Autograph Authentication issues...happy to be back posting :-)

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Posted By: Judge Dred (Fred)

Different authenticators may charge different fees for the different players. For example, a Willie Mays authentication may cost $15 while a Loug Gehrig authentication might cost $150.

Having the authentication would probably help in selling the items although I figure that the certificate of authenticity is more of a piece of paper that doesn't really guarantee anything other than it is the opinion of an expert (lets hope and I'm not sure who can define the word expert) that the signature is real.

While we're on the subject, I thought I'd relay an interesting story about a Gehrig autograph and Jim Spence. On the first day of this years National I brought a Gehrig signed Laurel card with me. I wasn't going to have it checked but I figured I'd bring it as trade bait. I saw the Jim Spence booth and it dawned on me to have it certified at that point in time. I purchased this a few years back and it's just been sitting in my collection. In any case I flashed the card at him from a short distance and he said that he authenticates Gehrig autographs. I was a bit impressed because he barely saw it but he knew what it was. I figured what the heck, for $150 it would be worth it to have it certified. I came back an hour or so later and he said I'm sorry, it's not his signature but that of Gehrig's wife. He knew this because in 1939 Gehrig wasn't signing many autographs because of his physical condition. I departed but then it dawned on me that he's probably seen a lot of these and he knew before he had my credit card that it was not Gehrig's signature. That pretty much left a bad taste in my mouth. Rather than just being up front and indicating there's a great chance that it may not be Gehrig's signature he took my money. If it were me and that was my business I'd have tried to be a good guy and tell the customer about this up front so that they wouldn't have to waste their money. I wouldn't look at it as a loss of $150, I'd have looked at it as trying to instill faith in the collecting public and not being a sheister. Instead he said nothing. Suffice to say that I probably wont be doing anything with Jim Spence again. Call it sour grapes if you want but that's my experience and perception of authentication.