Quote:
Originally Posted by benjulmag
Photo-matching can never ever ever ever be used to establish an item is authentic. Photo-matching is what is referred to as a negative test. It can prove what something is not; it cannot establish what something is. If an item does not match, then one can conclusively say it is not real. If an item matches, the most one can say is that it might be real.
In regard to multi-million dollar jerseys, I can assure you that as I write this there are people who are examining every known photograph of a player wearing a particular jersey at a particular time to be certain that their subsequent manufacture of a forgery MADE WITH GENUINE MATERIALS VINTAGE TO THE PERIOD OF ORIGINAL MANUFACTURE matches every discernible feature shown on the photographs. For my dollar, unless the item comes with persuasive provenance it would not satisfy my comfort level to purchase. And by persuasive provenance, I mean more than just a great story of how the item has been in the family for so many years or was obtained by some person who knew the player or worked for the team. For stories such as those, unless they are corroborated by a detective agency, they are worthless. And when have you ever heard of an AH hiring such a detective agency?
We're talking about 7 and 8 figure items here, and if that fact alone doesn't incentivize every known forger extant in the human race, then nothing will.
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Exactly, Corey. Exactly.
This is why I have always been queasy about this end of the hobby. As noted, I do have a handful of game used pieces, but their value is such that nobody would have wasted their time in forging them. They carry more sentimental value to me than a dollar value to the rest of the world.
I've heard many people on this forum and elsewhere who have expressed their uncomfortablilty entering the autograph realm for similar reasons. I understand their hesitation, but after a lifetime of acquisition, study and research, I'm extremely thankful to not share in that trepidation. I would feel the same way about any field in which I hadn't thoroughly attempted to educate myself over an extended period. There are naturally reasons (which we've discussed to death) that people end up getting burned in various collectibles realms due to inadequate knowledge. When starting out, it seems that there may only be one safer path to take vs. many possible missteps.
"Safer"--not fail-safe!