GAI Certed Mickey Mantle Forgery

[camarokids]

Hi Chris,

I appreciate your attempts to get a reply from GAI and/or Mr. Priddy concerning this forgery that they certified as authentic.

There isn't any need to make any future requests.

Being as neither has taken the time to address this publicly, or privately, their silence speaks loud enough. It is an affirmation that I am correct in my assertion.

Being as this thread and the one on the Autograph Forum have had over 1250+ views and climbing, I believe the word has been spread far and wide.

I'm fairly certain this thread has made quite a few take another look at anything they may have certified by GAI, and will be a little more wary in the future concerning this authenticator and company.

Before this venue became available, there was really no way to inform many others about the garbage in this hobby. Most things were hidden, denied, or swept under the rug.

That is in the past, and myself and others will continue to make it known when any dubious, dishonest, and/or incompetent businesses and/or individuals need to have a light shined on their practices.

Shine on my fellow collectors.

Man , that is very well written there Sammy , great work !

You are so right about the silence , sometimes silence is golden , but not in this situation......

When I started collecting autographs in the early 1990's I bought some books from Sports Collectors Digest ,the old adage buy the book first . I got The Guide to Collecting Baseball Memorabilia I & II and Collecting Team Baseballs and others .

The books tell you (in english) THE first thing in authenticating auto's is TO veryify the item that was signed ...

......I've said this earlier in the thread but wanted to elaborate more .....

I am not even a so-called expert on autographs and that has always stuck with me (the 1st thing to look for), yet what is amazing is that you have an expert ,who failed on the first step !!!!!!!??????

[David]

As an autograph collector, I can say that GAI has a good reputation in the autograph hobby.

Everyone makes mistakes, including dumb mistakes, from time to time-- even the experts. To me, the lesson here for all of us, is that when a dumb mistake is made the best thing is to admit it. People will may joke at you a bit, but they understand we're all human. Most will let bygones be bygones if you're upfront about it. Also, by being upfront, people will then consider you an honest person who's word is trustyworthy. In the future you'll say, "I know his word can be trusted, as he's the type of guy to admit his mistakes even when it's embarassing." However, especially when everyone is aware of the mistake, the worst is not say anything-- as collectors will wonder about your honesty and charecter. Not saying anything is being your own worst enemy.

[camarokids]

As an autograph collector, I can say that GAI has a good reputation in the autograph hobby.

Everyone makes mistakes, including dumb mistakes, from time to time-- even the experts. To me, the lesson here for all of us, is that when a dumb mistake is made the best thing is to admit it. People will may joke at you a bit, but they understand we're all human. Most will let bygones be bygones if you're upfront about it. Also, by being upfront, people will then consider you an honest person who's word is trustyworthy. In the future you'll say, "I know his word can be trusted, as he's the type of guy to admit his mistakes even when it's embarassing." However, especially when everyone is aware of the mistake, the worst is not say anything-- as collectors will wonder about your honesty and charecter. Not saying anything is being your own worst enemy.

very well said I agree .......nothing needed to add except I would like to say the way that GAI handled situation was/is un-professional (just admit you made a mistake) and just as you said "collectors will wonder". Especially the informed ones...........

[ChrisCavalier]

Hello Everyone,

I spoke with Steve Rocchi (the President of Global Authentications) directly about the Mantle jersey. He said that they were able to confirm that a mistake was made in the authentication process and that is why the jersey was pulled and not put back up for sale.

At the moment, Steve is out of town attending to some personal matters and he asked me to make this post for him. He told me to tell everyone thank you for helping identify the issue and also let everyone know Global is committed to doing the right thing when a mistake is made.

Please feel free to post any other questions you may have and I hope you will join me in thanking Steve for getting back to us with an update.

Sincerely,
Christopher Cavalier

[3arod13]

Hello Everyone,

I spoke with Steve Rocchi (the President of Global Authentications) directly about the Mantle jersey. He said that they were able to confirm that a mistake was made in the authentication process and that is why the jersey was pulled and not put back up for sale.

At the moment, Steve is out of town attending to some personal matters and he asked me to make this post for him. He told me to tell everyone thank you for helping identify the issue and also let everyone know Global is committed to doing the right thing when a mistake is made.

Please feel free to post any other questions you may have and I hope you will join me in thanking Steve for getting back to us with an update.

Sincerely,
Christopher Cavalier

Kudos to Steve and GAI. As unfortuante as this was, there's no question this was an error and not intentional. Mistakes happen, and they have acknowledged and taken responsibility for this error, where many don't.

Are any of us perfect in our jobs? Do we make mistakes? Yes!

Again Kudos to GAI! I believe they have a good standing in the authentication world and are still considered one of the top authentication services.

[David]

From my point of view the case is closed. GAI has a good reputation for autograph examination, and I don't think one should hang a company over a single error. It should also be noted that the auction house pulled the lot when the error was pointed out to them.

[David]

I should add for clarity's sake that I believe when they realized the error GAI contacted the auction house which subsequently removed the jersey before the auction ended. So, as far as potential bidders bidding their $$ on the lot, GAI did originally act well.

[sammy]

Hi David,

For "clarity's sake", I contacted the auction house about the jersey before GAI even had a clue. The jersey was removed after I also informed GAI about this.

The bidding was up to 1800+ when pulled and would have closed that night for I believe substantially more.

Opinions vary on autographs, but this was based on manufacturing data which anyone could request.

Just glad someone doesn't have this hanging on their wall, or passing it on to someone else.

[David]

Sammy, you were the one who discovered the error and contacted, so you deserve most of the credit. It would seem if it weren't for you, the error would have gone unnoticed.