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Posted By: <b>Ben</b><p>what are your thoughts on this Marquard?<BR><BR><img src="http://www.angelfire.com/jazz/fisherboy7/MarquardAutograph.jpg">

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Posted By: <b>Hankron</b><p>I'm no Mike Gutierrez, but I think he spelled his name differently.

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Posted By: <b>Hankron</b><p>I don't know about everyone else, but all I'm seeing is an 'angelfire' icon (Thus, my joke)

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Posted By: <b>Ben</b><p>can anyone help me out? I'll send the pic to you if you give me your email address

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Posted By: <b>leon</b><p>Hey Ben,<BR>If you can send it to lluckey@tx.amherst1.com I will upload it for you....this is my work email....

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Posted By: <b>runscott</b><p>I've had a couple of legit Marquards - send a scan and I'll let you know my opinion. I have at least one scan I can also send you.

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Posted By: <b>Hankron</b><p>I recommend against the beginner buying autographs unless they come from a respected and recommended dealer or with respected LOA. Having said that, the signature on the card is consistant with the authentic Marquard samples I have. I am not saying it is authentic, merely saying that the signature your small picture is consistant.<BR><BR>Marquard is the most plentiful and cheapest of the T206 Hall of Famer signatures. He lived a long time and was a complying signer. Still, a Marquard signed Pre-WWI card would be neat to own.

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Posted By: <b>runscott</b><p>I have a bunch of autographs, but I only obtain the ones that I feel certain are real - this means collecting signed documents or buying from legit dealers, and this still doesn't guarantee things. <BR><BR>And I stay completely away from baseballs - all those signed Gehrig and Ruth balls in the major auctions give me the willies. <BR><BR>

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Posted By: <b>quan</b><p>After blowing money on Ted W. and Joe D. baseballs, then finding out from James Spence (at $75/sig) that both were fakes...I got a little smarter and stopped trying to collect autographs. They just fade over time anyways <img src="/images/happy.gif" height=14 width=14>

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Posted By: <b>Hankron</b><p>I think buying autographs is okay, so long as you are careful and do your homework before buying. In particular, the buyer should have a handful of reliable and expert dealers who they do most of their purchases from. This doesn't mean the dealer has to be a MastroNet or such huge entity, as there are a number of reliable small-time dealers on eBay.<BR><BR>Also, people often complain about the Topps, Fleer et al memorabilia cards, but their autographed cards is a nice way to get an authentic signature, whether it's a Jose Valentin or a Tom Seaver.<BR>

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Posted By: <b>Hankron</b><p>In the end, the most important thing for the autograph buyer is to know the seller. If you know that the seller is honest, reliable and expert/experienced in the area, then everything else usually falls into place.

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Posted By: <b>RC_McKenzie</b><p>I guess I don't understand the autograph market. Unless you met the person who autographed the item... what do you have? I have very few autographs. I have a Dwight Gooden autographed baseball that my Uncle who lives in Florida gave me for Christmas in 1988. My aunt got it from Gooden after a spring training game. They gave away Gooden autographed baseballs for Christmas that year.<BR><BR> My parents ran into Rudy T back when he played for the Rockets at a restaurant one time and brought me home a signed menu stating, "To RC, Best Wishes, Rudy T" and I have a 1965 Dave Giusti that I bought at a card show in vg/e that I got on the cheap b/c the signature technically brought down the grade. I remember hearing that Steve Martin carries around business cards that he passes out to people that ask for his autograph that say.."I met Steve Martin"

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Posted By: <b>Ben</b><p><img src="http://www.network54.com/Realm/tmp/1042262922.JPG">

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Posted By: <b>Hankron</b><p>RC, I agree with you that collecting signatures is a bit daft. Paying thousands of dollards for some guy's scribble. But, I dare anyone to find me a genre of collecting that isn't a bit daft. Paying $1 million for a little piece of cardboard (T206 Wagner) or $3 million for a baseball (McGwire 70HR) is downright loopy! Heck, I own Ted William's half-empty shampoo bottle and Nancy Reagan's chalkboard, so I'm as goofy as anyone.

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Posted By: <b>Hankron</b><p>I guess you could say that any popular genre of a collecting is organized insanity. The only reason it doesn't seem strange, is that everyone is doing it. If you was the only one paying $200 for little beat up pieces of cardboard or scribbles of index cards, you would likely find yourself under heavy medication and unable to legally sign contracts.

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Posted By: <b>Hankron</b><p>Ben, as I said above, I'm not an autograph expert and am not pretending to be one, but the signature is consistant with the Marquard autographs I have. I got mine through MastroNet, and am confident of their authenticity. And there's no question that an HOFer autographed T206 is a neat piece of memorabilia. Even a common player autographed T206 is rare.

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Posted By: <b>hankron</b><p>To whom it concerns, there's a Donie Bush signature(upsidedown) on this ball. Realize that a signature on a ball can appear different than on a flat item like a card. Also, the Bush signature is an old example.<BR><BR><img src="http://images.mastronet.com/images/Auction20/photographs/16324b.jpg">

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Posted By: <b>rod</b><p>According to Richard Simon, who is an expert, the FBI reported that 75 to 80% of all autographs are fake.At least we can do better than that with cards.

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Posted By: <b>Hankron</b><p>Fools go where angels fear to tread

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Posted By: <b>jay behrens</b><p>One of my favorite gags to pull at a show was to have a friend walk around with signed Ruth ball that forged. When I was younger, I was quite proficient at forging sigs. Cut my teeth forging teachers sigs for hall passes.<BR><BR>Anyway, I waould take a new baseball, dirty it up a bit, practice my Ruth sig and then sign with a ballpoint pen. I would then give the ball to friend and have him walk it around the show and see just how many greedy fools were actually willing to buy the ball.<BR><BR>Most dealers when they say the ball just saw $$$ in there eyes. One or 2 would actually have a reference for sigs, but even thy were fooled. Never once did a dealer take a look at the ball to see who the league president was, which would have been a dead give-away, most people also don't realize that a Ruth signature in ballpoint, as far as I know, doesn't exist.<BR><BR>Too bad I have morals and ethics, otherwise, I could have gotten rich selling these balls.<BR><BR>Jay

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Posted By: <b>rod</b><p>My favorite was the Lajoie signature on a Wiffleball in Sharpie.When I questioned the seller, he swore his father got it from Lajoie in Florida in the 50's. Yeah ,O.K. I can't even imagine asking a HOFer to sign a plastic ball.

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Posted By: <b>Hankron</b><p>My all time favorite was the Princess Diana autographed obituary-- the obituary being hers