Stat Authentic

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Posted By: Dan

I have a few older items that I have purchased that have been certified by Stat Authentic. Does anyone have any knowledge of their services. I know Jeff Steven's used to work for the hall-of-fame, so I thought that might give him some insite with older baseball autographs. Any information would be appreciated. Thanks.

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Posted By: Shane

STAT Authentic is the main "authenticator" for Coaches Corner. I can only tell you every item I purchased with STAT Authentic COA's has not passed PSA or JSA.

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Posted By: Mark

That's an authenticator to avoid....

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Posted By: Dan

Thanks for reponding. That is sad to hear. I know Jeff Stevens had a good reputation when he was at the Hall-of-Fame. I guess that means my items will not pass at PSA or others.

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Posted By: mark

Dan:

It might depend on who sent it to Stat, to be graded. It is not necessarily "automatic" that these autos are bad. I think this company has probably authenticated many good items (as well as bad). Do you want to post a few scans, and get the opinions of board members before deciding whether or not to submit to PSA?

I have seen many people doing this lately, with both positive and negative results... Just an idea that won't cost you anything initially. Hope this helps, Mark

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Posted By: Dan

Thanks. I will get them scanned in and sent tomorrow.

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Posted By: Robert

With all due respect to this Forum, there really are no "experts" here and the cardboard people (no offende) tend to like most everything. Your best bet is to send them to JSA or PSA/DNA and if they come back bad (without knowing your situation as far as returns go) and see what they have to say.

The one thing I really don't understand is what these people at STAT have to do with the Hall Of Fame, in what capacity where they employed and can it be verified somehow.

The truth of the matter is that STAT is pretty much linked to Coach's Corner Sports Auctions and every item authenticated by STAT (through CCSA) usually brings a few percentage points above zero in comparison to what it would if Mastro had it in there hands, or if it was authenticated by PSA/DNA.

In the last CCSA auction, they sold a Tim Keefe signature authenticated by STAT. The final hammer price $135. If PSA/DNA had authenticated or it was in a Mastro catalog, it would have brought many, many thousands. Maybe around $5,000-6,000.

You have to wonder why someone was willing to part with such a rarity for only $135 and why it wasn't sent to Mastro or PSA/DNA.

Good Luck!

Robert

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Posted By: leon

Richard Simon posts here sometimes...he's not an expert? Just asking... I really don't know anything about autographs....just thought he authenticated/authenticates auto's...

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Posted By: Mark Steinberg

I agree with Leon... there are enough people here that could give "sound advice" before he sends the piece in.

If these are obvious fakes (as most STAT Authenticated pieces are) Dan could be spared much time and expense of sending these in to PSA. If they do look ok, or are even marginal, he then has a better basis for his decision.

Plus, we would be interested in seeing them... it is often good to "know your enemy", which is how many of us feel about Coaches Corner.

Another option for Dan is the PSA "Quick Opinion". There was another thread recently (Tuxedo multi-signed piece) that stirred up some spirited debate, and the owner chose to go this route with it. The piece was deemed "not authentic", but it made for very interesting reading and some great contributions from the board.

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Posted By: Dan

Thanks for all of your opinions. I could not get my scanned images to copy over. My scans are in Micrsoft Office Picture Manager. If anyone can tell me how to move them it would be greatly appreciated.

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Posted By: Max Weder

Dan

Exit from Picture Manager.

If the scans are under 128 K (very important), you can use the net54 link to upload them.

Go to "insert object" at the bottom of your screen and click.
Click on "temporary files", then click "upload". On that screen, click "Browse". You can then scroll through your scans and double click to upload from the folder you saved them in (most likely somewhere in My Pictures). Then hit "insert link" and the picture will show up when you post.

It is perhaps the most unfriendly method of loading photos.

Alternatively, if you have web space (flickr.com, photobucket.com), simply load the photo there, and copy the picture link in your post, making sure you have http:// included in your url.

If all that is too much, email me the scan at my emailaddress (click on name above), and I'll post them for you.

Max

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Posted By: Dan

Here is a picture of the scans. I hope someone can give me some insite. The other item scan was to big. I will try and scan it again. Thanks for your help.

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Posted By: Jon Canfield

I'll take a stab at them...

I think the Harmon K, George Kell, Gehringer and Lemon look good. The Mantle and Williams don't even though the Williams is close. The Anson doesn't either. I can't tell on the Travis Jackson.

That all being said, I don't know if the Harmon, Kell, Lemon and Gehringer are worth the money to authenticate as they are all index cards and don't hold significant value. The Anson surely would have been but I am confident it is an "operation Bull-Pen" type fake signed on a page from a period book so that the paper looks original.

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Posted By: Mark

I would agree almost completely with Jon... although even that Killebrew doesn't look quite right to me. As Jon indicated... any that might be OK are probably not worth the price of the authentication.

Index Cards of the more "common" HOFers don't command enough money to warrant authentication (unless you just want it for your own piece of mind). In many cases, the authentication costs more than the piece itself.

The big question here of course, is the Cap Anson. I agree that it is most likely one of those "Operation Bullpen" pieces. There are just so many like this being offered up regularly by Coaches Corner. And they always sell for a fraction of what they would (if authentic). Some of these are pretty convincing, and this one does look pretty close.

Since the Anson would be worth 20 times all the others combined, you may want to submit to PSA for a "Quick Opinion"... just on the "off-chance" that it's good. It is a long-shot, but may be worth taking the chance (I don't think they charge very much for the quick opinions).

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Posted By: DJ

Dan,

You bought the Cap Anson from Coach's Corner, am I correct?

DJ

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Posted By: Dan

That is correct. I bought this and another item that I was having trouble scanning from Coaches Corner. I have since found out how many of their items are bogus. The Index cards were bought at a local estate auction without certification so I got the whole lot fairly cheap. It is sad that so many autographs are forgeries. I think I may just stick with cards. Thanks to all who responded. I will get with PSA for a quick opinion on the Anson.

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Posted By: Mark

Dan- Please let us know about the verdict on the Cap Anson. I know the PSA Quick Opinion is cheap, but do have a question for you (or perhaps any Board Member that reads this...)

Does the item have to be listed on Ebay, to get a "Quick Opinion"? Or can you just send PSA a photo of the item to be reviewed? I have a Leo Durocher signed Ball that I'm not sure about. It's a tiny signature, and pretty shaky. If it's real, he must have been on "death's door" when he signed it.

Regarding Coach's Corner... I don't know how they can be allowed to stay in business. I think they are the last big advertiser that SCD has. If this weren't the case, I bet they would have been terminated long ago. I just don't understand how so many bogus operations have been forced out, and this one is allowed to remain?

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Posted By: davidcycleback

An item has to be listed on eBay to get the Quick Opinion.

People can buy autographs safetly if they're picky about what they buy. For modern stuff, UDA and Steiner are safe as they are signed in person with witness. Items with the player's personal hologram are safe. Topps/UD/Fleer certified cards are relatively safe as the players are under contract. I believe Topps has in person witnesses. Vintage stuff like personal checks, government postcards, many letters are safe. Of course dealing with a reputable and experienced seller is essential.

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Posted By: Anonymous

Thanks David...

Seems like there's an opportunity for an authenticator to offer a Quick Opinion service for items outside of Ebay.

I know it wouldn't generate as much revenue for them, but they might attract a lot of incremental lower-end to mid-range pieces, which people are often hesitant to get graded.

Just a thought...

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Posted By: DJ

I believe you can place an item up on eBay without having to comit to selling it (I think)...or you can simply place a high starting price to insure that it doesn't sell, or place a small starting price and cancel the auction soon after, regardless if there are bids placed on the item.

DJ

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Posted By: davidcycleback

People have put items up on eBay for the Quick Opinion then ended it.
The service is intended for eBayers. One thing is that the Opinion
is for a specific, numbered, verifiable, with pictures auction lot,
so the opinion (given via email and listing the lot # and seller
id) can be directly traced to a specific auction. If one is doing a short listing for the opinion, he'll want to make sure he prints out the auction
for later verification.

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Posted By: Mark Steinberg

Thanks David and DJ.... that is most helpful information!