Mantle

[pbspelly]

Originally Posted by Sophiedog

It's more than just the M's...Everything about the ball is no good. You can look on Ebay and compare UDA, PSA and JSA certed Mantle balls to this one and see all the problems.

You guys have a lot sharper eyes than I do. I compared it to this one http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=246334, which most guys here seemed to think was legit, and the only thing that really stuck out on the bad one was the M-connections to the next letters, the lack of a loop in the e after the k in Mickey, and maybe the arc of the whole signature in general. I don't doubt you guys, just kind of amazed at how you are able to tell.

[GrayGhost]

The first Mickey is really putrid, I should say the first M and next couple letters.

[thetruthisoutthere]

Originally Posted by pbspelly

You guys have a lot sharper eyes than I do. I compared it to this one http://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=246334, which most guys here seemed to think was legit, and the only thing that really stuck out on the bad one was the M-connections to the next letters, the lack of a loop in the e after the k in Mickey, and maybe the arc of the whole signature in general. I don't doubt you guys, just kind of amazed at how you are able to tell.

It's all about the "eye."

[bravos4evr]

Mantle terrifies me. (and if I were a Yankee collector I'd be even worse)

I'm no Mantle sig expert in the least yet I will look at 5 different sigs and think they look good and the same and then the true pros on here will point out that it's "laughably bad" and I cringe. I know Braves stuff pretty well and I feel I can spot a fake Williams or DiMaggio, but Mantle? apparently his sig just flummoxes me.

what are the tell tale signs? I had heard of "banana M's" but some look similar and are called "good".

His auto completely baffles me.

[thetruthisoutthere]

Originally Posted by bravos4evr

Mantle terrifies me. (and if I were a Yankee collector I'd be even worse)

I'm no Mantle sig expert in the least yet I will look at 5 different sigs and think they look good and the same and then the true pros on here will point out that it's "laughably bad" and I cringe. I know Braves stuff pretty well and I feel I can spot a fake Williams or DiMaggio, but Mantle? apparently his sig just flummoxes me.

what are the tell tale signs? I had heard of "banana M's" but some look similar and are called "good".

His auto completely baffles me.

Nick, if you look at enough authentic Mantle sigs over a long period of time, you will be able to differentiate the authentic ones from the forgeries.

That goes for any autograph in my opinion.

I have no doubt that if I studied Beatles autographs long enough, I would be just as proficient in opining those as I do Mantle, Jeter, etc.

You have to be willing to put in the time.

[bravos4evr]

Originally Posted by thetruthisoutthere

Nick, if you look at enough authentic Mantle sigs over a long period of time, you will be able to differentiate the authentic ones from the forgeries.

That goes for any autograph in my opinion.

I have no doubt that if I studied Beatles autographs long enough, I would be just as proficient in opining those as I do Mantle, Jeter, etc.

You have to be willing to put in the time.

I have done so on Braves stuff. Lots of time. BUT, I feel like I have looked closely at maybe 100+ Mantle autos and still can't tell a good one from a bad one (and that's the loopy one, I know nothing about the old sig he used in his early days)

It's like his auto is SO distinctive that it flummoxes me. I look at the loops on the M's but that doesn't seem to be consistent either.

[thetruthisoutthere]

Originally Posted by bravos4evr

I have done so on Braves stuff. Lots of time. BUT, I feel like I have looked closely at maybe 100+ Mantle autos and still can't tell a good one from a bad one (and that's the loopy one, I know nothing about the old sig he used in his early days)

It's like his auto is SO distinctive that it flummoxes me. I look at the loops on the M's but that doesn't seem to be consistent either.

Look at his autograph as a whole and not in bits and pieces.

That's where the "eye" comes in.

[Ryan1125]

As Christopher said, it is all about training your eye. Start compiling exemplars for Mantle, and look at them every day. Study the fakes, study the inscriptions, pay attention to where he signed, what items were commonly signed when he was doing shows, how big or small he would sign certain items, etc. This is the fun part of the hobby to me!

There isn't one major tell tale sign, but most forgers can't even get the first "M" right. Some fail miserably in the "ic" shape, some fail miserably on the "an" connection, some on the "tle" shape, some on the baseline, signature placement,etc. But it has to be looked at as a whole.

Here's a bit of a "Starters Guide" I whipped up for you. Authentics/Atypical Authentics/Common Forgeries, and what I consider halfway decent forgery attempts that are slightly better than the normal crap you'll see.