Third Party Authentication

Autograph Authentication “BEWARE”

Not For The Faint of Heart

Should you be a newcomer to having an autograph authenticated by one of the so-called companies who claim to be able to authenticate an autograph, the following story is just the tip of the iceberg.

Should you choose to go this route, you will be on your own and you will learn the hard way!

One word of advice before getting started, find a professional autograph dealer to have an item authenticated.  There are over 75 professional autograph dealers worldwide who are proud members of PADAH (Preferred Autographs Dealers and Auction Houses).

The following is an illustration of the conclusion of a handwritten letter by Mohandas Gandhi. This partial portion of the letter states: “(i)s my autograph. Yours sincerely M.KGandhi.”

 SEE BELOW.

This item was to be sold at a February 2006 auction by Heritage Auction Galleries. Heritage in need of an autograph authentication chose PSA/DNA to authenticate the item. Frightening from the wording in the second line of the COA it states: “Heritage Auction Galleries describes the item(s) as:…just a signature “MK. Gandhi”….the signature is in fine condition, the signature has been clipped from a larger document….”  See Letter of Authenticity below.

As you can see, what PSADNA did for their fee is improperly describe this item which will without a doubt affect the value of this autograph when it is sold. Some of these types of companies charge a minimum of $300 to authenticate a signature of Gandhi.

The letter of Authenticity continues: “ For information on how to receive a full authentication upgrade on the item(s) above, please contact…..for details”.  PSADNA’S “experts” are listed at the bottom of the letter.  Most interesting is if you have time, do a little research on the history of the names listed. Most find it shocking!

 Now that PSADNA states the autograph is genuine, the Gandhi item was sold at Heritages 2/21/2006 auction.

EIGHTEEN YEARS LATER, when experts “should” have 18 more years of experience, this same Gandhi autograph is sold in another auction. The buyer decides to do the unthinkable and send it to PSADNA for their “expert” opinion.

 This time on Thursday, January 24, 2004   PSA Authentication sends a letter stating “PSADNA Authentication Services has examined the aforementioned signature(s) and in our opinion it is not authentic and did not pass PSADNA authentication. . The item has a “?AUTHTCT” sticker attached to it.

The “?AUTHTCT” sticker indicates that your item exhibits one or more of the following.

 Nine items for rejection are listed below, not one checked off.

• Atypical letter slant, angle and/or pitch.
• Drawn slowly.
• Excessive pen pressure and/or improper shading.

See Above Unbelievable….THE ITEM IS WRITTEN IN PENCIL.

• Irregular letter shape and/ or formation.
• Irregular spacing between letters,
• Lacks spontaneity, rhythm, conviction and / or movement.
• Poor line quality and transition between connective strokes.
• Sizing of letters disproportionate / Exaggerated / Undersized
• Other

 TAKE NOTICE No “experts” have their signatures placed at the bottom of this rejection letter. If they truly believe they have an expert on their staff, why hide their name?  Why not check off a box or two why the item is rejected? 

 What you now see after someone paying two fees for the same autograph to the same company tells a full story of wasting time and money.

 Two well know dealers in this industry have said that there should be a Number 11 on their rejection letter stating the item came from a dealer on their “blacklist."  It is well known that all of the high profile companies that claim to authenticate have a "blacklist."  If the item is sold by  certain dealers the item in most cases fails, in other cases it comes back as not being able to be authenticated.

Next step is trying to get a refund from the company you purchased the autograph. Then why, first they said is was good, now they say it is not genuine. If purchased on the internet, good luck.  This would not have even happened if purchased from a reputable dealer member of PADAH.  Always ask dealers if they are a member of PADAH before making the purchase.

 The partial letter of Gandhi has been personally examined by two members of PADAH. The conclusion is the letter is 100% g genuine and hand signed by Mohandas Gandhi.

See below.

Moral of this story; how much more proof does anyone need that companies who claim to authenticate autographs, can’t get it right?  There’s so much more to be written on this subject!

 Autograph Authentication

Who Is The Best or At Least The Most Accurate

There’s so much negative talk amongst collectors about how poorly is the accuracy of  the so called autograph authenticating companies.

At a recent sports show a group of collectors were discussing how they all agree that COA’s from the more active high profile companies on eBay are basically a joke and useless.  More and more collectors are no longer submitting items for their autographs to be authenticated.

 They are now depending on an accurate bill of sale from an autograph dealer that has credentials.  After all it’s your only legal document.

 Since popular areas of collecting seem to be sports and Presidents of the United States that was the area to do a short study on the accuracy of some of the authenticating companies.

 A team of autograph experts from  PADAH (Preferred Autograph Dealers and Auction Houses) was chosen to do a survey and President Bill Clinton’s signature on a baseball was their choice.

 The following two signed baseballs were chosen from eBay as good exemplars to start the investigation.  Both baseballs were authenticated by PSA/DNA.

 It is recommended that one uses these two illustrations as a guide.

 On eBay it seems that  JSA has authenticated the most baseballs believed by their “experts” to be genuinely signed by Bill Clinton.

 We have chosen four illustrations from eBay.  How can someone (an expert at JSA) state that the following baseball is genuinely signed by Bill Clinton?

Compare the following signature with the two certified by PSA/DNA.

 Now if  JSA states the above ball is signed by  Clinton, then how can the next one also be genuine.

 The “experts” at  JSA have stated the following ball is genuinely signed by Clinton.  How could this possibly be if the one’s illustrated  above are genuine.

 Based on JSA believing the above two Bill Clinton signed balls are genuine, who at JSA has determined this third one below is real?

 Let’s look at one more ball below passed by JSA.     This one is only asking  $449.99.

Which of the four balls above would you purchase?  CAN THIS TYPE OF AUTHENTICATING BE CALLED LEGITIMATE?

 If this short study thus far hasn’t convinced you that COA’s are basically worthless, you deserve to have one of these balls in your collection.

 Let’s try another one of the high-profile companies. The signature on this ball is so bad that only one example will be illustrated from this company. This should convince anyone not to spend more time with this authentication company.

The ball illustrated below has been authenticated by  Beckett Authentication, Steve Grad as the lead authenticator . With his past history authenticating autographs, enough said.

 How can anyone, certify the above signature as genuine. Like the old saying goes, "Is something wrotten in Denmark?"

 Trying one more time with a little unknow outfit is a ball authenticated by PAAS.  The lead authenticator is listed as Mike Frost.  However from several court records his name is Michael Fiegenbaum.  Why hide your real name?

Maybe you hide your real name when you put out a COA like the following.

One more thing, his “experts” listed are his wife and brother and son. Two others have asked Feigenbaum to remove their names, Neil Lanigan and Roger Gilchrist. They have done so in writing, as they have never  been associated with this PAAS. 

Most interesting, is that this item is authenticated as genuine.  the signature is so bad, in the description the seller has written “PAAS Authenticated full letter of authentication. Please also make the determination of authenticating for yourself by examining the photo/signature."

PAAS has a history of being the choice of forgers.  Based on the above xample, it is understandable.

The autograph experts at PADAH have determined that:

 PSA/DNA is the obvious winner of being the most accurate when authenticating signatures of Bill Clinton on a baseball.

 As for the other three, apparently they don’t appear to be in the game.  SOMETHING IS VERY WRONG WITH THE BUSINESS OF AUTHENTICATING AUTOGRAPHS. It needs to be examined by some agency to clean it up.  Even a barber who charges $15.00 to give a haircut needs a liscense!