Fake Similar Autographs Facsimile

I don't want to get too much into trying to figure out if an Autograph is real or FAKE. An Expert Authenticator can pin out a FAKE, but can also be fooled by a good forgery. So a third party C.O.A. might as well be printed on a piece of toilet paper. In an emergency at least you might get some use out of it. Unless you are there in person, and witnessed the signing, you can not state 100 that an Autograph is authentic. A true artist with lots of skill and work can "paint" a Mickey Mantle signature, that has fooled some of the top Authenticators in the Business. But most forgers make common mistakes that can be picked up by even an educated eye. Sign your name 10 times on a piece of paper. First thing you will notice they are all SIMILAR. They Vary slightly from signature to signature, there are not any major differences in any part of the signature, but they are all different. If you sign your name with a Pointed "A" you are unlikely to sign it at another time with a rounded "A" All your signatures should have the same flow. not stopping in the middle of the signature, and re starting, or slowing down at one point, as a traced signature might show, with points of heaver ink where the pen has stopped or slowed. These are some of the things that an expert would look for. Another tell tale sign, are signatures that look too SIMILAR, and are exactly alike. Forgers will use Autopens, A mechanical device that "signs" flat objects. They will use Stamps, and even Photo copies. These type of FAKE signatures are easy to detect, especially when you compare them with others that are not only SIMILAR, but EXACTLY the same. Which leads me into what I really want to talk about. FACSIMILE Autographs.Lately I have noticed a large amount of people being fooled by FACSIMILE Autographs. I'm not talking about a FAKE Autograph trying to be passed off for the real thing. People unknowingly coming across a signed photograph, or ball thinking it is real. Usually someone selling off a loved ones collection, who has passed on, and does not know what they have. They see the autograph on the photo, and they get all excited $$$$. Throw it up on eBay, and the Description starts off with, " My Uncle recently passed away, and was a big collector of Memorabilia....WOW! Look what I found stashed in a box, a Mickey Mantle Autograph! Sometimes they are sold to an uneducated buyer, or if the Buyer is lucky does not reach the Reserve price of $10,000 and nobody gets hurt. A FACSIMILE autograph is not really a FAKE. It is not meant to fool anyone into thinking its real. It is a pre printed signature usually used on Souvenir baseballs, promotional photos, Postcards, Bats, Gloves, advertisings etc. A preprint, or Facsimile is simply a photographic copy of an original signed photograph. A preprint signature often appears to be below the surface gloss of the photo, and the signature is often very "flat." Hold the photo up at an angle to a light source. A real signature is written on the surface of the photo, and should have a different level of reflectivity than the rest of the surface. A preprint will blend right in with the surface because it's underneath the surface gloss. Obviously, preprint signatures will match exactly, and the signature will be in the same exact place on each photo. On Balls, gloves or Bats, Stamps are created and printed on the object. Another way of telling a Facsimile autograph is the ink is too consistent. When you sign your name, you use different angles, and pressure as you sign. This is more evident when signing with sharpie. Some parts of the signature will be darker, or lighter depending on the pressure you put on the pen, or sharpie. On a facsimile, especially a ball, it is usually all the same density, and thickness. When you cross a "T", or at the end of your signature you might tail off as you come off the page. A Facsimile might start, and end with no variation at all. Getting back to signing your name 10 times. you can sign 1000 times, again they will all be SIMILAR, but they will all be different. None will be exactly the same. The size of a loop will vary,. the length of "a letter" will vary, The dot on top of an i will be higher, lower, more left or right. I compared a dozen signatures of the old Master Casey Stengel, and I have never seen so many Differences from signature to signature, But they were all SIMILAR. Mickey Mantle always tried to give the perfect signature. He took pride in it. Yet as alike all of his signatures were you will find differences. When you come across a signature that looks exactly like another you have to put up a Red Flag and investigate it. From a promotional give away photo, to a Souvenir baseball sold at the ballpark. FACSIMILE Autographs Are very desirable. There are many collectors looking to buy that Photo with the FACSIMILE autograph that came with the glove they bought when they were a kid. Most kids first souvenir from the ballpark was a FACSIMILE Baseball.Most baseballs with actual autographs are signed on major league baseballs, or at least on a ball that has some sought of trade mark, or Logo. Most at least since the 1950s. On the other hand most FACSIMILE Stadium baseballs do not have any logo, and are not on official baseballs. Most, not all in both cases. So this might be one way of deciding if the Ball is a Stadium souvenir, or a Actual signed baseball. Before dropping down a load of cash for a Signature request better photos, ask what kind of ball is it signed on? how did the seller acquire this autograph? Chain of custody? any one with a good laser printer can create a C.O.A. with a Life time Guarantee? Who's life time? I bought a life time membership at a Gym. Two years later they went out of business. I'm still alive.The Bottom line is before you buy an autograph, or vintage memorabilia do your homework. You have a computer research the product, make comparisons you might just save yourself some money. This is a multi billion dollar industry, and there are loads of scam artists out there trying to steal your money. The person you are buying from could have been fooled too, or mistaken. Don't let the scam artist take the fun out of collecting.

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