Open letter to STAT and Christopher Morales

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Posted By: <b>Bill Panagopulos</b><p>Just finished reading all of the postings above re: Mr. Morales, Coach's Corner, Stat Authetics etc. after having gotten the head's up from the webmaster at theyneeedglasses.com. I see he was asked to step forward and ID himself but I can understand his reluctance in light of the content of his website. I'm glad to see he's not alone in his dismay over the current state of affairs in what's become the autograph authentication disaster.<br /><br />For those who don't know me, I'm the owner of Alexander Autographs, Inc., an auction house devoted to the sale of historic autographs and manuscripts (only). We sell about 2,000 lots per auction, about three time a year. We've been at it for about 12+ years, we don't use any outside authenticators whatsoever (and never have), we're members of PADA, UACC, the Manuscript Society, Ephemera Society, etc. and guarantee our material for life.<br /><br />I'll open by saying that it's my firm belief that any autograph auction house that will not guarantee its material, preferably for life, is simply not worth its salt. What (other than a little thing like ethics) would stop me from hiring Joe Blow down the block to authenticate my material, and then keep me from telling my bidders that, essentially, "I'm not qualified to authenticate this material - you have to rely on my "pro" or "forensics" person?" What would happen if Christie's or Sotheby's said: "Well, we think it's Picasso, but we have this certificate from someone who said they have this qualification and that degree, so you have to rely on them" before you plunked down twenty million on an oil painting? I believe that's an easy way to pass the buck and absolve ourself from any responsibility for selling anything...and it's especially helpful should the item be condemned as being unauthentic by anyone else, somewhere down the road. <br /><br />We're pretty liberal with returns - we take an honest approach and if, say, two legitimate dealers with extensive experience in the material questioned say the piece isn't authentic, we'll discuss the item with them, openly, and we'll certainly offer a full refund if it's not "right". We err on the side of caution. We're dealing with consignors, amny unknown to us, and we risk OUR money guaranteeing THEIR goods. <br /><br />Admittedly, we don't do a lot with baseball, rock, and modern Hollywood. Why? Because, frankly, they are the most pervasively forged fields in the business. But again, if we sell an item in ANY field that turns out to be "bad", the refund check goes out. And believe me, after selling 45,000+ lots over the years, it's inevitable. All of you dealers and auctioneers out there know that.<br /><br />Getting back to the subject at hand, a few weeks ago I viewed the items for sale at Coaches Corner in my field, including Marilyn Monroe items, John F. Kennedy letters, a Washington signature, and a number of other historic items. Can I tell you with ONE HUNDRED PERCENT CERTAINTY that they aren't authentic? Of course not - I wasn't there when the pen hit the paper. But would I take them on consignment, certificate or not? No chance, no way. But that's an decision I make as a businessman. And if a fellow dealer, auctioneer or customer approached me and asked me what I thought of them, I'd tell them. <br /><br />But there seems, somehow, to be a pattern here. There's a huge number of items in internet auctions, including Coaches Corner, that I would never, ever take on consignment. And I'm no baseball or rock expert, either. Am I too picky? Are you guys too picky? If not, perhaps "Glasses" as you call him, was right, and strong action might be called for. After all, $500 Washington signatures don't do me, or owners of other $5,000 Washington signatures, a lot of good.