W600 Signed Cy Young - Now Authentic?

[T206Collector]

....a willingness to pay a premium for something based on someone else's opinion. Take the Cy Young, if there was a video of him signing the card 70 years ago, it would be worth more than anyone's LOA would make it worth. But even there, you would have questions about the authenticity of the video. In the end, if you receive an autograph in person, it is the only way to know it was 100% signed by that person.

People who collect autographs of dead people understand that there is always a leap of faith. They factor that leap into their purchasing decisions. With JSA, it is a slightly shorter leap because people collect JSA certified items and so there is currently a resale market for JSA items. Ditto PSA/DNA.

E.g., I might pay $500 for a JSA certified autographed T206 card that I'd pay $1,000 for if Jeff Morey obtained the signature in person 40 years ago and then sold it to me. It is all about comfort level for each item. And it is similar to collecting high grade pre-war cards while hoping the card had never been trimmed or soaked out of a scrap book.

Finally, all authenticators make mistakes, but I've seen in person and read enough cool stories about what Spence can do well to have a reasonable amount of faith in his opinion.