Ugliest Cut-Autograph Card

[etsmith]

I was browsing eBay and found what I believe is the worst looking cut autograph card I've ever seen. It's a 2012 TriStar Signa Cuts Blue with Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee.


s-l1600 (3).jpg

[carlsonjok]

Junk like this is the bane of player collections. It is basically an elementary school craft project what with all that purple glitter.

[mrmopar]

There are SOOOO many terrible cut cards that have been made, but Signa Cuts is a leader in that game for sure. In some cases you have to take what you can get, I guess. I bashed a Pee Wee Reese once, on facebook I believe, and the response what not what I expected. Lots of people saying they'd give anything to own it and questioning why I thought it was so bad. It was ugly and terrible, especially considering Reese autographs weren't that tough to find at a very reasonable price and still aren't.

This isn't the one, but I came upon another recently and saved the image. I think it might have been from the same exact set, because I recall the other being 1 of 8 too. Partially clipped, tape over it and no image of Reese on the cards are 3 strikes for me. Low number and coming from a revered set are the only redeeming qualities in this case.

[etsmith]

Yeah, they used to put tape over autographs to try to preserve the autograph which we now know is a terrible idea. The one I showed is especially bad considering the clashing colors of the sticker and the card above it, not to mention the unreadable autographs. SP Legendary Cuts usually does a better job than that though, it's especially egregious that the bottom of the autograph is cut off.

[perezfan]

What's the point of this ugliness?

Isn't it infinitely better to leave the originally autographed card, cut, photo, album page or index card in tact? This is just nonsense.

[etsmith]

I prefer the item intact and I rarely buy these kind of cards, but some of them do a much better job than others. I don't really mind cuts being put in the cards because it provides some protection to the cut autograph and often improves its appearance. But cutting certain things up to put them in cards is ridiculous, look at this one of Barack Obama.


B O.jpg

[Seven]

I don't mind a cut autograph card, when It's cut from, lets say, a piece of paper or a scrap book. When they do it from a letter, or a photograph, I feel like it just ruins an historical item. Some of these cards above are abominations.

[etsmith]

I agree, letters and vintage photographs should never be cut up. There's a cut autograph card on eBay of Ernie Lombardi with two signatures above his still visible on the card, but it looks like somebody tried to erase them ruining both autographs. One of the ruined autographs is of Harlin Pool.

[thetruthisoutthere]

Originally Posted by etsmith

I agree, letters and vintage photographs should never be cut up. There's a cut autograph card on eBay of Ernie Lombardi with two signatures above his still visible on the card, but it looks like somebody tried to erase them ruining both autographs. One of the ruined autographs is of Harlin Pool.

Ditto on that.

I've observed dozens of ugly cut autographs from Topps.

This is a sin.


RooseveltCut.jpg

[mrmopar]

I have to admit I don't hate the FDR. The 55 Bowman inspired design if kind of neat. The signature is framed nicely. I assume your concern is with the desecration of the original document, which I would agree with.

[perezfan]

Here's one that goes way beyond "ugly". A fake (secretarial) Babe Ruth Topps Card sells for $17,600. Cannot believe someone was hoodwinked by this monstrosity.

Video is linked below...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ot7uA3EMC5o

[etsmith]

I'm not at all surprised by a secretarial getting past the card companies, they don't seem to do their due diligence at all. I was watching a case break on YouTube and the guy pulled a Jo Adell autographed printing plate but the autograph, which was on a sticker, was of Rod Carew not Jo Adell.

[JollyElm]

206. Autosnafu
The unfortunate way card companies cut noteworthy signatures out of full pictures or documents to scrunch them into the tiny window of a chase card.

See also: Bullfit! (informal) - an autograph that is partially cut off or obscured in one of these contrivances.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

They're all ugly; some simply more hideous than others.

I'd prefer that all the signatures were in their original, unmolested state.

[etsmith]

But you also have to remember that cutting signatures off of documents is as old as autographs themselves. Some of these cuts being put in cards may have been cut off the original documents decades ago. The Waterman autograph contest albums made this more common I believe.

[swarmee]

Topps 1/1 "ore Williams"

[Jay Wolt]

John damn! That Ted Williams has half his name missing & SGC gives it a "9"?

[swarmee]

Originally Posted by Jay Wolt

John damn! That Ted Williams has half his name missing & SGC gives it a "9"?

SGC is only grading the card.

[skelly423]

I've been desperately searching for the photo, but coming up empty. About 3 months ago on eBay there was an Ernie Lombardi cut auto where they cut up an original Diamond Stars card, and jammed the signature into a box that didn't hold it. It may not have been as ugly as some of the cards posted here, but I give it major bonus points for the destruction of a beautiful card that Topps felt was necessary to make their cut. Turned a $500 signature into a $75 signature in the process.

[swarmee]

Originally Posted by skelly423

I've been desperately searching for the photo, but coming up empty. About 3 months ago on eBay there was an Ernie Lombardi cut auto where they cut up an original Diamond Stars card, and jammed the signature into a box that didn't hold it. It may not have been as ugly as some of the cards posted here, but I give it major bonus points for the destruction of a beautiful card that Topps felt was necessary to make their cut. Turned a $500 signature into a $75 signature in the process.

2009 SP Legendary Cuts - Legendary Cuts #LC-51 - Ernie Lombardi /5
Courtesy of COMC.com

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

I remember one of the silliest I first encounterred. One time many years ago, I was at Upper Deck's offices, authenticating their most recent autograph acquisitions for their early cut card projects.

One dealer had a twice-signed Rizzuto gold plaque. He actually took scissors and cut the one signature from the top of the plaque. He cut along the curved line between the gold border and the photo of the plaque, leaving a ridiculously concave sliver cut, and sold UD the two separately. UD didn't care; both ended up in insert cards. Nobody I saw or dealt with there had any hobby experience or appreciation whatsoever; it was just a job to them.