3532148851686553956.post-17315724509318848592010-10-14T13:13:00.000-07:002010-10-14T13:16:06.982-07:00Roy Rogers Museum Auction Museum Closed in 2009, Collection sells for $2.9 Million Roy Rogers' stuffed horse Trigger and His Saddle are top sellers!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9O9iJleRNFUJNsbx2gEpDlWUkkQjY0s4wbgx5OUIZYOjLeuTr6tRAEeDq7ejSMQ6nSDYuid6yO1Ae3pvJpOacVUrYpLd_IKihXvu2war646vGjBJ2LskMnwzM0wsDZ0U4M3qZn-uwNys/s1600/roy.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 255px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9O9iJleRNFUJNsbx2gEpDlWUkkQjY0s4wbgx5OUIZYOjLeuTr6tRAEeDq7ejSMQ6nSDYuid6yO1Ae3pvJpOacVUrYpLd_IKihXvu2war646vGjBJ2LskMnwzM0wsDZ0U4M3qZn-uwNys/s320/roy.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527997907349691650" /></a><br /><br />The stuffed horse belonging to cowboy actor and singer Roy Rogers along with his saddle took top dollar at an auction in July for memorabilia from the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Museum Collection.<br /><br />The Museum closed in December 2009, less than six years after it picked up and moved from its longtime Route 66 home in Victorville, California, to Branson, Missouri.<br /><br />Christie's auction house, which ran the sale along with Western auctioneer High Noon Americana, said the collection of items related to Rogers' and wife Dale Evan's roles on television and in the movies brought in $2.9 million.<br /><br />Trigger, the palomino horse which Rogers had stuffed after it died in 1965, was bought by rural cable television station RFD-TV for $266,500, while his saddle fetched $386,500 from a private buyer.<br /><br />Other top sellers included Roy Rogers' 1963 Pontiac Bonneville and the Nellybelle jeep, an iconic emblem on the Roy Rogers Show, which ran on television in the 1950s and 1960s.<br /><br />The more than 300 items included in the sale ran from Roy's sunglasses to a sterling belt buckle and a Roy Rogers directors chair. Here is a partial listing of some of the items that were sold at auction:<br /><br />Roy 's 1964 Bonneville sold for $254,500, it was estimated to sell between 100 and 150 thousand dollars.<br /><br />His script book from the January 14,1953 episode of This Is Your Life sold for $10,000 (est. $800-$1,000)<br /><br />A collection of signed baseballs (Pete Rose, Duke Snyder and other greats) sold for $3,750<br /><br />A collection of signed bats (Yogi Berra, Enos Slaughter, Bob Feller, and others) sold for $2,750.<br /><br />One of many of Roy 's shirts sold for $16,250 and one of his many cowboy hats sold for $17,500.<br /><br />One set of boot spurs sold for $10,625. (He never used a set of spurs on Trigger.)<br /><br />A life size shooting gallery sold for $27,500.<br /><br />Various chandeliers sold from $6,875 to $20,000. Very unique and artistic in their western style.<br /><br />A signed photograph by Don Larsen taken during his perfect game in the world series against<br />the Dodgers on Oct.8, 1953, along with a signed baseball to Roy from Don, sold for $2,500<br /><br />Two fabulous limited edition BB guns in their original boxes with numerous photos of Roy,<br />Dale, Gabby, and Pat sold for $3,750.<br /><br />A collection of memorabilia from his shows entertaining the troops in Vietnam sold for $938.<br />His flight jacket sold for $7,500.<br /><br />His set of dinner ware plates and silverware sold for $11,875.<br /><br />The Bible they used at the dinner table every night sold for $8,750.<br /><br />One of several of his guitars sold for $27,500.<br /><br />Nellybelle sold for $116,500.<br /><br />A fabulous painting of Roy, Dale, Pat, Buttermilk, Trigger, and Bullet sold for $10,625.<br /><br />One of several sets of movie posters sold for $18,750.<br /><br />A black and white photograph of Gene Autry with a touching inscription<br />from Gene to Roy sold for $17,500.<br /><br />A Republic Productions Poster bearing many autographs of the people that played in Roy's movies sold for $11,875.<br /><br />Dale's horse, Buttermilk (whose history is very interesting) sold below the pre-sale estimate for $25,000. (est. 30-40K)<br /><br />Bullet sold for $35,000 (est. 10-15K). He was their real pet.<br /><br />Dale's parade saddle, estimated to sell between 20-30K, sold for $104,500.<br /><br />One of many pairs of Roy's boots sold for $21,250.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />It's no wonder Trigger fetched over $266,000 at the auction. He was a genuine Hollywood star. Roy and Trigger made 188 movies together. The horse began it's "career" in show biz in the 1930s. Do you remember the 1938 movie The Adventures of Robin Hood with Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland? Well Olivia rode Trigger in that movie.<br /><br />Trigger was bred on a farm co-owned by Bing Crosby. Roy bought Trigger on a time payment plan for $2,500. Trigger even out did Bob Hope by winning a P.A.T.S.Y. award (animal equivalent of the Oscar) for the movie Son of Paleface, in 1953.Signature Arts, Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/01728887998814154702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3532148851686553956.post-89617858327224771462010-09-26T08:33:00.000-07:002010-09-26T08:35:54.089-07:00Longtime Forger Using Third Party Authenticators To Flood Market With Fake AutographsWell a longtime forger from Missouri who was once well known for passing many forgeries of John Wayne Gacy on unsuspecting collectors and dealers is back and working under three aliases.<br /><br />His expertise with the pen is signing autographs of Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan and Michael Jackson.<br /><br />The forger has recently been scared of being exposed and refunded a dealer on 500 signed photographs of Muhammad Ali. The forger well aware of and taking advantage of the incompetence of the high profile third party authenticators sent in 10 photos with forged signatures of Ali. The forger gets them COA’d and shows the photographs to a dealer along with the COA’s. The forger wants $50 a piece for the forged signed photo.s However, and here’s the game, if you take others with the same style signature without the COA’s you can have them for only $30. Therefore the dealer only has to pay $15,000 for the 500 signed photographs.<br /><br />The dealer felt $20 per photo was a huge savings. He also knew that with a volume of 500 photos he can get the authenticating company to authenticate them for a fraction of the $20. However, the incompetent authenticating company got the 500 photos and turned them all down. The dealer who now owns the photos screams bloody murder telling the authenticating company that they OK’d 10 from the same batch just weeks before. <br /><br />The well known high profile authenticating company states they get nervous when they see so many of the same item. <br /><br />What ever happened to being able to authenticate a signature whether it’s on one item or 500?<br /><br />This is not an isolated incident. Problem is if the submitter is a forger of signed pieces and is someone known or a good customer to the authenticating company, the items get passed. Thus the forgers have an ally in the authenticating companies. The high profile authenticating companies are flooding the market with forged autographs.Signature Arts, Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/01728887998814154702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3532148851686553956.post-82476910763873382692010-08-21T18:54:00.000-07:002010-08-21T18:58:36.507-07:00Beware!!!! More Fake Williams and Mantles Hit the Internet!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJFuu6GrIqGmll8013ViARsgBj3f5ey2Pq04S97cyBzu9gH6mWZN1fvuswLpBmEazAyGKUB2bs2tFvbbD4laDDt_SSgbNqO5vvFZswTdVA6UoTZiJy1v37TNSzu4jrVOt1AtpDSwOG27Q/s1600/mickey_mantle_large-300x298.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 298px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJFuu6GrIqGmll8013ViARsgBj3f5ey2Pq04S97cyBzu9gH6mWZN1fvuswLpBmEazAyGKUB2bs2tFvbbD4laDDt_SSgbNqO5vvFZswTdVA6UoTZiJy1v37TNSzu4jrVOt1AtpDSwOG27Q/s320/mickey_mantle_large-300x298.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508047734970353202" /></a><br />I am seeing waves of bogus Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, Sandy Koufax and Mickey Mantle autographs on pictures and baseballs. On August 2 I saw a "signed" photo of Mays, Mantle, Dimaggio and Snider (with a COA) sell for $97 on ebay!! If it was legit it would sell for $700 or more. Don't buy those horrible items, you cannot get bargains in autographs. You can only buy good items at realistic prices or junk items at ridiculously low prices but then again, if all it costs a crook is $2 for a photo or $6 for a ball and $1 for his own sharpie, then he can sell Mantle and Williams for less than $50 and still make a huge profit. Lots of guys are getting rich off the unknowing buyer. Don't let them get rich off you! These items come with COA's also. Be careful out there!<br />ps. There is an e mail in circulation on the internet which actually names the man who is distributing many (or maybe even all) of these forgeries. Perhaps it is time for a new Operation Bullpen!!Signature Arts, Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/01728887998814154702noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3532148851686553956.post-39575925816600254742010-07-31T05:19:00.000-07:002010-07-31T05:21:59.486-07:00RR Auction Doesn’t Do The Right Thing!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBHeKgWOFTO-E7LF2uudqAnRjki9Lp26soNuAt3ofWs00AxTWQ5q6ORJvBekWnDhETUxPesaHXpSfN9uZY1P2wR24ZmhActzJ5EiztNCxz5qlcuNPCxCZcUZgWp62ceEfdaG9pUhJ63uU/s1600/armstrongdoc.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 163px; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500044384491372722" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBHeKgWOFTO-E7LF2uudqAnRjki9Lp26soNuAt3ofWs00AxTWQ5q6ORJvBekWnDhETUxPesaHXpSfN9uZY1P2wR24ZmhActzJ5EiztNCxz5qlcuNPCxCZcUZgWp62ceEfdaG9pUhJ63uU/s320/armstrongdoc.jpg" /></a><br /><strong>Neil Armstrong's Customs Declaration Form,<br />Allegedly Stolen, Seized From Auction House</strong><br /><br />What’s wrong with Bob Eaton of RR Auction? Does he not have common sense?<br /><br />When someone comes to any legitimate autograph dealer or auction house and they offer for sale an “Official” legal document belonging to the United States of America, what is the first thing you would think of? You are absolutely right, no question, it’s stolen!<br /><br />That light bulb doesn’t go off inside Bob Eaton’s head. Someone offered Eaton a United States Customs Declaration filled out and signed by Neil A. Armstrong and Eaton went for it.<br /><br />When was the last time anyone saw an original United States Customs Declaration for sale, anywhere?<br /><br />Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong’s Stolen Custom Declaration Form Offered by RR Auctions<br /><br />It is said this form was allegedly stolen by a U.S. Customs worker who along with a cohort tried to pass it off through RR Auction based in New Hampshire.<br /><br />The two men will face a federal grand jury and if found guilty of stealing an official government record they could face 10 years in prison and a very hefty fine of a quarter million dollars. What about the dimwit who tried to sell it at auction?????? Isn’t the seller part of this fiasco? It is our opinion, proper procedure would have been to get as must information as possible from the consignor, take possession of the item and immediately call the authorities. That is the right thing to do, not participate in the sale of an obvious stolen document that should be in the files of the United States Government.<br /><br />Armstrong was returning from his well publicized trip overseas visiting U.S. troops as part of the “Legends of Aerospace Tour.” His March 13th American Airlines flight 105 from London to New York was diverted to Boston, Massachusetts due to inclement weather.<br /><br />One of the customs inspectors at Boston was Thomas Chapman and he received the Customs Declaration from Neil Armstrong. Instead of filing the form as required with Homeland Security officials, it is said Chapman kept the document.<br /><br />Chapman showed the form to his friend Paul Brickman and the two located an unidentified individual who had experience dealing in autographs. The item was consigned to RR Auction and with a ridiculous opening bid of only $200 in their May 22, 2010 auction. Bids exceeded $1,000 before the item was seized by Homeland Security.<br /><br />One dealer commented “it was refreshing to see a genuine item being pulled from an RR Auction instead of the usual mis-authenticated items.”Signature Arts, Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/01728887998814154702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3532148851686553956.post-8936262510467379992010-06-29T14:31:00.000-07:002010-06-29T14:34:27.113-07:00Sgt. Pepper Lennon Lyrics -- The Real Deal -- $1 Million<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgXI4nOp6127EPMliyf551Y4RHGIqIcTc10UCK3Y02byRM-krZLlYec6umGfIXti9_kmA616ZCSh-9B4uofoP1wGGti2sFMKy6XYeqdQ-ZBSot_Z7gmErzEyr1JXkgnmgMk061pW8CRyU/s1600/a_day_in_the_life03.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 222px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5488311743629891634" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgXI4nOp6127EPMliyf551Y4RHGIqIcTc10UCK3Y02byRM-krZLlYec6umGfIXti9_kmA616ZCSh-9B4uofoP1wGGti2sFMKy6XYeqdQ-ZBSot_Z7gmErzEyr1JXkgnmgMk061pW8CRyU/s320/a_day_in_the_life03.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><strong>The last song on the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band record was A Day in the Life, written by John Lennon. It's considered by many the best song on the album.<br /></strong><br />In Rolling Stone Magazines list of 500 Great Songs of All Time, it was #26. And, in terms of handwritten lyrics, it's probably #1.<br /><br />An American collecto paid $1.2 million for it at the Sotheby's auction. They had estimated it would get between 500,000 and $800,000.<br /><br />It's on a double-sided piece of paper, with Lennon's edits and corrections in black marker and blue ball point pen. There were a few corrections in red ink.<br /><br />This piece is cool for so many reasons. Aside from handwritten lyrics by the Beatles being huge to begin with, get this. One side of the sheet is written in Lennons cursive script. The other side is written in all capital letters and has all the corrections. I think this is so much cooler than the "All You Need is Love" lyrics which sold for $1.25 million in 2005.Signature Arts, Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/01728887998814154702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3532148851686553956.post-51784420476504379192010-06-03T11:57:00.000-07:002010-06-03T12:03:20.810-07:00Time for a Lawsuit? It could be coming soon!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_EZfxkzhOqyr2vTxqmqO-y3e7a926blJYktX8yydWgdGlNwtVm8UBf-Ee9Q_VhC9WDhsQmdCDfuMQ9lNo__2AHzT7bObHPTGoPenLV_33VBGWz420itgqWgRe0MQBfqpcydFXrCBQe8I/s1600/lawsuit1.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_EZfxkzhOqyr2vTxqmqO-y3e7a926blJYktX8yydWgdGlNwtVm8UBf-Ee9Q_VhC9WDhsQmdCDfuMQ9lNo__2AHzT7bObHPTGoPenLV_33VBGWz420itgqWgRe0MQBfqpcydFXrCBQe8I/s320/lawsuit1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478624510793424178" /></a><br /><br />The following is an email from a reader named Jeff. It says what other emails state, just clearer.<br /><br />“I enjoy your site. I wanted to point out yet another reason some sellers use PSA and JSA. PSA has the ability to email eBay with their “Quick Opinion” findings, and eBay will then immediately hit a button and close the item down and remove it from the system. All based upon an email from PSA, without any info being given to the seller. If you have 5 Sophia Loren’s listed, and PSA decides in their infinite wisdom they don’t like them, eBay then (because of multiple closures) sends you an email that REQUIRES you as the seller to get every item you list in the autograph category pre-authenticated by one of their approved companies. And even worse, I’ve also heard from sellers who have been completely suspended due to these emails from PSA. Only PSA has this system set up with eBay….PSA charges $7.50 a pop, then “shares” the info a potential buyer paid with eBay. This really does give PSA sole authority over what is, and isn’t listed on eBay. There are tons of cases where PSA closes an item that’s 100% authentic. The seller is left holding the bag. eBay won’t share the email they got from PSA, and won’t give more than a canned response to any requests for info.<br /><br />The only way to stop PSA from doing this is for sellers who have items closed down, and have been financially damaged, to file suit against PSA. A seller basically can’t sue eBay, as they have a ton of rules set up to protect them as part of the user agreement. IF enough people go after PSA, maybe the $7.50 an item won’t feel like enough to go through all the trouble.”<br /><br />Signature Arts response is that many, for years, have been calling for a law suit to be filed against PSA. Some attorney needs to come forth and take on these incompetent authenticators who are scamming collectors. Collectors and dealers who have been harmed will come forward! For the record, eBay largest seller of autographs (over 100,000 feedbacks) got caught up in this authenticating scam. 100% authentic autographs were removed on eBay from the sellers site and they closed him down. He could not get back on unless he paid one of eBay’s incompetent autograph authenticators to go to his office and authentic the autographs he would put back on eBay. Could this be collusion between eBay and their so-called authenticators? Could the authenticating company have shared the money with eBay, sort of like a finders fee? It cost the dealer $5,000 to have an autograph authenticating imposter, approved by eBay to come over and attach stickers to every item the seller showed him. The seller told us that the authenticating imposter was not aware of many of the names he was placing the silly stickers on. After the scam was said and done the seller got a lousy tea shirt. You may find this hard to believe, but the same authenticating company asked this seller of autographs to be one of their authenticators. This seller is willing to tell his story to a judge in court.<br /><br />For the record, this seller opened his own website, is holding weekly auctions, and after a year, sales are much better than they ever were on eBay. Not to mention no longer paying the buying and selling fees and being held hostage to Payal (owned by eBay). <br /><br />A fabulous and we mean fabulous, alternative to eBay is coming. Scheduled for October 2010, in our opinion, sellers of autographs will be ecstatic when they hear the news.Signature Arts, Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/01728887998814154702noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3532148851686553956.post-74871781669403923152010-05-24T07:19:00.000-07:002010-05-24T07:22:44.591-07:00Pablo Picasso Fakes Sold on E-Bay!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqfuaC2szIcgjJczbZqW104A99RnjlY_iz3RUfI_gHA2cCpbgN-jFa5RWpB1MbJ8d-RlJz8pWKnO9wZIQx3uLcmKthhJcsmdsQFEsKJ8XLt_cNOaOde-GorgsXiW7wlDjcEWhf2ikN8Lc/s1600/1500-13366.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqfuaC2szIcgjJczbZqW104A99RnjlY_iz3RUfI_gHA2cCpbgN-jFa5RWpB1MbJ8d-RlJz8pWKnO9wZIQx3uLcmKthhJcsmdsQFEsKJ8XLt_cNOaOde-GorgsXiW7wlDjcEWhf2ikN8Lc/s320/1500-13366.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474841784728103410" /></a><br /><br />CHICAGO – A suburban Chicago man pleaded guilty Tuesday to swindling at least 250 people out of more than $1 million through the sale of counterfeit prints advertised as the work of Pablo Picasso and other major contemporary artists.<br /><br />Michael Zabrin of Northbrook admitted sometimes paying between $1,000 and $1,500 for counterfeit limited edition fine art prints produced in Spain and Italy and reselling them on eBay for many times that amount.<br /><br />In his signed plea agreement with prosecutors, 57-year-old Zabrin said he would send away to his Italian source for fake Picassos, saying: "I need some P's." When he needed bogus works by Roy Lichtenstein, he would say: "I need some L's."<br /><br />In the summer of 2004, Zabrin purchased eight counterfeit works purportedly by Marc Chagall for $20,000 "which he resold at no less than three times his cost," according to the plea agreement which was presented to Judge Robert M. Dow Jr.<br /><br />Zabrin agreed in the document that he caused foreseeable losses of more than $1 million but less than $2.5 million with works turned out by "the Spanish guy" and another supplier in Italy. He also admitted trading fake art works with other dealers.<br /><br />Zabrin was among seven people charged in March 2008 on charges of trading in fake works by Picasso, Lichtenstein, Chagall, Joan Miro and Salvador Dali. He was the first to be convicted. Charges against the six others are pending.<br /><br />Zabrin pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud.<br /><br />The charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. But prosecutors calculated that under federal sentencing guidelines Zabrin could be facing a prison term in the 10- to 13-year range.<br /><br />Dow set March 23 for sentencing.<br /><br />According to the plea agreement, Zabrin had been previously convicted of telephone harassment, mail fraud and retail theft.<br /><br />Zabrin admitted conducting 280 sales of fraudulent art on eBay through his companies, Fineartmasters and ZFineartmasters. When some customers realized they had bought fakes, they returned them. Zabrin acknowledged that he then waited a few months and resold them to someone else.Signature Arts, Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/01728887998814154702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3532148851686553956.post-36651282946652885042010-05-07T09:32:00.000-07:002010-05-07T09:40:48.417-07:00Eisenhower Autopen Signature DiscoveredA new Dwight D. Eisenhower Autopen (machine) signed signature has been discovered by the noted expert of U.S. Presidential autographs, Andreas Wiemer who is based in Germany.<br /><br />The signature has some similarities to other identified Eisenhower Autopen examples however this is not a variant. This new discovery matches other signed items by Eisenhower exactly. Up to this time, they were thought to be genuine.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfSs0tfQS9otqA_pwWx_uqloVk6dFkjIkCRiKDnDiGDE2yR898Rgnp2Ze4ePoPlk78QyRsNQcuLRVVeQFGe9XnWKmJbxlje3MwvKy8NP2NjoRf09reBohFLHAiS6rfb5SzPdl4fIJjUfQ/s1600/eisenhower.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 202px; height: 68px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfSs0tfQS9otqA_pwWx_uqloVk6dFkjIkCRiKDnDiGDE2yR898Rgnp2Ze4ePoPlk78QyRsNQcuLRVVeQFGe9XnWKmJbxlje3MwvKy8NP2NjoRf09reBohFLHAiS6rfb5SzPdl4fIJjUfQ/s320/eisenhower.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468567720584216210" /></a><br />Newly identified Eisenhower signature from a letter dated February 14, 1949<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBQ4V2TJHj8RcNeon-hY942p6ES20wncdZvz312wEPeVf0CD92cUlqMWOdMKCyAKMaJP6l90p5g01jNqe1Xq0Y4RBRwvcMgiFusdePiFQpof266LXx_1aUDb4LQYQfRA-IqJ2vgGC8_Sk/s1600/eisenhower_tlssept.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 244px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBQ4V2TJHj8RcNeon-hY942p6ES20wncdZvz312wEPeVf0CD92cUlqMWOdMKCyAKMaJP6l90p5g01jNqe1Xq0Y4RBRwvcMgiFusdePiFQpof266LXx_1aUDb4LQYQfRA-IqJ2vgGC8_Sk/s320/eisenhower_tlssept.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468568197430718034" /></a><br />Same Eisenhower Autopen signature on a letter dated September 27, 1949 <br /><br />The above signed document is considered one of the most 100 important historical documents in U.S. History. Note : "Eisenhower Library" stamp. This document is also illustrated in "Our Documents-100 Milestone Documents from the National Archives" page 181.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAubxGp9nQufrvGCPSbpQ0AFt2h95zpUqeqfCee_jMeZ9gF4ly0DS-dBG4G4U3n2uv85tXG_B8miXrnQy01ecSz4MURvcdxSGIGsq9vEqYh7mecyBqp3fzPT3M6KOTZoKAQhkxa8a_Cqg/s1600/Eisenhower_NA_document.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 218px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAubxGp9nQufrvGCPSbpQ0AFt2h95zpUqeqfCee_jMeZ9gF4ly0DS-dBG4G4U3n2uv85tXG_B8miXrnQy01ecSz4MURvcdxSGIGsq9vEqYh7mecyBqp3fzPT3M6KOTZoKAQhkxa8a_Cqg/s320/Eisenhower_NA_document.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468568751473409186" /></a><br /><br />Andreas Wiemer is a co-author with Stephen Koschal. Their popular book "Presidents of the United States, Autopen Guide" first, signed limited edition sold out quickly however some unsigned copies are available through the authors.Signature Arts, Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/01728887998814154702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3532148851686553956.post-12343662200253589692010-04-21T19:19:00.000-07:002010-04-21T19:25:55.922-07:00James Spence & Steve Grad of PSA/DNA<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifML50OhJNEB5hqraOt3wvGA1XpJFn76kgvmCnCJkF1eHa5IML8zDcz1p484YGQS4csqSLCo3uMmP1FISN_omrPQgz4lUQWyswp8qiT_mWkxwJuCPUR4yDt59HEmeC0Ewa-KTrWmtSqVY/s1600/Nimitz%2520letter%2520image.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 246px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifML50OhJNEB5hqraOt3wvGA1XpJFn76kgvmCnCJkF1eHa5IML8zDcz1p484YGQS4csqSLCo3uMmP1FISN_omrPQgz4lUQWyswp8qiT_mWkxwJuCPUR4yDt59HEmeC0Ewa-KTrWmtSqVY/s320/Nimitz%2520letter%2520image.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5462782389295264898" /></a><br /><br />Re-Write WWII History<br /><br />Authenticate Pacific Fleet Admiral Nimitz<br /><br />Signed German Surrender Dated 10 Years After His Death<br /><br />This is an amazing story that needs to be told. It is mind boggling that it took about 60 years for us to finally learn the truth. This is a "War Story" that needs to be told.<br /><br />We start by going to eBay item number 6589943097, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Terms of Surrender Certified by PSA/DNA.<br /><br />Illustrated (right) is the item for sale, a copy of a souvenir German Surrender Document signed and dated by Admiral Karl Dönitz, 27.7.76. Immediately after Hitler’s death suddenly and to his great surprise Dönitz became head of the German State. It fell to Dönitz to negotiate the surrender of the German forces to the Allies.<br />The signature of Karl Dönitz is very common and it would be near impossible to find an auction house or dealer who has not sold his signature at one time or another. Exemplars are plentiful.<br /><br />However, the "experts" James Spence and Steve Grad sign off on a PSA/DNA Certificate of Authenticity dated Thursday, April 24, 2003, Re: CU14136-27, PSA/DNA Certification Number B16187 (see below). These "experts" state this Surrender Document was signed by Chester Nimitz. This is the first time we discover that it was our own Admiral Nimitz who surrendered the German Forces to the Allies in the European Theatre. An amazing historical discovery. Incredibly, he also managed to sign and date this copy over ten years after he died.<br /><br />The signatures of Dönitz and Nimitz are by no means similar. A novice in the field of autographs can easily tell you which is which without looking at exemplars. The only way we can even stretch a similarity is that both signatures end in "itz."<br /><br />However, the "experts" James Spence and Steve Grad sign off on a PSA/DNA Certificate of Authenticity dated Thursday, April 24, 2003, Re: CU14136-27, PSA/DNA Certification Number B16187 (see below). These "experts" state this Surrender Document was signed by Chester Nimitz. This is the first time we discover that it was our own Admiral Nimitz who surrendered the German Forces to the Allies in the European Theatre. An amazing historical discovery. Incredibly, he also managed to sign and date this copy over ten years after he died.<br /> <br /> <br /><br />The signatures of Dönitz and Nimitz are by no means similar. A novice in the field of autographs can easily tell you which is which without looking at exemplars. The only way we can even stretch a similarity is that both signatures end in "itz."<br /><br />This mistake is beyond ludicrous. This is the ultimate display of incompetence! How serious is this mistake? This authenticating company is one of the choices of eBay to authenticate autographs. They do so without seeing original documents and give "opinions" based on a scan.<br /><br />What can one learn from this story?<br /><br />1) How can these people who are called authenticators also be called experts?<br />2) Authenticators with this talent should be called "opinionators."<br />3) These opinionators cannot recognize common signatures.<br />4) These opinionators cannot be looking at exemplars as this would never of happened if they did.<br />5) How much research could have been done to get this so wrong? The document was dated by Dönitz on July 7, 1976. Chester Nimitz died on February 20, 1966.<br />6) The uninformed collector learns how useless are the many COA’s being offered in the market.<br />7) Most informed dealers are aware who are the professional authenticators. It’s time to start looking at some of the dealers who continue to support certain authenticating companies. These dealers and auction houses have become part of the problem.<br />8) Based on PSA/DNA’s Certificate of Authenticity, the eBay seller issues his own COA with this item. Two COA’s for the price of one.<br /><br />The document offered here teach the world that American Fleet Admiral (Pacific Fleet) Chester Nimitz surrendered the German Forces to the Allies, and he came back from the dead to do it. History re-written, authenticated and certified by PSA/DNA all for the low cost of $429.00.Signature Arts, Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/01728887998814154702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3532148851686553956.post-68529733488743799222010-04-09T09:32:00.000-07:002010-04-09T09:36:24.803-07:00Autograph Sting Operation!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcuULxaprkn4Ehjb7swhpGVZ-J-_6Gp21ls0_vTDAWfqrbP3zquDilnTWxhHL9wt-fvo-90l52TdJ5F7l9NJEVXsyqFxdICeU23yz6cNFX7c4dLInKCygLPvb0ShEt1t0I7KTuQIXswyM/s1600/deniro.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 258px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcuULxaprkn4Ehjb7swhpGVZ-J-_6Gp21ls0_vTDAWfqrbP3zquDilnTWxhHL9wt-fvo-90l52TdJ5F7l9NJEVXsyqFxdICeU23yz6cNFX7c4dLInKCygLPvb0ShEt1t0I7KTuQIXswyM/s320/deniro.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458177428877554914" /></a><br />It appears that a "sting" operation has taken place in the autograph hobby. Computer reprinted photos, with purported autographs, were sent to some authenticators including Signature Arts, Inc., who then misidentified these items. I believe that the individual or individuals behind the sting tried to perpetrate this sting on me also. I received a group of four photos with alleged autographs on them. One of them turned out to be a copy of an autographed photo. I identified it as such to the person who sent me the photos. A couple of weeks later that same person sent me one more photo, which was also a copy of an autographed photo. I also correctly identified the alleged autograph as not being an autograph but a copy of an autograph. If these incidents were actually a sting, and trying to make me look incompetent, well guys it did not work. And to Mr. XXX in New Jersey and whoever else may have been involved in this, if indeed it was a sting, thanks very much for sending me authentication fees for five items. I am gonna take the Mrs. out to a nice dinner with your compliments.Signature Arts, Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/01728887998814154702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3532148851686553956.post-18878940443468867112010-03-28T14:52:00.000-07:002010-03-28T15:07:51.836-07:00The 100 Day Volunteer Certificates & the Proliferation of Facsimile Abraham Lincoln Signatures!In the fall of 1864 thousands of Union volunteers who served a hundred days of service that summer were issued a certificate of thanks by the War Department --an impressive looking, partially-printed, engraved document, bearing the signatures of Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, and the President, Abraham Lincoln. Other than clerical editing and transcription on the document, all text on the document is printed, including the signatures of Stanton and Lincoln.
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<br />In the century and a half that's followed the issue of the certificate, perhaps no Civil War era document bearing Lincoln's signature has been the source of more confusion and fraud, and subsequently, bought and sold as authentic by seasoned dealers, auction houses, and collectors. Even more disturbing is the trend over the past decade of destroying the certificates for Lincoln's, and to a lesser extent, Stanton's, signatures. Authentic American Civil War documents have been routinely mutilated by a handful of unscrupulous dealers-clipping the facsimile signatures from the documents and selling them as real.
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEsEfBXLz7WxbdYC43uR8vR78nT-yozsbwjtSSM3CkZJkuhuAHo3bMrBhYtpyX28KxaqsSIrv_LaSOmxphLNzhUbeQ-VcASIumoGiAwTTLIDfegl4ee9vBGuoNgPxRyY9mM9Ee4YkSBkc/s1600/100dayvolunteers.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 277px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEsEfBXLz7WxbdYC43uR8vR78nT-yozsbwjtSSM3CkZJkuhuAHo3bMrBhYtpyX28KxaqsSIrv_LaSOmxphLNzhUbeQ-VcASIumoGiAwTTLIDfegl4ee9vBGuoNgPxRyY9mM9Ee4YkSBkc/s320/100dayvolunteers.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453806390026067154" /></a>
<br /><strong>A Hundred Day Certificate for the Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin Volunteers</strong>
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<br />The Hundred Days Men, or 100 Day Volunteers, was the nickname for the short-term, volunteer enlistments mustered in the summer of 1864 for 100 days of service in the Union Army during the American Civil War. These lightly trained troops were intended to free veteran units from routine duty to allow them to go to the front lines for combat purposes.
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<br />The concept of the hundred-day volunteer was first proposed by the Governor of Ohio, John Brough, in the spring of 1864. Brough was concerned with Confederate incursions and invasions of the North, such as Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan's cavalry raid into Ohio in 1863. Brough's idea was to federalize the state militia into service for a period of 100 days to provide short-term troops that would serve as rear echelon guards and laborers to free veteran units for combat duty. This would increase the number of fighting men in the Union armies campaigning in the South, which, ideally, would achieve victory for the North within one hundred days.
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<br />Brough contacted the governors of Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, and New Jersey to do likewise in an effort to raise 100,000 men. They submitted their plan to Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, and the proposal was immediately approved by President Abraham Lincoln.
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<br />In total, approximately 81,000 men were mustered for a 100-day period. Over 35,000 were federalized from Ohio alone. The remaining numbers were primarily from Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin. These veterans became known as Hundred Days Men. Unfortunately for the North, the primary objective of the Hundred Days Men-defeating the South within one hundred days-fell short by a few months.
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<br />Nevertheless, in recognition of their efforts, at the end of their duty the Hundred Day Volunteers were issued a certificate of service by the War Department. These documents, a "Certificate of Thanks," were issued to the tens of thousands of men who had volunteered. They were partially-printed, with "THE UNITED STATES VOLUNTEER SERVICE" arcing across the top margin over an ornately engraved eagle clutching the American flag. There were at least two versions of the document printed. One version recognized the men who volunteered from the states of Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin inclusive; another was issued exclusively for the men of Ohio (presumably because of the high volume of volunteers from that state). Signatures of Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, and President Abraham Lincoln appear at the bottom of the document.
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg87uTiprTd-7MBZyDs7uf_TNZPqF7BxSmrmhg5FdxAE-so8QjG3iksMwff1LQXffjj4oPyJ1R1wkDFvq86YyKdYHeXUZZ4jwiva3J_plMquxF8-3E2HLWfj9s5Px6BwIrpLkmS_Tti7T8/s1600/100dayvolunteers_ohio.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 304px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg87uTiprTd-7MBZyDs7uf_TNZPqF7BxSmrmhg5FdxAE-so8QjG3iksMwff1LQXffjj4oPyJ1R1wkDFvq86YyKdYHeXUZZ4jwiva3J_plMquxF8-3E2HLWfj9s5Px6BwIrpLkmS_Tti7T8/s320/100dayvolunteers_ohio.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453806608181180930" /></a>
<br /><strong>A Hundred Day Certificate for the Ohio Volunteers</strong>
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<br />Like other partially-printed, original, presidential documents from the Civil War, personal information--names, dates, rank, etcetera--was filled in by a clerk's hand. However, not original are the signatures of Edwin M. Stanton and Abraham Lincoln. Their signatures were prepared from traced engravings onto the printing plate as part of the form document.
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsLz0zZsW65VtBQ0IMzdb8Vqz3PuQUPsLQ6Ejt79c9nzNLVHaT1051cu1YhEWzH_Ix5lxeS8M8Oh-vhykEeAmlaI0oFdlt5OHX5mevMins2SItqkLNqOdzxQCTkzIHEGJQ3MgW52qzwSk/s1600/100day_sigs.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 103px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsLz0zZsW65VtBQ0IMzdb8Vqz3PuQUPsLQ6Ejt79c9nzNLVHaT1051cu1YhEWzH_Ix5lxeS8M8Oh-vhykEeAmlaI0oFdlt5OHX5mevMins2SItqkLNqOdzxQCTkzIHEGJQ3MgW52qzwSk/s320/100day_sigs.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453806857368678642" /></a>
<br /><strong>The Engraved Signatures of Edwin Stanton and Abraham Lincoln</strong>
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<br />Over the years copies of the Hundred Day Volunteer certificates have gradually entered the autograph marketplace as authentically signed Lincoln documents. It's understandable why. To the trained or untrained eye, at first glance, without several certificates to compare with, the signatures of Lincoln and Stanton appear to be original. On close inspection, however, what stands out is the contrast in ink between the clerical writing and the rest of the document. The iron-based ink from the clerk's hand has rusted and turned brown and relatively faded with age. Secondary is the uneven flow and impression one would expect from handwritten script. In comparison, the facsimile signatures of Lincoln and Stanton, perfectly imprinted onto the document, are the same color ink and age-toned as the printed text of the document.
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<br />Though naïve, unsuspecting, and yes, unscrupulous dealers and collectors alike have bought and sold the volunteer certificates as original Lincoln Documents Signed, in recent years awareness of the printed signatures on the document has grown. The practice of has been stemmed in large part by the informative efforts of honest dealers and auction houses, and websites like the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency <<a href="http://www.illinoishistory.gov/signature.htm. ">http://www.illinoishistory.gov/signature.htm</a>>.
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<br />The practice that does continue, and what dealers and collectors need to be aware of, is the printed Lincoln signatures that have been cut from the document and sold as authentic full Abraham Lincoln signatures. These signatures were sold into the marketplace in the late 1990s and early 2000s by a handful of unscrupulous dealers via the web. The rise of online auctions, in particular eBay, with no checks, standards, or independent, qualified authenticating authority, allowed for the proliferation of the facsimile Lincoln signatures.
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<br /><strong>The tell tale signs you may have a facsimile Lincoln signature cut from the Hundred Days certificates are:
<br />a) Lincoln placed a period at the end of his name for the engraving
<br />b) The dark, even flow of ink which is common of printed text
<br />c) The faded, browned text common of iron-based ink is absent
<br />d) The full Abraham Lincoln signature</strong>
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3hXSjCWPVkYCMDzayKTGKAhH5b5RgclPcigXl30ezPoTdK6dILQx1_vQEOlJEz59xKg4dAVC0j6lgTBNQ0xM2b1B0eqNbnbQOlXRTLwS86Jbv85bqiQU1vYy09i_cjZ-SDog8WmGr8K8/s1600/100day_lincolnsig.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 64px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3hXSjCWPVkYCMDzayKTGKAhH5b5RgclPcigXl30ezPoTdK6dILQx1_vQEOlJEz59xKg4dAVC0j6lgTBNQ0xM2b1B0eqNbnbQOlXRTLwS86Jbv85bqiQU1vYy09i_cjZ-SDog8WmGr8K8/s320/100day_lincolnsig.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453807081073481122" /></a>
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<br />If you're still uncertain check for traces of possible dot removement. There may be instances where a dealer may have tried to remove the dot to make their signature look different, or may have clipped the period off which would render the "n" in Lincoln at the very edge of the right margin.
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<br />It is certain that there are many presidential autograph collections with the facsimile Lincoln signature in them. It's only a matter of time before the generation of collectors who acquired these signatures as authentic begin to return them to the marketplace. Every effort should be made to trace back to the originating source of the signatures to compensate the victims down the line. If your Lincoln signature matches the one above return the signature to the dealer for a refund. It is important, at this juncture, for the autograph community to recognize and weed out the facsimile Lincoln signatures from the marketplace. Whether intentionally or innocently, the continued selling of the facsimile Lincoln signature by anyone at any level is a discredit and blow to the hobby.Signature Arts, Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/01728887998814154702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3532148851686553956.post-10284459211259253022010-03-22T19:40:00.000-07:002010-03-22T19:42:47.690-07:00Autograph Authenticator Looses LawsuitThe HBO cable television channel won dismissal of a $5 million defamation lawsuit by a Brooklyn, New York handwriting expert. Frangipani, who claims he can authenticate autographs accused HBO television channel and "Real Sports" host Bryant Gumbel of tying him to an autograph forgery ring.<br /><br />This weeks ruling by Manhattan U.S. District Judge George Daniels in federal court rejected claims by Donald Frangipani. Frangipani claims he has more than 40 years of experience in forensic documents. This experience supposedly includes authenticating sports autographs and other memorabilia by Babe Ruth, Tiger Woods and more.<br /><br />HBO is a unit of Time Warner Inc.<br /><br />In his 2008 lawsuit, Frangipani alleged that HBO violated New York State defamation law over a January 2006 "Real Sports" segment, "Forger's Paradise," in which the program portrayed him as an authenticator of choice for a forgery ring broken up by the FBI in 2000.<br /><br />Frangipani also accused large authentication companies of violating federal antitrust and racketeering laws by conspiring to keep him out of the market.<br /><br />Among the defendants were Gumbel, who hosted "Real Sports," as well as narrator Armen Keteyian and several producers.<br /><br />In the 15-page decision, Judge Daniels said the plaintiff failed to show that the authentication companies violated federal antitrust and racketeering laws by scheming to freeze him out of the market, or that customers refused to use his authentication services. <br /><br />Because Frangipani's federal claims were dismissed, Daniels declined to exercise jurisdiction over the state law defamation claim.<br /><br />The case is Frangipani v. HBO et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 08-5675.Signature Arts, Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/01728887998814154702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3532148851686553956.post-69056185603088008362010-03-18T17:12:00.000-07:002010-03-18T17:15:07.441-07:00F.B.I. Snatches Autograph Thief!Over the last few months, William J. Scott of Longmeadow, Massachusetts, an 18 year old freshman at Drew University in New Jersey, was stealing valuable letters while working part time at the University's United Methodist Archives Center. He sold thousands of dollars of letters and F.B.I. agents found others in his dresser drawer after executing a search warrant of his dorm room. Scott was handcuffed when led into the U.S. District Court in Newark, New Jersey for a bail hearing. He faces a $250,000 fine and up to ten years in prison if convicted. <br /> <br />Authorities said Scott, a Drew freshman, worked as a paid student assistant at the Archives Center since approximately October 2009. The Archives Center is home to the official archival repository for The United Methodist Church. Its collection includes records from the various denominational agencies within the United Methodist tradition, and personal papers of several bishops, denominational leaders, and missionaries from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. <br /> <br />Many of the documents housed at the Archives Center are maintained in a secure storage room that is locked and only accessible to those who, like Scott, are given keys by the Archives Center. <br /> <br />Included among the papers stored in the secure storage room at the Archives Center are approximately 145 letters of John and Charles Wesley, the founders of Methodism. The letters were written in the 18th and 19th centuries and are valued on the open market at between approximately $5,000 and $12,000 per letter. Also included among the documents at the Archives Center are various letters written by past presidents of the United States, including Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Dwight D. Eisenhower, to various Methodist Bishops and other important Methodist figures. <br /> <br />“It is a sad day when a student at one of our nation’s learning institutions pilfers great cultural and historical resources, rather than respects and learns from them.” U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman said.<br /><br />Items stolen include twenty-one pieces from John Wesley, and several from U.S. Presidents including Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, FDR, Eisenhower and Nixon.<br /><br />Scott sold many of the letters to leading dealers throughout the United States and as far away as England, it was reported. The F.B.I. is in the process of attempting to retrieve the stolen items. According to the agent in charge the F.B.I. will try and help the dealers involved get refunds. <br /><br />Anyone who has purchased items from William Scott during the last few months, or sent checks to his home address in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, should contact Signature Arts, Inc. via eMail at j.bruce@sigartsinc.com. We will put you in touch with the F.B.I. Special Agent in New Jersey who is handling this case.Signature Arts, Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/01728887998814154702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3532148851686553956.post-35254460645237523912010-03-16T05:29:00.000-07:002010-03-16T05:36:55.399-07:00Michael Jackson autographs, be careful!It’s come to my attention that there is a flood of very good but not authentic Michael Jackson pieces being sold. With the very hard work of authentication community we have started the breaking up of a very large ring of non-authentic items. We did catch these early so they have not got out of hand yet but would probably get by a lot of dealers and some authentication services.What I will do here in this article is show you what the non-authentic ones that are being mass produced look like. I won’t tell you what makes them not right as then the persons doing these will try to fix it. We do know the origin of where these started coming from and are working on catching the people red handed.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoP9n12VXP1PFToXnAHAwz5Qd-Iu5yKSj9TS0OV91mXsHJl6vN89K-N9WWDHyicUwr_AbTtSrh8kRwxR-V-98TiF-8-3_MhzPrfzdaIK7xAUKel0Y-rS-DoaNy6hGFAf4q7GyMqV9cX4E/s1600-h/mj.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 227px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoP9n12VXP1PFToXnAHAwz5Qd-Iu5yKSj9TS0OV91mXsHJl6vN89K-N9WWDHyicUwr_AbTtSrh8kRwxR-V-98TiF-8-3_MhzPrfzdaIK7xAUKel0Y-rS-DoaNy6hGFAf4q7GyMqV9cX4E/s320/mj.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449209495269966466" /></a><br /><br /><br />To the common collector these may look authentic but they are not. They are all signed by the same person and in my expert opinion do not believe it is Michael Jackson. These are not being sold a little bit at a time either. These are being sold sometimes in big lots and you have to buy all or none for prices that are just to low to believe. If you have any doubts whatsoever contact a dealer or authenticator that you have a relationship with and ask their opinion. It might be the best $15 you ever spend.<br /><br />As always “be careful”<br />James BruceSignature Arts, Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/01728887998814154702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3532148851686553956.post-5326144929193697982010-03-09T12:04:00.000-08:002010-03-09T12:11:34.187-08:00James Spence Authentication (JSA) Simply No Excuse For All The MistakesWe have not been publishing all the mistakes this company has made lately because we feel our readers got the message on this so called autograph authenticating group.<br /><br />However, when a group like this hit’s a new low the story needs to be told. Currently listed on eBay item # 110412169299 for $499 is a letter said to be signed by Warren G. Harding.<br /><br />ANYONE who collects items signed by the presidents of the United States would know that the signature on the bottom of this letter is secretarial. And a well documented secretary at that. Reference books on presidential autographs and educational articles have been written about this "very common" secretarial signature.<br /><br />It certainly appears as if the authenticators at this company either just don’t care, do no research or are just dysfunctional. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikjjaqZbj4TIfvNMkfQAZeHRKyZHrqmj8axcmVmI-YG7ns7RWSwl3Ies8F5ExTWhyphenhyphenUMv53kwpsvyAYCzXxmw0MT46JMQ8uha-36yxE_Oq37M3qg82ut6HDUJh0Rih6a3n_wA2uW0jS11Q/s1600-h/hardingtls.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 245px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikjjaqZbj4TIfvNMkfQAZeHRKyZHrqmj8axcmVmI-YG7ns7RWSwl3Ies8F5ExTWhyphenhyphenUMv53kwpsvyAYCzXxmw0MT46JMQ8uha-36yxE_Oq37M3qg82ut6HDUJh0Rih6a3n_wA2uW0jS11Q/s320/hardingtls.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446728054817343954" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8L3vnoRRSLHqrCKNJzsu4OP9yuIRIpHUtMbWFy0uYIKP5y7UulPZxuSjRQsGxh8jX_Li3uNzg9A6IYy3kc6cHB35KDM2yHqsyfUsyflOHL-laZh6uKkEbt25g79ZCUH3nVbQ99T5p3KQ/s1600-h/hardingtlsig.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 106px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8L3vnoRRSLHqrCKNJzsu4OP9yuIRIpHUtMbWFy0uYIKP5y7UulPZxuSjRQsGxh8jX_Li3uNzg9A6IYy3kc6cHB35KDM2yHqsyfUsyflOHL-laZh6uKkEbt25g79ZCUH3nVbQ99T5p3KQ/s320/hardingtlsig.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446728253945008738" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibYq_8vkyjDm5IRk5gX-DCeSLVsRlQoee2Hmqy1f2Ef-Qo029OJW3n2MMrNc31AEgv7ElwEfRH4ahFEg8AwPBG_zxOMrA-GR9Wl17fBJjwy-U3fL7gdOwXKcxU4IwFNnTI0YAoWIhZtoI/s1600-h/spencesticker.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 165px; height: 98px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibYq_8vkyjDm5IRk5gX-DCeSLVsRlQoee2Hmqy1f2Ef-Qo029OJW3n2MMrNc31AEgv7ElwEfRH4ahFEg8AwPBG_zxOMrA-GR9Wl17fBJjwy-U3fL7gdOwXKcxU4IwFNnTI0YAoWIhZtoI/s320/spencesticker.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446728428707628114" /></a><br /><strong>Harding Secretarial Signature mis-authenticated by JSA and his team of authenticators<br />as an authentic Harding Signature</strong><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpeqDujK69dgIGLMiazH2VblUFZjILYsfuy7JSFKTYmU4QsEAcPnDJ9I8B0YoVjz-ns-LzRnFti7-1BZkpk6FD1L-g-3mRm4s_-BR4CLswkT2qR0dE_7XnTuGTRF5u303qs_GJ1o1AW1Y/s1600-h/hardingtlsec.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpeqDujK69dgIGLMiazH2VblUFZjILYsfuy7JSFKTYmU4QsEAcPnDJ9I8B0YoVjz-ns-LzRnFti7-1BZkpk6FD1L-g-3mRm4s_-BR4CLswkT2qR0dE_7XnTuGTRF5u303qs_GJ1o1AW1Y/s320/hardingtlsec.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446728554697046418" /></a><br /><strong>llustrations of Harding Secretarial Signature and Authentic Signature from a common autograph reference book</strong><br /><br />It certainly appears this autograph authenticating business has become more of a scam than anything else.<br /><br />JSA (James Spence) who likes to use the phrase "Follow the Leader" is not only responsible for this blunder but takes it one notch lower with extreme incompetence.<br /><br />Look at the illustration of the signature closely. Notice the oval coloration starting at the capital "H" and ending near the "g" in Harding’s last name? One of the half wits working for Spence placed the JSA Certified sticker on the back of the Harding letter basically right over Harding’s signature.<br /><br />By the way, the presidential/political authenticator for James Spence authentication is none other than John Reznikoff of University Archives. Anyone surprised?Signature Arts, Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/01728887998814154702noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3532148851686553956.post-6393734433326093202010-03-05T09:01:00.000-08:002010-03-05T09:03:32.976-08:00When The Good of the Hobby Needs to Come Before the Almighty Dollar!!This duo, the RR Auction/Reznikoff gang is at it again. <br /> <br />We have heard from several knowledgeable collectors and dealers complaining about the authenticity of items in the RR Auctions February 2010 sale from presidential signed items to sports celebrities signatures. We will focus on just one item in this story since the item is so well documented. <br /><br />It is a shame, even a disgrace, that some people still try to authenticate presidential autographs when they have failed at it so often and so miserably in the past. The latest Reznikoff/RR Auction mistake has been brought to our attention by a handful of collectors and dealers. It is the Lyndon B. Johnson The White House card in the current RR Auction, item #79. <br /><br />We know for a fact that Bob Eaton and some of his staff at RR Auctions have been notified early in the last week of January in writing that this Johnson signature is NOT genuine. RR Auctions has NOT responded to any of the emails from collectors and dealers and several days later, as of Feb. 1, the item is still listed for sale. This item has 12 bids and is now at $1,433.00. <br />The sale is over on February 10th. <br /> <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYUzVlmh2v3sSMQ-YP6RRximDdZrMTpWmXUOvHNClFVaNPcSebauGukCb8JaEGcybgju_k2wPX6cKKYigTdvGwPj9lxfhSHaQudoL03O5IgH7ibLVXJoT31MC3RuT0vS7Vg8FeEha4oo8/s1600-h/lbj_whc.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 186px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYUzVlmh2v3sSMQ-YP6RRximDdZrMTpWmXUOvHNClFVaNPcSebauGukCb8JaEGcybgju_k2wPX6cKKYigTdvGwPj9lxfhSHaQudoL03O5IgH7ibLVXJoT31MC3RuT0vS7Vg8FeEha4oo8/s320/lbj_whc.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5445196460038235234" /></a><br /><br />Item #79, February 2010, RR Auction<br />being sold as genuine yet bearing a non-authentic<br />signature of Lyndon B. Johnson<br /> <br />In the past, with the information available at the time, the signature on this card was believed to be genuine by two people; Mike Minor who owned the card and Charles Hamilton. Minor believed that of all of the similar LBJ cards that have turned up, his was the only known genuine example. <br /><br />Mike Minor was called by autograph expert Stephen Koschal, and Minor was told the signature of LBJ was not genuine. Koschal walked Minor letter by letter through this signature explaining in detail why he believed the signature was NOT genuine and Minor agreed. Minor stated that in an upcoming new printing of his book From The President's Pen, he would make the correction about this LBJ card. <br /><br />In the very popular autograph reference book, The History of Collecting Executive Mansion, White House and The White House cards Signed by the Presidents and their First Ladies by Stephen Koschal and Lynne Keyes, the authors illustrate and devote a full page to this exact card. Koschal also made front page news about this same card in the journal of the International Autograph Collectors Club and Dealers Alliance, Vol.#5, No.4, July/August 2001. <br /> <br />Most importantly, most educated collectors and dealers are well aware the incompetency of most third party authenticating companies. Does it surprise anyone that Bob Eaton of RR Auctions and John Reznikoff of University Archives are part of the authenticating team of both PSA/DNA and JSA, James Spence Authentication? <br /><br />There are ten more days before this auction ends and many are watching to see if the almighty dollar trumps selling genuine autographs with this auction house.Signature Arts, Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/01728887998814154702noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3532148851686553956.post-39843794258096285722010-03-01T11:34:00.000-08:002010-03-01T11:56:26.324-08:00Authentication Stickers Affixed by Morons?Much has been said about affixing unsightly self-advertising autograph authentication stickers to autographed material. Nothing said about it is positive. One of our last articles had someone who is a member of one of the high profile companies that claim to authenticate autographs returning an autographed photograph because it had one of these stickers affixed to it. The company he is listed as an authenticator places these type stickers on original autographed items. <br /><br />No one to date has come to us advising how these horrific stickers can be removed form an autograph without damaging the original item. Many collectors would like to know? <br /> <br />This sticker fiasco begs the question of all our readers. PSA/DNA has added this sticker to the original 1930's card and basically has ruined the originality of the 80 year old collectible card. What happens if some person wanted to submit the card to PSA/DNA for grading? Maybe, they'll just grade the front of the card! <br /><br />The following is a copy of a email from one of our educated readers and how he feels about the sticker atrocity:<br /><br /><br />From their new 2009 Goudey baseball product, they have inserted original Goudey cards that were autographed. As you can see, PSA/DNA has attached their sticker to an original 1934 Goudey card. What a bunch of morons! <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaMrLI1bsicYwQ7KS9Z6rOU7A7U08X-IfaL1CINbP-_EH0x1epYmDLNio3iKDqjPPvZfFtW0EQX3xZhjkedoOxKp98EJLlZcwHHF5ivMFi_E1ABijUodCb4TdRYv-dkoc9vITEHUtwu3g/s1600-h/gehringer_front.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 261px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaMrLI1bsicYwQ7KS9Z6rOU7A7U08X-IfaL1CINbP-_EH0x1epYmDLNio3iKDqjPPvZfFtW0EQX3xZhjkedoOxKp98EJLlZcwHHF5ivMFi_E1ABijUodCb4TdRYv-dkoc9vITEHUtwu3g/s320/gehringer_front.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443751650104778482" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmcJyXFNqUOaHSmqLW0bxossAKM8H89_eBuk6R-JbX62ge4rz3KcT4W6wrl_b-h7v-uppmYDhzPOu0Te_I0xCpleZpaXbOw2gq96v5J-X6Vh2E9qd-v2dszvResqw7knFUPWGGQPZ4u-I/s1600-h/gehringer.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmcJyXFNqUOaHSmqLW0bxossAKM8H89_eBuk6R-JbX62ge4rz3KcT4W6wrl_b-h7v-uppmYDhzPOu0Te_I0xCpleZpaXbOw2gq96v5J-X6Vh2E9qd-v2dszvResqw7knFUPWGGQPZ4u-I/s320/gehringer.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443751798194589922" /></a><br /><br />Original 1934 Goudey Baseball Card Defaced by PSA/DNA Authentication Registration StickerSignature Arts, Inc.http://www.blogger.com/profile/01728887998814154702noreply@blogger.com0