I have a theory about older signed cards. It is not an absolute but I find it to be true more often than not especially as it relates to the high dollar names, Ruth, Gehrig, Cobb, etc. It was rare for collectors of those days to collect signed cards. It is a relatively new phenomenon. Even as late as the 1950's it was not in full swing. I've been buying autograph collections for 40 years and can count on one hand the number of OLD autographed card collections I've bought personally and know of several that have hit the market. The ONE THING they all seem to have in common is the cards are almost always in GREAT CONDITION. Except for the occasional cards pasted into scrapbooks with back damage they look great. Imagine the excitement of the rare 1920's-1940's card collectors who were lucky enough to get their cards signed. They justifiably treated them like diamonds. Fast forward to today's market it is just TOO easy for an unscrupulous seller to buy an "Off" condition card cheap and by adding a simple signature turn a $50.00 card into a $50,000 card. That same person would not take a card in GREAT shape and chance turning it into worthless cardboard. Keeping that in mind it is smart to not only look at the autograph but judge the condition of the card itself in determining authenticity.
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Always buying Vintage Autographs
jim@stinsonsports.com