Mantle forgeries - a game everyone feels comfortable playing
 

OVER/UNDER - 66% of Mantle autographs are fake.

Let us play.

Over

If you are judging based on items available for sale through online venues, I'd say OVER.

Under.

You have to think he signed at least a hundred thousand authentic autographs throughout his lifetime.

I would say under. He just signed so many autographs at shows and signings

over and going up. authentic mantle autos stopped 20 years ago, fake ones are still being produced.

All of this. Tough to think it has actually been 20 years.

Tom C

Out of the ones available for purchase, I will go with 'over'. Fortunately, it's way 'under' for the 1950's ones.

I was just offered these today....
 

all fake I believe....I wish the odds weren't probably so overwhelmingly against folks, but I wouldn't be surprised if when Mantle died it was 50% and has been trending up ever since.

I know mine is real because I watched him sign it :) I'd say under.

Absolutely. The bad rate on eBay is high, but then consider the various other auction sites, sports memorabilia sites, gallery style store fronts, and local auctions that feature 100% fakes... :eek:

It's not a pretty picture.

All of them are forgeries.

With all of those Mantle "Florida" forgeries produced in the last five years, no doubt it is over 66%.

Not a guess
A fact
WELL over
Might be higher than 90%

I'd have to agree with you, Ken.

I'll say under based on ones cognitive bias toward noticing the fakes in a more profound way than real ones.

I would guess over, just because they are still making them.

Over, because the guys answering "over" in this thread know :).

I'll take the over on your estimate of how many he signed. :)

Depends on your perspective. There are plenty of authentic Mantles out there, but most are in collections. The ones for sale on eBay, auctions, etc lean disproportionally to forgery. But I think the number of fakes seems higher than reality, as those are the ones we see everyday.

Matt,
Unfortunately, there are probably just as many fake Mantles in private collections as real ones, perhaps more. Consider the number of Mantles asked about on the board. The majority are fake regardless of whether they were in someone's collection or on ebay.
It's def over 60% fake. Perhaps Ken is right about the 90%
Mark

Me too!

I find that most everyone is right. The thing is that we limited this to Mantle.
How about Williams, Dimaggio, Koufax and the list goes on.:mad:

Absolutely, Shelly.

The "Florida" forgeries also include Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Sandy Koufax, etc.

Koufax? Really? I haven't seen that many Koufax balls. I thought he's been known to be fairly stingy about signing stuff, although that would only give the forgers more reason to do so I suppose. I bought a Koufax ball from Steiner a few years ago. Paid a lot for it, but I feel comfortable it's not a forgery.

I have a photo he signed in Arlington at a National but I maintain that Mickey has signed way more since he died than he did when he was alive!

Check out ebay. There are a ton of fake Koufax items. Most of them have GAI COA. Ever since he started signing in-person some at Spring Training, it has opened the doors to forgers to pass sloppy examples thru the TPA. You can be 100% sure it is authentic, if it has an Online Authentics COA on it, as that is the company of Koufax's agent.

I agree with way over. Maybe not the 90% level but the year is still young :D

The "Florida" forgeries of Mantle, DiMaggio, Mays, Williams, Koufax, etc. are still being produced.

Shame on you
 

Shame on you if you don't buy one with a COA. I am one of the smart ones that protected myself with a cert on my Mantle/Williams/DiMaggio trio auto on a 2011 All-Star program. When will you all learn?

Are you being facetious?

If not, please explain.

Mantle Forgery
 

Just a little Sunday morning humor.

Thank God you said this. I really couldn't tell if you were serious.

Me neither...

I believe mine only came with a Steiner cert. Either way, I know it didn't come with an Online Authentics COA. you think Steiner is moving forgeries too?

Does it have an online authentics sticker on it? Might have a sticker from Steiner and online but only a Steiner COA card.

It only came with Steiner sticker and COA. They said they had a deal with Koufax to sign some stuff. I had assumed, perhaps incorrectly, that the Steiner stuff was legit.

Steiner Sports does not "move forgeries."

Many Ebay sellers will pair up their forgeries with Steiner certs to sell their garbage.

Most people who buy autographs don't have a clue about autographs. They have no idea what they are looking at.

There have been reports of bad items being sold on Ebay with forged Steiner cert cards.
I and some others reached out to Steiner a while back but never got a response.
Some of the items were indeed bad and I doubt VERY much that Steiner would sell it, especially if they have a contract with the player.
Also I remember a number of years ago getting an email from Steiner regarding a signing with Koufax so at one point they did have a contract with him.

I've reached out to Steiner numerous times over the years and they do not want to get involved.

Kind of makes you wonder?

Look at how aggressive the apparel industry has been regarding forgeries of their products. Who wouldn't want to know if their brand is being damaged.

Steiner worked hard to build his company so I think he would be very concerned if there were confirmed forgeries of his certs.

The only thing I can think of is that he never saw the emails we sent to him and therefore is not aware of the situation.

He (Brandon) knows what is going on.

I agree Chris.
Brandon is a control freak. That is why I have a problem with his lack of response and can't explain why?
I know a while back when I reached out to him regarding doing an auction for our local Little League I couldn't get him to STOP getting back to me. Now I can't get a single response from ANYONE at Steiner (unless I want to buy something).
If Steiner Certs are indeed being forged, I'm sure the same applies to Tri-Star, Mounted Memories and who knows who else.
It truly baffles me that with all this going on the Feds won't take action?