"Secretarial" or Forgery ?

[Jim F]

Hi guys. I picked this up about a year ago and then found out it isn't a good autograph. It is dated 1956. Does anyone have an opinion on whether this may be a secretarial type item from that time or just a plain old fake? Thanks

[RichardSimon]

Jim,
BEWARE of uncancelled GPC's with a valuable autograph.
They were a favorite of a forger named Ron Dross.
Mr Dross has already had his obituary written but his legacy still lives on.
Though it certainly did not make me unhappy to learn of his early demise.
I guess being 200 lbs. overweight has its consequences.
My Clarence Darrow quote applies here.

[Jim F]

Thank you. Good enough for me.
I'm out $500 Canadian but atleast it's out of circulation.

[RichardSimon]

I assume you had no chance of getting your money back?
Can you mention the name of the seller?
And $500 Canadian for Ty Cobb should set off alarm bells.

[Jim F]

I deal with a lot of antique/estate type of sellers locally. 99 percent of them have no clue whether a sports item is good or not. That's ironically where I come in. Totally my fault for jumping the gun on this one. Some times you just have to take your lumps.

[David Atkatz]

Originally Posted by Jim F

Thank you. Good enough for me.
I'm out $500 Canadian but atleast it's out of circulation.

Might have made more sense to indelibly label it a forgery, and then keep it as an exemplar of Dross' work. It had pedagogical value.

[Klrdds]

Roy Pitts sent out thousands of GPCs in the 40s , and was quite a collector of baseball autographs during that time. But this Cobb is a cut affixed to the GPC , so without the postmark suspicion is suggested-as should always be the case . I would like to know how Pitts acquired this one.

[Jim F]

It was not a cut. It is toning from the piece being in a cheap mat

[Jim F]

Originally Posted by Klrdds

Roy Pitts sent out thousands of GPCs in the 40s , and was quite a collector of baseball autographs during that time. But this Cobb is a cut affixed to the GPC , so without the postmark suspicion is suggested-as should always be the case . I would like to know how Pitts acquired this one.

Maybe the forger typed that on too.

[SetBuilder]

I had to bring this thread back from the dead, because I think a legit Ty Cobb was destroyed here. I was SHOCKED when I saw the postcard torn in pieces.

Just because a GPC is uncancelled does not mean it's automatically bad. I think some really bad advice was given here.

The GPC could have been returned in a larger package. It is not out of the realm of possibility that Cobb sent it back in his own envelope.

I was a TTM collector when I was a teenager and I distinctly remember several situations when the celebrity sent back the autograph in their own envelope and my own SASE was untouched.

[w7imel]

Originally Posted by SetBuilder

I had to bring this thread back from the dead, because I think a legit Ty Cobb was destroyed here. I was SHOCKED when I saw the postcard torn in pieces.

Just because a GPC is uncancelled does not mean it's automatically bad. I think some really bad advice was given here.

The GPC could have been returned in a larger package. It is not out of the realm of possibility that Cobb sent it back in his own envelope.

I was a TTM collector when I was a teenager and I distinctly remember several situations when the celebrity sent back the autograph in their own envelope and my own SASE was untouched.

I would have to agree!!! Why would you tear up this Cobb after one opinion???? Who told you this was fake?? I am with you I think it was good Why would anyone do that after one opinion???