Authentic or Forgeries?

[HankAaron755]

Looking at purchasing this ball, but the Mickey Mantle and Ted Williams don’t look right and would really appreciate a second opinion. Does anyone have feedback they could provide and possibly a reasoning why?

[gonefishin]

You may want to dig a little deeper into the seller. The owner of this item is, in reality, a company named Seized Assets and is dba Bang the Gavel. Neither company is BBB approved. I'm guessing you're looking at the listings from the Auction House, Selkirk, and this is probably a consignment someone purchased from Bang the Gavel or Seized Assets.

I have no opinion on the autographs but would caution you to do further research before placing a bid. As stated in the listing, they make NO guarantee as to the authenticity - that should in itself be a flag.

Good Luck.

[rand1com]

Forged autographs. Do not buy!!

[HankAaron755]

Originally Posted by rand1com

Forged autographs. Do not buy!!

Appreciate you both with your responses.

I figured the Mickey “Mautle” was a possible giveaway, but sometimes you just want something to be true.

The auction house sell some unique pieces that are authentic time to time, but they are not autographs experts by any means.

[rand1com]

Yeah, they forge the autos and then shrink wrap them to make collectors think they are legit. Mantle is by far the easiest for me to to discern forgeries but the Williams is clearly bad as well.

[HankAaron755]

Originally Posted by rand1com

Yeah, they forge the autos and then shrink wrap them to make collectors think they are legit. Mantle is by far the easiest for me to to discern forgeries but the Williams is clearly bad as well.

Glad people in the forums are willing to provide their 2 cents on situations like this.

[Brent G.]

Originally Posted by rand1com

Yeah, they forge the autos and then shrink wrap them to make collectors think they are legit. Mantle is by far the easiest for me to to discern forgeries but the Williams is clearly bad as well.

I don't know why any forger would think shrink-wrapping these would make them appear more legit -- it's my first indication to RUN.

[rand1com]

These shrink wrapped ones were mainly sold on late night sports memorabilia shows on television in the early 1990's. The pitch was that the shrink wrap would prevent toning.

Keep in mind, they were marketing these to beginners who believed anything. Official looking printed COAs topped off the ruse.

No autograph authentication companies at this time so they were easy to market.

They pop up on Ebay quite often.

[frankbmd]

Just ask Don West. His DNA is probably still on the shrink wrap.

[rand1com]

Originally Posted by frankbmd

Just ask Don West. His DNA is probably still on the shrink wrap.

Yep. I didn't want to call him out. Who was his sidekick?

[Brent G.]

Originally Posted by frankbmd

Just ask Don West. His DNA is probably still on the shrink wrap.

I often passed out to Don after a night out in my early ‘20s.