Collectibles Chat: Removing Mickey Mantle signed photo from a plaque

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I have been blogging and writing magazine articles about autograph collecting in general since the mid-90s. I can't believe it's been almost 25 years!

My latest adventure is trying my hand at videos. While I am a professional authenticator specializing in astronaut autographs, my videos will be a mix of space-related and more general for a wider range of interests.

With that, I invite you to check out the first episode of "Collectibles Chat," which focuses on removing a Mickey Mantle signed photo from an old plaque.

Please be sure to "like" the video and subscribe to my channel if you are inclined. Thanks for watching and any feedback is welcome. 

Beware of traced autograph fakes!

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“Frank Borman” photo with a traced signature

“Frank Borman” photo with a traced signature

I’ve been seeing a lot of these lately — traced autographs.

In this case, the scammer makes a high resolution inkjet copy on photo paper of an authentic signed photo. Then, they trace over the printed autograph with a marker to make it look like an original signed photo. This example also had an inkjet copy of the original COA from a well-known dealer.

Remember, there are people always thinking of dishonest, yet creative, ways to part you with your hard-earned money.

Authenticating vintage capsule model with 22 astronaut autographs!

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Vintage capsule model with 22 signatures

Vintage capsule model with 22 signatures

Here is a gem that was a lot of fun to authenticate…

A vintage capsule model with 22 astronaut autographs. Neil Armstrong, John Young, Jack Swigert, Jim Irwin and on and on.

It’s very rare to see a vintage signed model. Back in the era, getting signatures on 3-D items was not the “thing” it is today. It’s likely that this is a one-of-a-kind item.

Beware of "flown" provenance scams: Fake John Glenn flown flag

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As an authenticator, scams, frauds and phony stories are all part of the typical day. There is what you “know” and what you can “prove.” The former often outweighs the latter, so it is a refreshing break when a situation presents itself that undeniably proves the scam.

Here is a John Glenn signed postal cover that was authenticated in January of 2019 — more than two years after John Glenn’s death. The signature is authentic… no doubt about that.

Yet, two months after authentication, the same signed postal cover appeared on eBay with a typed note on it. The note was supposedly written by John Glenn and provided provenance to a flown flag. John Glenn could not have added the typed note two years after he passed away, so the provenance is obviously fabricated. This is an example of trying to turn a $75 signed postal cover into a $1,800 Buy It Now flown flag.

Before and after

JSA Certification Verification Page

eBay auction, March 2019

Even if I did not have the “before” photo, this is a fairly transparent scam. The poorly written typed note with the bizarre “with much love” closing is completely uncharacteristic of John Glenn. And why would Glenn use an unrelated postal cover with a stamp from 1971 to thank a NASA worker for something that happened in 1962? The whole thing is an amateur, clumsy hoax, but it’s nice to be able to “prove” it.

The lesson here is that an authentic signature does not necessarily assure an item is truly flown or celebrity owned. With the escalation of the value of flown items, this will only become more commonplace and sophisticated. You need to stay a step ahead of the fakes, phonies and frauds. As always, use common sense, look at the whole picture, and caveat emptor!