Unless you were there, how do you know?

[3arod13]

Unless you were there, how do you know?

With all the discussions about COA's for authenticity of game used and autographed items, thought I would share an experience I had.

I sent an item into PSA/DNA for authentication. The item came back, "likely not genuine", which I knew they were wrong! A few months later, I listed the item on ebay, submitted a PSA/DNA QuickOpinion myself, and it game back "likely genuine."

Unless you were there, how do you know?

[cjosefy]

There is no way to conclusively know. I think I could do about as well as PSA/DNA just by searching for exemplars of autographs and comparing them. Isn't that what they (most likely) do anyway is compare it to known samples?

Personally, I try to have almost all of my autographs obtained in person, but you run into problems when you try to sell them. If I get something signed at a Tristar show I almost never get the $7 "authentiation" because I just got the autograph in person. Although I don't intend to sell, if I ever have to I'm sure this cuts down on the price.

Another issue is that depending on when you get an autograph from a player you might not get the best autograph. I have a Tom Glavine that I got during the 2004 All-Star Home Run derby BP session. It's about the worst looking Tom Glavine autograph I've ever seen.