Removed personalization on baseballs

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Removing, or “washing,” a personalization from a photo has been a common occurrence for a long time.  If done correctly and pen and paper conditions are right, it is undetectable. Now it appears it is also possible to remove a personalization from a signed baseball.
I saw this Mariano Rivera signed ball on eBay for a very reasonable Buy-It-Now. I was seconds away from clicking the button to snap it up when I saw mention of a removed personalization in the auction description. It was near the bottom of the description, but to the seller’s credit they were disclosing there was a removed personalization. On closer inspection, you can see remnants of the previous ink in the bottom of the World Series logo. If you look really close, you can see the indentation from the previous writing.
It is my understanding that the previous writing is not really removed; rather it is airbrushed over with a near exact matching color. In hand, you’d think the painted area would have a different look and sheen, but unless I could get one real cheap, I’m not willing to invest in a ball with a washed personalization.

Pitiful Neil Armstrong / Apollo 11 Forgery

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Finding a Neil Armstrong or Apollo 11 forgery is hardly a newsworthy event. They haunt the hobby like the ghost of phantom forensic document examiner Nicholas Burczyk.

However, every once-in-a-while I run across one so horrific it deserves honorable mention for inclusion in the Autograph Hall of Shame. Check out this train wreck, currently on eBay for a $5,999 Buy It Now...

World's least deceptive Apollo 11 forgery?
Of course, the item would not be complete without a certificate of authenticity from a forensic document examiner. In this case, the "expert" forensic document examiners at Academy of Manuscript and Autograph (AMA) deemed this gem "authentic." 


Operation Bullpen and the Marino Family Forgery Ring: Did anything change?

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Ghastly Mariano Rivera forgery being sold today
 in mass quantities. Where is Operation Bullpen Part II?
Over the past few days I have been re-reading Operation Bullpen by Kevin Nelson, the story of the Marino Family Forgery Ring and how the FBI took them down. The last time I read it was several years ago.

Something that really struck me this time around was how self-conscious the ring was about their product being “high quality” and how nervous they got when “someone was onto them.” For instance, the book recounts an incident where a collector returned a Jackie Robinson signed ball and a Roberto Clemente signed ball because he discovered the date of the balls made it impossible for them to be signed by Robinson or Clemente.

The leader of the ring, Wayne Bray, went into a fury because of this sloppiness and was especially angry at James DiMaggio (J. DiMaggio COAs) for issuing certs for these provably fake items. They counted on DiMaggio to rubber stamp items, but he was also essentially quality control. If something was a poor quality forgery, DiMaggio was not supposed to cert it.

Further, they got really nervous when some of the sellers they distributed to were removed by eBay. Once their sellers started getting removed from eBay, they feared law enforcement would soon follow. (Which it did.)

What makes this so interesting is the contrast with many of the fakes we see today certed by the usual suspects on the eBay banned COA list. The usual suspects on the eBay banned list – as well as some others – cert items that are laughably bad and obvious forgeries. There is no “quality control.” They apparently thumb their noses at law enforcement with no fear of consequences.
Blogs and message board threads like this one would have sent Wayne Bray and the Marinos into cardiac arrest. Yet, today’s crop of forgers, sellers and their “authenticating” accomplices don’t seem to care if almost every educated collector and dealer in the world is “onto them.” As long as there is a “greater fool” willing to buy their product, they plow on… offering countless obviously bad items in scores of venues.
So, how is it a decade after the biggest forgery bust in the world, the autographed collectibles market is perhaps flooded with more fakes than ever?

ACE Authentication and CSC inducted into eBay Hall of Shame

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You didn't have to be Nostradamus to see this one coming...

As of March 2, 2012, ACE Authentication and CSC Collectibles, have been added to eBay's Banned COA list.

Justin Priddy, formerly of GAI, is the owner/lead authenticator of ACE. If you see Justin Priddy at a card show, perhaps you can ask him what it feels like to join the ranks of Chris Morales, Ted Taylor, Don Frangipani and Operation Bullpen related COAs.

Perhaps Nostradamus has some insight into who else will be joining the eBay Hall of Shame shortly...

Here is the complete list of eBay banned COAs/Authenticators.

Autographed items with COAs and LOAs, or references to COAs and LOAs from the following people or organizations:
  • ACE (Autograph Certification Experts)
  • Coach's Corner Sports Auctions LLC
  • Christopher L. Morales
  • CSC Collectibles
  • Donald Frangipani
  • Forensic Document Services
  • Hollywood Dreams
  • J. DiMaggio Co. / J. DiMaggio Company
  • Legends Sports Memorabilia
  • Nathan's Autographs / N.E. Autographs
  • Nicholas Burczyk
  • Pro Sports / Pro Sports Memorabilia
  • Rare and Signed.com
  • Robert Prouty
  • R.R.'s Sports Cards & Collectibles
  • SCAA / Front Page Art / Angelo Marino
  • Slamdunk Sportscards & Memorabilia
  • Sports Alley Memorabilia
  • Sports Management Group
  • Stan's Sports / Stans Sports Memorabilia
  • TTA Authentic (formerly STAT Authentic)
  • Universal Memorabilia
  • XMI Authentications
  • USA Authentics
  • Blank COAs and LOAs
  • COAs and LOAs as stand-alone items
  • COAs and LOAs from anyone listed on the FBI's Operation Bullpen web site

Steiner COA with half fake Rivera

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Authentic Steiner Rivera signature with suspect inscription.
I recently saw this Mariano Rivera signed ball on eBay with a Steiner hologram and COA card.

In my opinion, the signature is 100% legit as one would expect from Steiner. However, something wasn't quite right about it. I think the "Enter Sandman" inscription has been forged.

The inscription appears tentative and does not match well with authentic exemplars. Further, the postioning of "Mariano Rivera" could indicate that it was signed with no intent to add an inscription below the name. Often, Rivera will sign higher on the ball when he plans to add an inscription below.

Authentic Steiner Rivera with authentic inscription

For your comparison, I have included a Steiner certified ball with an authentic "Enter Sandman" inscription.

Sadly, the lesson is that we must closely examine everything. Crooks are out to make money every way they can... including adding fake inscriptions to authentically signed items.


CSC Collectibles COA = Junk

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I recommend you avoid items with the CSC Collectibles Certificate of Authenticity / hologram. These worthless COAs appear on the same junky fakes we've seen with the equally worthless Nicholas Burczyk COAs.

I suspect it won't be long before this rubbish COA is banned from eBay as well. Sadly, the criminals who produce these fakes will just produce another phony-baloney authentication COA to slap on the bilge they pump out. It's like COA "whack-a-mole."

One thing to note about these mass-produced fakes is some of them are on 5x7 photos. Now, if you paid big bucks for a private signing with Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio or Ted Williams, would you waste it by having them sign offsize and unpopular 5x7 photos? Of course not. The forgers are so cheap, they probably use 5x7s to reduce costs.


It's even worthless as toilet paper.