Share your unusual tips/tricks for analyzing an autograph for authenticity

[prewarsports]

I actually sometimes turn them upside down too, but not compared with a real one just all by itself. In that situation you arent looking at the "autograph" so much as the way it flows and slants when it is upside down. Funny, I didn't really know anyone else did this but more than once I have discovered something that just didn't feel right when doing this.

The other thing to do (which sounds basic) is to look at the pressure points. A person actually signing an autograph with have spots of hard and soft pressure with the pen or pencil, someone trying to duplicate it will have a more consistant line all the way through. Even if you dont know the actual signature off the top of your head (due to scarcity) its a good way to feel comfortable if everything else checks out if you can tell whoever signed it actually "signed" it rather than drew it on there.

Lastly, I am always a bit leary when a key autograph in on an album page is in pencil and its the bottom autograph on a sheet. There are thousands of pages with some space at the bottom where someone could throw a Mell Ott or Babe Ruth at the bottom and with pencil you dont have to worry about matching ink colors or anything like that. Not to say they are all fake, but I would be more careful with those than say a Mel Ott who is completely sandwiched by Harry Danning and Gus Mancuso!

Just a few random thoughts

Rhys