Ted Williams Autograph Authentication Help

[thetruthisoutthere]

Originally Posted by TyrusRCobb

I'm not trying to convince myself that it's authentic. I'm trying to learn how to spot the difference between a fake and a genuine signature. As I've stated a few times, I very new to collecting and am simply looking to learn.

It's not going to happen overnight.

I hope that baseball gets destroyed.

By the way, what convinced you to purchase that baseball? Was it the BS story, the autograph itself or the fact that the baseball was dated?

[JimStinson]

If your new to collecting welcome, best bet is to hook up with a few reputable autograph dealers and they will "coach" you along the way without trying to empty your wallet every time they talk to you. The "good guys" are always willing to help new collectors.
In the begining just don;t wander out onto the "Savanna" on your own like a wounded Wildebeest. Stay with the herd. Learn , take it easy. There will always be more authentic autographs to buy than you have funds to buy them with. Don;t try to assemble an "Overnight collection"

[thetruthisoutthere]

Originally Posted by JimStinson

If your new to collecting welcome, best bet is to hook up with a few reputable autograph dealers and they will "coach" you along the way without trying to empty your wallet every time they talk to you. The "good guys" are always willing to help new collectors.
In the begining just don;t wander out onto the "Savanna" on your own like a wounded Wildebeest. Stay with the herd. Learn , take it easy. There will always be more authentic autographs to buy than you have funds to buy them with. Don;t try to assemble an "Overnight collection"

Sound advice.

[TyrusRCobb]

Jim, thanks for the great advice. I have six balls thus far: Dale Murphy (My favorite player as a kid.), Feller, Berra, Mays, Killebrew and Rose. I was very careful with these purchases, dealing with reputable people and checking multiple price guides before buying. I got sucked in by a good yarn. That I thought that it was too good to be true should have been enough to stop me from going through with it.Two minutes on the web revealed that the first ballpoint wasn't even available in the U.S. until 1945! Are then any "must reads" for a new collector.

[TyrusRCobb]

Originally Posted by thetruthisoutthere

It's not going to happen overnight.

I hope that baseball gets destroyed.

By the way, what convinced you to purchase that baseball? Was it the BS story, the autograph itself or the fact that the baseball was dated?

The BS story sucked me in which was followed by about ten minutes of signature comparison without even thinking about the signature's condition relative to the ball or the medium used to sign the ball.
As for the ball...it was purchased through ebay so I'm hoping to get a full refund. If for some reason I can't get a refund, my three year old son and I will use it to play catch followed by a great deal of fetching with the dog. I will then put it in a ball holder to serve as a reminder of my moronic purchase.

[JimStinson]

That ball is a valuable collectible ! put it in a ball holder and keep it in your office. 10 years from now if you are still an active collector it will remind you of how far you've come.
because the first time anyone attempted to do ANYTHING they were not perfect at it.
Lance Armstrong probably fell off his tri-cycle a few times, Muhammad Ali didn;t always do "The shuffle" and believe it or not MICHAEL JORDAN WAS CUT from his high school basketball team. Best wishes in your collecting pursuits
________________________
Vintage autographs for sale daily
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[TyrusRCobb]

Originally Posted by JimStinson

That ball is a valuable collectible ! put it in a ball holder and keep it in your office. 10 years from now if you are still an active collector it will remind you of how far you've come.
because the first time anyone attempted to do ANYTHING they were not perfect at it.
Lance Armstrong probably fell off his tri-cycle a few times, Muhammad Ali didn;t always do "The shuffle" and believe it or not MICHAEL JORDAN WAS CUT from his high school basketball team. Best wishes in your collecting pursuits
________________________
Vintage autographs for sale daily
stinsonsports.com

Jim, I like you already. I'll be throwing a lot of questions your way in the future. Just out of curiosity, have you ever gotten hold of a Cobb signature in your business?

[thetruthisoutthere]

Originally Posted by TyrusRCobb

The BS story sucked me in which was followed by about ten minutes of signature comparison without even thinking about the signature's condition relative to the ball or the medium used to sign the ball.
As for the ball...it was purchased through ebay so I'm hoping to get a full refund. If for some reason I can't get a refund, my three year old son and I will use it to play catch followed by a great deal of fetching with the dog. I will then put it in a ball holder to serve as a reminder of my moronic purchase.

I hope you can get a refund. If you paid with a credit card via PayPal, then there is hope. How long ago did you make the purchase on Ebay?

[TyrusRCobb]

Originally Posted by thetruthisoutthere

I hope you can get a refund. If you paid with a credit card via PayPal, then there is hope. How long ago did you make the purchase on Ebay?

Yesterday. It may be really easy if the ball hasn't shipped yet. Another question, assuming I'm able to get a refund, what in your opinion, is a fair price for a Cal Ripken ball? I've seen the prices all over the place.

[thetruthisoutthere]

Originally Posted by TyrusRCobb

Yesterday. It may be really easy if the ball hasn't shipped yet. Another question, assuming I'm able to get a refund, what in your opinion, is a fair price for a Cal Ripken ball? I've seen the prices all over the place.

You should have no problem getting a refund. Contact the seller immediately and politely request a refund. If he is adamant about it being authentic, send him a link to this thread and the ballpoint pen issue.

The fact that the seller was willing to sell an authentic Ted Williams autographed baseball dated 1941 for only $150.00 should have also raised a red flag.

[JimStinson]

In answer to your question have sold maybe 50 Cobb signatures over the years in fact the flyer that the Cobb museum hands out quotes a signature study I did on Cobb as well as the flagrant fouls leveled against Cobb as a person. Its called "Ty Cobb, Peach or Pariah", almost ALL of the stuff they invented was by a LOSER author named Al Stump , which they based the movie on. Believe it or not Cobb was not a bad guy , highly regarded by his team mates and players when he was a manager (except for maybe Sam Crawford who was a bit of an egotist himself), he contributed to numerous humanitarian causes and helped make many of his team mates RICH by convincing them to invest in a new company called "Coca-Cola"
_______________
Vintage autographs for sale daily
stinsonsports.com

[JimStinson]

It appears I have been Plagiarized based on my wiki search. Thank you as least the truth is out................
In 2010, an article by William R. "Ron" Cobb (no relation to Ty) in The National Pastime, official publication of the Society for American Baseball Research, accused Al Stump of extensive forgeries of Cobb-related documents and diaries and even of having falsely claimed to possess a shotgun used by Cobb's mother to kill his father (in a well-known incident officially ascribed to her having mistaken him for an intruder). The shotgun later came into the hands of noted memorabilia collector Barry Halper, but in reality Cobb's father had been killed by a pistol. The article further accused Stump of numerous false statements about Cobb in his last years, most of which were sensationalistic in nature and intended to cast Cobb in an unflattering light

[TyrusRCobb]

Jim, what a fantastic feeling it must be to have such things pass through your fingers. I've read a couple of Cobb bios. I thought the movie was criminal. Funny you should mention the Stump book. I just started reading it last week as I've heard so much about the errors and liberties Stump took in writing the book. I've been having fun trying to fact checking Stump against what we now know to be the truth about Cobb.

One more question regarding the fake Williams signature: Other than the obvious ballpoint pen use, what tells are in the signature itself that point to it being a fake?