Authenticating Forgeries?

[sammy]

Please don't read if you like the taste of sand.


http://www.autographalert.com/news.html (http://www.autographalert.com/news.html)

[kingjammy24]

sammy, even for someone with little interest in autographs that site was still a very interesting read! great site, thanks for sharing.

i'm saddened that my favorite celebrity hair authenticator, reznikoff, may be inept :(
http://www.gameuseduniverse.com/vb_forum/showthread.php?t=7959

where am i supposed to go now to get my bags full of celebrity hair authenticated?! i've got 6 ounces of lindsay lohan's locks waiting to make me some sweet cash and noone to authenticate it!

rudy.

[David]

My problem with that autograph site is that EVERYTHING is negative. If one should be suspicious of a news site that only offers sunny, fluff, positive news, I also think one should wonder about a site that only offers negative news.

[mvandor]

My problem with that autograph site is that EVERYTHING is negative. If one should be suspicious of a news site that only offers sunny, fluff, positive news, I also think one should wonder about a site that only offers negative news.
I would agree. Guy seems to have a specific grudge against certain industry organizations and authenticators such as PSA/DNA and JSA particularly, yet I did not see constructive solutions to the industry's problems.

[sammy]

I can see where a person may have a problem with the referenced site, if that person has a financial, or other type of interest in the people, companies, or items discussed.

As with the GUU board members shining a light on the misdeeds of auction companies, authenticators, and sellers of dubious items, the site I referenced is doing the same for the autograph community.

That site has information on dubious authenticators and authentications, auction companies, and individuals who also create problems within the autograph community. The site references what to watch out for, who to watch out for, and information to assist collectors in the autograph community in regard to making informed opinions.

If the information provided is only considered in a negative light by certain individuals, then that site must be doing something right. There are many individuals and companies that find the GUU site to be only negative, yet others have seen the benefit.

I find the site referenced above to be more informative, then negative, as I do the GUU site.

To each, their own.

Carry on.

[skipcareyisfat]

For the most part I'm enjoying this site as well. Good to see them speaking out against SCD's bizarre and stubborn loyalty to -- one would have to assume -- Coach's Corner, in particular. SCD's responses to CC's critics are always complete nonsense and are rather embarrassing. (BTW, what happened to Priddy? Wasn't he supposed to be GUU's autograph moderator?) Here's the article...
__________________________________________________ __

Breaking News:
October 29, 2006

Sports Collectors Digest Continues To “Drop The Ball”

The editorial staff of this once popular sports newspaper should be shaking in their shoes? Just a few years ago it would take an entire Saturday to read this weekly publication. Now a shadow of its former self, it takes us just several minutes to read. The outrageous cover cost is still $4.99 US or $6.99 for Canadians.

Why does it take just a few minutes for us to read Sports Collectors Digest lately? Because it usually lacks interesting articles and is filled with advertising, much of it being a minefield! For years, the same staff at Sports Collectors Digest has been warned about some of their advertisers and little has been done to fix what appears to be an eternal problem. They know which advertisers are a problem!

During the last several years, many of the advertisers who sold genuine autographs can no longer compete with those who sell at best questionable material. A dealer who sells genuine autographs begins to appear to be high priced. Yet, the magazine will go on publishing some of their advertisers auction results which looks absolutely foolish to the educated purchaser of autographs. For example, it should be most embarrassing for the magazine to print that John Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe signed photographs sold for under $500 by one of their advertisers. It also tells a reader that no legitimate autograph dealer bid on the item as they knew the item was not genuine. However, some unfortunate collector thought he got a bargain because of the low price and felt somewhat secure, partially because the auction house was an SCD advertiser. This all could have easily been avoided if the management at SCD took the advise of some years ago. Now what sports collectors have to look forward to is an embarrassing three quarters of a page of Vendors' ads shadowed by two full pages of how to place and price an ad. The current management’s decision to try to entice a subscriber to renew their subscription by offering 8"X10"s signed by a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame or sending a free bobble head is not the way to go. Collectors and sports fans will renew if a quality magazine is offered. The best publicity for this magazine will be by word of mouth but only if things improve.

Autographalert.com has just learned that the powers to be at Sports Collectors Digest made a recent decision to no longer publish the highly educational autograph authentication articles written by baseball hall of fame autograph expert Ron Keurajian. Talk about dropping the ball! Mr. Keurajian’s articles are basically the only reason left why we still subscribe to this magazine. For years, Mr. Keurajian’s articles educated most of the autograph community. The exemplars he illustrated in his articles are used by most autograph dealers and authenticators who care to have a reference library.

Collecting autographs is a big part of the sports hobby. Why do the people who try to do good for the hobby continually get the short end of the deal? We can only come up with two possible answers. One is they usually are not in a position to take out full page ads and secondly, as educators, try to tell the truth.

In Mr. Keurajian’s last published article in SCD, November 3, 2006 issue, he writes a wonderful story on the scarce signatures of John J. McGraw. In two areas of this article the author hits a home run with the truth. “Forged McGraw baseballs have been floating around for years and, in my opinion, many have wrongfully been certified as genuine by the major authentication companies...” and “The forgery is signed J.J. McGraw, To the trained eye (which this hobby seems to be sorely lacking) they are easily identified...” True statements however who do you think will be offended by these warnings? You guessed it...some of the full page advertisers!

So, the magazine decides to drop Mr. Keurajian and will now have to replace him. Replacing an expert is no easy task. They do so with one of whom is associated with one of their full page advertisers. Getting readers prepped with the replacement, SCD starts publishing articles the week before by a Justin Priddy of Global Authentication. You can find his name in the full page ad on the back page of the November 3, 2006 issue of SCD. Unless it's self promotion, that’s about the only place where you will see his name with regard to autographs. We never heard of him before he became an “expert”. His name is not listed as a member in any of the autograph trade organizations and he has not taken a single autograph course of the dozen or so that was available (free) to the public.

Mr. Priddy’s first article was in the October 27, 2006 issue of SCD. It was on the signature of Babe Ruth. It is our opinion that if Mr. Priddy read Ron Keurajian’s autograph study of Ruth’s signature published in the March 2, 2002, Vol.29, #10 issue of SCD and reproduced in the Standard Catalog of Sports Memorabilia, third edition, issued by Krause Publications in 2003, Mr. Priddy would never have written his article. This in itself almost proves that many of the so called authenticators do not read the educational articles written about autographs. We called on several legitimate, recognized autograph experts and authenticators to comment on the several exemplars Mr. Priddy used “as genuine” in his article. All basically agree that at least one is an outright forgery and six of the nine he illustrated are questionable. The rest of the article’s biographical info can be found on basically any informative website referring to Babe Ruth.

Mr. Priddy’s second “educational” story turns out to be another black eye for the hobby. The title of this story is “Shoeless Joe Autographs rare in any form.” Once again we have to read the usual biographical info that can be found anywhere else but where is the meat? Ah, it starts halfway through the article with “Most collectors know that Jackson was illiterate and have heard the stories of him signing his name with an ‘X’..... however, later in his life he did learn how to sign his name.”

Joe Jackson was born in 1887 and played in the 1919 World Series. He died in 1951 so when does one want to consider him being late in life. Most likely the years of the late 1940's would satisfy most. Illustrated below are two genuine signatures of Joe Jackson. Illustration 1 (above) is taken from a bond from the City of Greenville for the State of South Carolina for a transaction that involved Joe Jackson’s brother. It is signed by Joe Jackson and also bears the signature of the notary public. The document is dated January 12, 1915.

Illustration 2 (below), is taken from a Bill of Sale of Joe Jackson’s Pool Hall. This document bears a genuine signature of Joe Jackson and is dated October 6, 1921. Neither of these signatures can be considered signed anywhere close to “late in life.”

Of the six Joe Jackson signature illustrations used in Mr. Priddy’s article, two are so poorly copied that no one can determine the authenticity from the illustrations. However all who have been contacted agree that illustration 4 and 5 appear to be the same signature with illustration 5 being slightly enlarged.

Autographalert.com attempted to contact as many legitimate autograph experts and authenticators for their opinions of the articles on Ruth and Jackson however we were somewhat surprised of how many of these experts no longer subscribe to Sports Collectors Digest and therefore did not see the articles. As for this writer, with the absence of Ron Keurajian’s articles there is no longer a reason for us to renew our subscription.

During our calls to autograph experts we found past readers of the SCD publication very frustrated with the magazine. Some believe the editorial staff has clearly proven, over time, that they have “dropped the ball.” Their ideas and policies just don't work The industry has watched this publication basically disintegrate. Since the management continues to stay with the same policy, some have suggested the only way this magazine will improve is if it replaces the current staff. New blood, who will have a clear focus, for a new direction, might be this magazines saving grace. Because some people still believe what they read, it is up to the trade magazines to set high standards for the industry not only by policing their advertisers but also ensuring only qualified persons, those with documented credentials, write educational articles that can be trusted to be used as reference by the collecting public.

[sammy]

The site referenced at the beginning of this thread has been updated as of today. Some new and interesting information for those of you who like to "Follow The Leader".

SCD has diminished to the point of no return without a major thought change in the advertising market. It seems money is more important then ......

I am not faulting SCD or CC only, a lot of people and auction companies put profit before ......

[camarokids]

I used to subscribe to SCD in the late 1990's then stopped in 2000 . Well I started to collect baseball again in 2005 . So I tried a subscription for a year and found the magazine lacked interesting stories and a lot of the "news" was advertising for the paid advertisers. I did get one nice piece of info from the subscription . I found the website for www.b-csports.com and scored some bats I needed .

[sammy]

This is the auction description and a scan of the subject letter for the August 11 posting on the site referenced at the beginning. This is to show you what is being discussed, and for future reference if you collect autographs.






BOBBY JONES EMBRACES NEW TECHNOLOGY TO DOCUMENT GOLF SWING


1055. BOBBY JONES (1902-1971). Golfing legend who never turned pro was a practicing lawyer in Atlanta and won golf's Grand Slam while founding the Masters - the US PGA tournament by which all others are judged. Vintage TLS "Robt. T. Jones Jr" as director, 1p, 81/2"x11", New York, Jun 11, 1940. On The American Golf Institute letterhead to Mildred C. Graf, Director of Physical Education in Cape May Court House regarding new technology in illustrating his golf swing. He states that he can supply copies "of certain photographs made by the new multi-flash method in use in the laboratory of A. G. Spalding & Bros...This method, as you probably know, makes possible very brief exposure times which provide clear definition of golf clubs moving at high speed..." The purpose of the undertaking was to document photographically the difference between the swings of 'average golfers' and that of the great golf pro himself. Boldly signed in blue fountain pen. Small paper clip stain at top border; else Fine. Est: $2500-5000





http://www.signaturehouse.net/auctions/auction32/pictures/large/1055_1.jpg

[sammy]

The aforementioned site has been updated.

There is some new and relevant information concerning PSA/DNA's newest addition to their authentication team.

Also, many other revelations that will open your eyes, if you can remove the blinders. ;)



Ever hear the story about the fox guarding the henhouse?