Michael Jordan TTM autograph from 1988/1989 era

[CoreyWilson]

I'm looking for some input from anyone who may have some insight into Michael Jordan's through-the-mail habits from the 1988/1989 era. I mailed him this card (in late-1988 or early-1989) and after a few months it was returned, presumably signed. I actually only collect baseball memorabilia/autographs and have virtually no interest in NBA or other sports. I'd rather not spend $100 in PSA/DNA fees if the consensus is that it's not authentic, secretary, clubhouse or autopen. The black Sharpie does not appear like an autopen to me. Also, a friend of mine sent to Jordan at the same time and didn't receive a response. Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

[Mr. Zipper]

You probably should have worded the poll differently. :)

My sense is at least one person is voting based not on whether the autograph is authentic, but based on the fact they despise PSA.

[travrosty]

isnt the reason to send it to psa is if you dont know and you want their opinion on whether its real? if you know or have a good take that its real, then why bother? you already know.

[CoreyWilson]

I agree Travis. But in this instance I don't really know or have a strong sense if it's real. I'm not a Michael Jordan autograph expert by any stretch of the imagination. Just looking for opinions from folks who may have more experience than me. Thank you.

[thenavarro]

Corey,

A great site to spend some time on in determining whether or not a Jordan is authentic, is http://www.rareair23.com It has numerous examples of Jordan signatures throughout the years, and also gives decent advice on how to tell which signatures might be good, which might be forgeries, etc.

Go there and do some research, and it will be time well spent if you buy/sell/trade Jordans.

Take care,

Mike

[travrosty]

I agree Travis. But in this instance I don't really know or have a strong sense if it's real. I'm not a Michael Jordan autograph expert by any stretch of the imagination. Just looking for opinions from folks who may have more experience than me. Thank you.


yes, i understand, i would ask around too . i dont know, its basketball and there will be some who can figure it out for you.

but if its overwhelmingly real in the opinions of others, would you send it in if you already knew? the question is if it is worth to send into psa. which means if they think it is real, then it is worth sending in, which begs the question, why? if you would then know it is real?

in other words i take the question to mean, is it real so i can send it in to psa? but if you knew it was real, would you really send it in. i wouldnt but some would.

[CoreyWilson]

Thanks for taking the time to respond Mike!

[thetruthisoutthere]

yes, i understand, i would ask around too . i dont know, its basketball and there will be some who can figure it out for you.

but if its overwhelmingly real in the opinions of others, would you send it in if you already knew? the question is if it is worth to send into psa. which means if they think it is real, then it is worth sending in, which begs the question, why? if you would then know it is real?

in other words i take the question to mean, is it real so i can send it in to psa? but if you knew it was real, would you really send it in. i wouldnt but some would.

Wow, the same answer in all three paragraphs......

[Mr. Zipper]

The original poster stated he had no interest in basketball, etc. So, the assumption was he was thinking of selling.

If it is real and he wants to sell it, a credible TPA LOA will help him achieve fair market value for the item. If it is real, and it goes on eBay without a credible COA, he'll get pennies on the dollar. Like it or hate it, that is the market reality.

[CoreyWilson]

Thank you for your input Mr. Zipper. You are pretty accurate in your assumption. Just looking for honest assessments. Have no intention of trying to deceive anyone or get-rich-quick. I would only consider selling with a TPA LOA or encapsulation. I'm a baseball guy and that's what I enjoy.

[milkit1]

I did the same thing back then and got him twice through the mail. I do believe they are real and not ghost signed. The window of opportunity was very small even then

[CoreyWilson]

Thanks milkit1! I appreciate your input. Any chance your signature examples resemble the one on my card?

[milkit1]

they looked exactly like that! I remember I got a 1990 fleer last so it was as late as 1991 that he was signing

[Gary Dunaier]

Also, a friend of mine sent to Jordan at the same time and didn't receive a response.

I'm not an expert in Jordan autographs and I certainly don't know what his signing habits were back then, so take this with as many grains of salt as you like.

In an of itself, I would not consider your receiving a response and your friend not receiving one to be an important factor. Maybe your friend sent in something that was larger than a card. With a card, it's easy to scribble your name and put it back in the SASE, and you're done with it. Something larger involves more work.

Also, it could just be that your request and your friend's request got in separate batches, and your request was in a "lucky" batch that received responses.

[CoreyWilson]

Thanks Gary. I agree with your sentiments. I am not putting too much weight on the fact that my friend didn't receive a response. I've often thought that maybe I just got on the 'lucky' pile. My friend did in fact send a trading card, I know that for a fact, but like you said it's really neither here nor there. Thanks again for your input.

[vintagechris]

That is not an authentic Jordan autograph. Without question, I am 100% sure.

[CoreyWilson]

Thank you for your input vintagechris. That's the kind of certainty I was hoping to find on here. Do you have quite a bit of experience with Jordan autographs? I appreciate you taking the time to respond.

[vintagechris]

I followed Jordan's career from his college days, and have spent quite a bit of time studying his autographs, the different styles and the time period he signed with those different styles.

As one poster previously posted, rareair23.com can be a very good resource to learn from. Although the owner of the site doesn't keep it updated any more and some of the pages don't come up.

Just to touch on a couple of things that are wrong with your Jordan, the angle of the M is way off as well as the J being way too flat and the complete wrong angle. What might be the biggest give away, for the time period you sent it TTM would have been about the time he was transitioning from the "full J" to I guess what you would call the open J. And even during that time period, his IP autographs would be a single stroke from Michael to the J.
Yours has full name written out and Jordan stopped doing that around late 1987 UNLESS it was for something special or he knew you. Then you might get a full every letter signature.

Other than those things, the one you have just looks too labored and has no real flow that an authentic Jordan would have.

Anybody who authenticates autographs can not always be 100% positive about authenticity, but with this one, I am 100% sure.

[CoreyWilson]

Thank you so much vintagechris!!!!!! It sounds as though you really know what you're talking about. I can't thank you enough for spelling-out all of your giveaways with the MJ signature. I'm actually glad to hear someone take a stand and offer me a detailed explanation. Your time is much appreciated. Have a pleasant day.