Opinions on Mantle Auto?
 

Authentic or Not

Burn it!!!! Simply awful!!!!

No good, sorry.

What makes it Awful? I dont collect autographs just have this ball and few other players.

Nobody ever likes to get into why something's bad. It's kind of an unwritten rule... But I'll go as far as saying that the obvious tell is in the second M, and the 2nd is the y. I saw those two things, cringed, and stopped looking. I'm sure there's plenty of other reasons as well, but I can't bring myself to look at it again..

The "tails" on the Ms drop down too far. The humps of the Ms are too pointy and should be more rounded. The transition from the M to the a is too wide, with far too much of a gap. A large percentage of the Mantle fakes have these same identical issues, so they become very easy to spot after a while.

There are other attributes that clearly contribute to its "bogusness", but these are the ones that strike me as most obvious.

As some of you know, I have specialized in collecting Mantle - almost exclusively vintage, original photos. So I am clearly not an expert in evaluating his autograph - with the possible exception of outrageous examples.

Most of what I have were signed in my presence as well as a few from Upper Deck and from Tommy Catal (all complete with matching holograms and COA).

That being said, I am always eager to learn and am attaching an autograph (designated as real) that was posted on a previous thread about Mantle's autograph on this site. I don't see significant differences in the M's or Y between this "real auto" and the one on this thread that several have declared as an obvious fake. Can anyone educate me or am I hopeless?

Thank you.

Craig

In addition to a number of subtle tells, but the obvious sign is the fake posted by the OP, is a common "Milkey Mautle" forgery style. This style was sold by the thousands by home shopping shows in the 90s.

This style usually also has the unusually sharp points to the tops of the Ms.

Craig,
Look at the second M in both. In the second, the curve is nice and smooth, as if done very naturally. In the first, there are at least 3 points where a more sharp turn appears. 2 are right above the "7" and one is further up the left side. This is the sign of a deliberate, as opposed to fluid, motion.
Hope that helps,
Mark

Thank you Mark. I now can clearly see the differences. It's funny, I have what most people would say is a very critical eye when it comes to photos but am still in first grade regarding autographs.

I guess it all comes down to knowledge, and specific, detailed comments such as yours, really do help.

Thanks again.

Craig