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Posted By: warshawlaw

Authenticating manufactured memorabilia at inception is a completely different thing from authenticating older pieces. By manufactured memorabilia I refer to all the crap that PSA/DNA has authenticated as it was signed, handed over, etc. Frankly, there is no skill in that at all--as Dave Winfield or whoever signs the ball and rolls it down the table, PSA/DNA slaps a sticker on it, swipes it with a pen, and logs it into the database--because you are at the source at the time of creation. The skill lies in developing the expertise to look at a Ruth ball and say whether it is authentic with reliability. If PSA/DNA is counting the thousands or even millions of pieces of manufactured memorabilia its monkeys have presided over in its totals, I could see them making a big number claim. But who cares how much trained monkey work they did; the real issue is whether they have the expertise to authenticate rare and vintage signatures.