In light of T206 fiasco...

[jimjim]

Sort of along the same topic, has anyone else noticed the number of extremely rare inscribed baseballs that have been hitting the market recently? With TPA certification. I have no proof, but does seem a bit fishy.

[Leon]

Originally Posted by jimjim

Sort of along the same topic, has anyone else noticed the number of extremely rare inscribed baseballs that have been hitting the market recently? With TPA certification. I have no proof, but does seem a bit fishy.

Yes, and I think anyone buying autographs in our hobby today needs to be really, really careful. As Jeff L said in one of the big threads, there weren't near as many autographs 10-20 yrs ago as there are today. It seems they are being made out of thin air. Collect govt and notarized docs and you have a better chance of being safe.

[prewarsports]

Most of the guys who have been in the autograph hobby for a long time have always been VERY skeptical of signed T206 cards. Anyone who died before the late 1960's would have never signed a T206 card. Their mere existence is an anomaly as nobody was attempting to go back to the good old days and get autographs on gum cards until AFTER "Glory of Their Times" came out in the late 1960's. Because of this, I dont think anyone that was big into autographs before this fiasco is getting out of the hobby as a result. The magnitude and depth of these forgeries are shocking, but the fact that most of the signed T206 cards in the hobby are fake is not.

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by prewarsports

Most of the guys who have been in the autograph hobby for a long time have always been VERY skeptical of signed T206 cards. Anyone who died before the late 1960's would have never signed a T206 card. Their mere existence is an anomaly as nobody was attempting to go back to the good old days and get autographs on gum cards until AFTER "Glory of Their Times" came out in the late 1960's. Because of this, I dont think anyone that was big into autographs before this fiasco is getting out of the hobby as a result. The magnitude and depth of these forgeries are shocking, but the fact that most of the signed T206 cards in the hobby are fake is not.

Well-said. What I've found is that there will be autographs that I am positive are real. Those are the ones I buy. The ones that I think are probably real, or might be real, even if they look great - I wait for one that I am 'positive' about. If I were collecting signed T206 cards I would be limited to only a few signers, as I've only seen a few that looked positively real - we all know which cards those are: Marquard comes to mind, but there are others from the period that Rhys mentions. It sucks that you can't have a signed T206 Addie Joss, but if enough of you ask, they'll start turning up.

[jad22]

My prediction is that PSA picks up more of the autograph business. Right or wrong, they appear less impacted by this (granted this is small sample size). Will be interesting to see what happens and where we at when the Goudey’s and Play Balls are scrutinized. Black and White signed HOF survived a mass forgery issue and people still pay good money for those (including the 3 r Lajoie ones).

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by jad22

My prediction is that PSA picks up more of the autograph business. Right or wrong, they appear less impacted by this (granted this is small sample size). Will be interesting to see what happens and where we at when the Goudey’s and Play Balls are scrutinized. Black and White signed HOF survived a mass forgery issue and people still pay good money for those (including the 3 r Lajoie ones).

Not going to happen. The only reason these are being caught is because the unadulterated scans are available. Untraceable slabbed Goudeys will not be scrutinized after the fact.

[jimjim]

Originally Posted by jad22

My prediction is that PSA picks up more of the autograph business. Right or wrong, they appear less impacted by this (granted this is small sample size). Will be interesting to see what happens and where we at when the Goudey’s and Play Balls are scrutinized. Black and White signed HOF survived a mass forgery issue and people still pay good money for those (including the 3 r Lajoie ones).

I won’t touch a bw HOF Plaque postcard. Do you think any of the forged ones made it into slabs?

[tazdmb]

Originally Posted by jimjim

Sort of along the same topic, has anyone else noticed the number of extremely rare inscribed baseballs that have been hitting the market recently? With TPA certification. I have no proof, but does seem a bit fishy.

This! I have noted quite in uptick in this the last two years, and have spoke to various TPAs about this. Amazing what a #6 adds to value of a Mantle Ball. Plus everyone I have seen lately seems to authenticated by JSA. They are all over Facebook 101 also. I called them out and got banned....hmm.

[jimjim]

Originally Posted by tazdmb

This! I have noted quite in uptick in this the last two years, and have spoke to various TPAs about this. Amazing what a #6 adds to value of a Mantle Ball. Plus everyone I have seen lately seems to authenticated by JSA. They are all over Facebook 101 also. I called them out and got banned....hmm.

The number of rare inscribed baseballs hitting the market over the last 2-3 years has been insane. Just makes one wonder about authenticity. Are old time dealers dumping stock or is something more sinister going on? Just last month I saw a very rare HOF inscribed ball in an auction house lot with 5 other easier to find balls. I have seen 3 of these rare HoF balls over the past 5 years. The other balls in the lot are a dime a dozen. They came with an auction house COA. So I start asking myself, why is this ball not being sold by itself in its own lot? Why does it not have a full letter coa? Maybe the auction house didn’t realize the rarity? Too many questions that need to be answered.