Is your memorabilia real???

[big10champ]

Check out this video. I don't believe this has been posted before.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=L2gPS50-Wfs

[34swtns]

It's definitely been posted here before.
Very disturbing.

[JasonHalliburton]

Awesome, awesome story!

WOW, 85,000.00 for a fake autographed card.....That makes me sick and I did not lose a penny on it.

Thanks for posting this video!

[B1SON]

I hadn't seen that. Thank you. When did that air????

[ivo610]

Upper Deck should be ashamed. The guy buying for his kid has no clue what he is doing. And I am so sick of people thinking COAs are the proof they need to believe something is legit.

[tjm5711]

Being a big autograph collector who has bought my entire collection online, before getting into game used; I learned one major thing:

Unless you see the athlete sign the autograph himself the only method as close to that is to buy from only the best and most reputable companies that do ONE THING. That being firms that WITNESS the signature. And only these REPUTABLE companies who are providing you with their version of a notarized signature. Companies such as:

>Steiner
>Upper Deck
>Mounted Memories
>NFL Auctions
>MLB Auctions

I'm sure I'm forgetting a couple. The key is of course a respected and trusted name in the industry that witnesses the signature. You usually have to pay a high premium for these, but wouldn't you rather have a WITNESS than an opinion(like,PSA/DNA,GAI,JSA,etc) ?

Thank you for that video, I always wanted to see that piece.

[gingi79]

Upper deck was busted selling a fake autographed card for $85k. So be careful with them, everyone can be fooled

[tjm5711]

I'm sure they've all been fooled at least once. And an 85K blunder like the one in the video is inexcusable. And it was in an expert opinion that the Babe Ruth and Walter Johnson signatures were fake. Upper Deck of course did not witness the signing of these cut signatures, being as that they were signed about 70 years ago or so. Upper Deck has made it's name by having their representatives witness athletes signing authentic memorabilia. They appear to have been "out of their realm" authenticating historical signatures. But they are still the most respected name in authentic autographs.(especially Michael Jordan)

[David]

With in person signing companies, the major questions to ask are 1) Was the signature witnessed in person by the company, 2) Was the player under contract to sign for the company and 3) What is the reputation of the company. The companies listed are good, though there are a few other reputable ones, including Tri Star, GTSM and ReggieJackson.com. Some individual players market their own autographs, including Stan Musial.

[ivo610]

Companies could release the contracts with an athlete on their site. I would feel alot better knowing that Company A paid Athlete B X amount of dollars for a 2 year deal.

what are peoples thoughts on Radtke sports?

[sammy]

Upper Deck Authenticated received a lot of their vintage autographs from Kevin Keating, who owns the company Quality Autographs & Memorabilia and is one of PSA/DNA's autograph "experts".

Once that card came out, UDA started using JSA for reviews.

Don't know if that is any better, but time will tell.

[frikativ54]

Upper Deck Authenticated received a lot of their vintage autographs from Kevin Keating, who owns the company Quality Autographs & Memorabilia and is one of PSA/DNA's autograph "experts".

Once that card came out, UDA started using JSA for reviews.

Don't know if that is any better, but time will tell.

Jimmy Spence is bad as well. There was a story about them on My Fox Chicago a few years back, but the link no longer works. If I remember correctly, the reporter forged the autograph of Sal Bando, who was signing at a show, and JSA's on-site authentication people certified it as real.

[sammy]

.....also don't forget when another reporter forged a Mike Schmidt autograph on a baseball and Spence just fawned over how authentic it was because of blah, blah, blah.

Then the reporter told him their graphics artist forged the ball. Spence sure looked taken then and mumbled his way to the end of the interview.

I still have that one on tape.

[LastingsMilledge85]

But who is to say what I have in my collection or your collection is real or not? I think in this hobby for a good part of it you have to play the guessing game. I have undocumented and some documented items that I am uncertain about, but I took a chance because I trust my source and my "detective" skills.

[tjm5711]

Radke is very legit. They host signings of big name athletes. I got my "Monsters of the Midway" Proline Helmet from them signed by Brian Urlacher,Dick Butkus,and Mike Singletary.

[murfsteve25]

Companies could release the contracts with an athlete on their site. I would feel alot better knowing that Company A paid Athlete B X amount of dollars for a 2 year deal.

what are peoples thoughts on Radtke sports?

as far as i know, radtke is legit. I think they are based in georgia and have delt quite a bit with the braves. i know theyve done signings with some players and i believe theyve handled a few gamers as well.

I think radtke posts on this forum so i would love for them to chime in and correct me if i am wrong.

[murfsteve25]

Jimmy Spence is bad as well. There was a story about them on My Fox Chicago a few years back, but the link no longer works. If I remember correctly, the reporter forged the autograph of Sal Bando, who was signing at a show, and JSA's on-site authentication people certified it as real.

i think i remember seeing that. when the reporter walked up to the table, didnt the authenticator laugh and say" i trust you"...and then just slap a sticker on it?

[tjm5711]

But who is to say what I have in my collection or your collection is real or not? I think in this hobby for a good part of it you have to play the guessing game. I have undocumented and some documented items that I am uncertain about, but I took a chance because I trust my source and my "detective" skills.

You know, that's just it ! The level of confidence in the authenticity factors highly into the value I assess to an autographed or game used item. My confidence is raised higher by the reputation/methodology of the company that
authenticated the item. Of course what you pay also factors in to the assessment. But the two usually go hand in hand. Just look at the prices from guys like Steiner and Upper Deck. You're basically paying for that higher level of confidence that the jersey hanging on your wall is the real deal.

[LastingsMilledge85]

Unless you get the athlete to talk to you about an item you have of theirs whether it was used or an autograph you can only assume that it is legit. The funny thing is that all my Lastings Milledge signatures are the same except for one in which he signed a personal letter to me, and the items I have with all the same signature came from various dependable sources like Steiner. Always found that kind of funny.

[allstarsplus]

I'm sure they've all been fooled at least once. And an 85K blunder like the one in the video is inexcusable. And it was in an expert opinion that the Babe Ruth and Walter Johnson signatures were fake. Upper Deck of course did not witness the signing of these cut signatures, being as that they were signed about 70 years ago or so. Upper Deck has made it's name by having their representatives witness athletes signing authentic memorabilia. They appear to have been "out of their realm" authenticating historical signatures. But they are still the most respected name in authentic autographs.(especially Michael Jordan)

Keep in mind that there are 2 major operating divisions at Upper Deck. There is the trading card division and UDA (Upper Deck Authenticated).

We have all heard the horror stories of vintage autograph cards and the infamous game used piece cards.

Then you have the UDA division that handles their own memorabilia from Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, LeBron James, and others. This is as close as you can get to being 100% certain!

[tjm5711]

Keep in mind that there are 2 major operating divisions at Upper Deck. There is the trading card division and UDA (Upper Deck Authenticated).

We have all heard the horror stories of vintage autograph cards and the infamous game used piece cards.

Then you have the UDA division that handles their own memorabilia from Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, LeBron James, and others. This is as close as you can get to being 100% certain!



Thanks for breaking that down for us. We do agree that Upper Deck's main strength is in the second of the two departments you mentioned. It seems like yesterday Upper Deck came out with their first set.(1989) They changed the trading card game forever. As far as '89 feeling like yesterday. That's the big 40 creeping up on me ! LOL